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Political Support as an Evaluation

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Citizens and Democracy in Europe

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in European Political Sociology ((PSEPS))

Abstract

There is controversy around the meaning and measurement of satisfaction with democracy and trust in its institutions. This chapter addresses this debate reviewing current approaches to the measurement of the evaluative dimension of political support. It also argues in favour of the idea that satisfaction with democracy and trust in political institutions can be used to capture citizens’ evaluations of political objects. Using several data sources for European countries, such as the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems, the European Values Study, the European Social Survey (ESS) and the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP), this chapter provides evidence of this interpretation, contrasting available survey measures to other relevant indicators of political support and exploring what elements of democracy citizens consider when they express democratic satisfaction and trust.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social, Political and Cognitive Sciences, Università di Siena, Siena, Italy

    Sergio Martini

  2. Department of Sociology and Social Research, Università di Trento, Trento, Italy

    Mario Quaranta

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  1. Sergio Martini
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  2. Mario Quaranta
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Correspondence to Mario Quaranta .

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Martini, S., Quaranta, M. (2020). Political Support as an Evaluation. In: Citizens and Democracy in Europe. Palgrave Studies in European Political Sociology. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21633-7_2

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