ABSTRACT
Many recent theoretical and comparative contributions have been devoted to identifying the determinants of popular commitment to democracy. Popular support for democracy is of great importance since it is considered the “attitudinal” foundation, and even characteristic element, of democratic consolidation. As Linz and Stepan (1996) forcefully argue, the fundamental prerequisite for consolidation of a new democracy is the presence of a majority of citizens who believe in and support democracy. Put simply, democratic consolidation is not likely to occur if the very notion of democracy is being questioned and is not regarded as the predominant mode of legitimation (Linz and Stepan 1996; Diamond 1999; Bratton and Mattes 2001a).
