And (3)... If these attitudes solidify, they could shape a generation of more authoritarian citizens. Understanding why this shift is happening is essential to confronting one of democracy’s major challenges.

Just to finish the post, (1) we find that gender gap is not as visible as it is in other political attitudes (f.e. political ideology, or support for radical right parties). (2) centrist young people supporting democracy to a lesser extent needs to be further explained.

3. Social media may be spreading authoritarian discourses:
We find a significant gender gap among young men who strongly trust social media. This suggests that social media may shape young men’s attitudes toward democracy more than other groups.

2. Authoritarian political parties matter:
Proximity to radical right parties is associated with lower diffuse support for democracy. Yet, the youth–adult gap is no wider than among those close to mainstream parties (PP-PSOE). Moreover, no significant gender gap appears within party supporters.

1. Ideology matters, but not in the expected way:
Young people who place themselves at the ideological center show similar levels of democratic support as those on the right. Moreover, young men at both extremes (left and right) support democracy less than young women.

Using CIS data from 2024, we constructed an indicator of ‘diffuse’ support for democracy, based on four items reflecting individual attitudes towards democracy as political regime. Young people support less democracy even if they are asked by a military dictatorship!

Why?

Democracy needs citizens’ support to work. In Spain, more than the 80 percent of citizens support democracy, but…
… support for democracy among Spanish youth has declined. Since 2021, the share of young people who may prefer a dictatorship over democracy has increased.

Gracias Javi🫶🏻