Views of democracy among brazilians: evolution and determinant factors

Abstract

This paper analyzes the perspective of Brazilian citizens on democracy and the individual determinant factors for each of these conceptions. This paper begins by mapping Brazilians' conceptions of democracy based on questions from the 2006, 2014, and 2018 World Values Survey, which allow us to differentiate to what extent citizens have more or less commitment to conceptions of liberal democracy, social democracy, and direct democracy, or accept certain authoritarian alternatives. Subsequently, the individual determinant factors of the different views of democracy are analyzed, including sociodemographic and attitudinal variables. The results show the stability of views of democracy among Brazilians between 2006 and 2018 and the prevalence of a liberal democracy view. Ideological positions of citizens are variously associated with different views of democracy.