Voters' orientations towards democracy: A new conceptual framework

This paper proposes a conceptual framework for assessing individual democratic commitment and demonstrates its usefulness in the German context. Building on and bridging existing strands of research (e.g. on support for democracy, conceptualizations of democracy, evaluations of democracy), the framework distinguishes between citizens' personal definitions of democracy and three analytically distinct but interconnected layers of democratic attachment: normative importance, evaluations of democratic performance, and affective engagement, captured through concern about democracy's future. Together, these elements clarify how citizens relate to democracy as they understand it. Drawing on a nationally representative survey conducted in December 2023, we provide descriptive evidence on each layer and their distribution across social and political groups in Germany. While democratic importance is very high overall, evaluations of democratic performance are more moderate and concern about democracy's future is widespread, particularly among supporters of the AfD and residents of eastern Germany. This configuration underscores the importance of distinguishing between the strength of democratic attachment and the substantive content individuals associate with democracy. Without this distinction, high concern and strong support could be misinterpreted as indicators of democratic commitment, even when citizens' personal definitions of democracy stand in tension with democratic principles. Our findings thus also highlight the importance of the affective layer as a key mobilization potential.