AuthPop

Democratic backsliding is a major concern around the world, with large-scale movements engaging in anti-democratic tactics even in long-established democracies. Such movements are often described as “populist” or “authoritarian,” even though the precise relationship between these two constructs is ambiguous. In this research involving over 35,000 respondents across 4 studies in 54 countries, we argue that populism and authoritarianism interact with each other such that their combined effects amplify the anti-democratic and anti-pluralistic nature of the two. We found that this interaction predicted greater skepticism toward electoral integrity and lower perceived importance of democracy (Study 1). The confluence of populism and authoritarianism was predicted greater perceived cultural threat, and lower trust of Chancellor Merkel, and perceived cultural threat partially mediated this mistrust of the chancellor among German voters (Study 2). With our American student sample, this interaction predicted greater identification with anti-establishment groups (Study 3). Finally, Study 4 showed that experts perceived authoritarian-populist parties as less ideologically divided, more opposed to cosmopolitan values (e.g., multiculturalism, immigration), yet more favorable toward protectionism. Our discussion highlights the relationship between populism and authoritarianism, and their involvement to the ongoing democratic deconsolidation around the world.