IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/cog/poango/v14y2026a12489.html

Causes and Consequences of Confidence in Democratic Elections

Author

Listed:
  • Todd Donovan

    (Department of Political Science, Western Washington University, USA)

  • Shaun Bowler

    (Department of Political Science, University of California ‐ Riverside, USA)

Abstract

In this editorial, we examine trends over time and cross-national variation in attitudes toward democracy and elections, and explore the correlates of low confidence in elections, particularly focusing on the countries covered in the studies presented in this thematic issue. Using the World Values Survey measure of confidence in elections, we assess cross-country variation and show how this measure correlates with specific attitudes toward elections, as well as with low confidence in institutions and organizations broadly. We present potential causes of low confidence in elections identified by the studies in this issue: Elite attacks on electoral integrity, right-wing populism, partisan winner/loser effects, and the quality of election administration. We conclude by considering the consequences of low confidence in elections identified by the studies here.

Suggested Citation

  • Todd Donovan & Shaun Bowler, 2026. "Causes and Consequences of Confidence in Democratic Elections," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 14.
    • Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v14:y:2026:a:12489
    DOI: 10.17645/pag.12489
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/12489
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.17645/pag.12489?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fernando Mello & Ignacio Jurado, 2026. "Following the Leader Against Democracy? Evidence From the 2022 Brazilian Presidential Election," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 14.
    2. Anita Manion & David C. Kimball & Paul Manson & Paul Gronke & Joseph Anthony, 2026. "Ballots and Beliefs: Diverging Views on Election Integrity From the Public and Officials," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 14.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.

      More about this item

      Keywords

      ;
      ;
      ;
      ;
      ;
      ;

      Statistics

      Access and download statistics

      Corrections

      All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v14:y:2026:a:12489. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

      If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

      If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

      If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

      For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: António Vieira or IT Department (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.cogitatiopress.com .

      Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

      IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.