ABSTRACT
This chapter draws upon waves of surveys since the early 1990s to examine levels of political participation and support for democratic norms among Central Americans. Political participation levels remain consistent with democracy, but civil society (group) activism has slowly declined over two decades. Democratic norms are mixed, some strengthening (rejection of coups d’état) and some weakening (tolerance for participation by regime critics). The analysis considers system-level conditions such as economic factors and individual-level attitudes that shape evolving democratic norms.
