Associative Democracy: Civic Groups, Regime Support, and the Development of Democratic Values in 25 Countries

Abstract

The factors influencing democratic consolidation remains a constant research agenda for political scientists. While economic and political factors can be cited as influencing consolidation at the macro-level, ultimately it falls upon the citizenry to accept and promote democratic institutions. Democratic values, such as respect for the rule of law and tolerance of other persons are core values democratic citizens must possess for democracies to remain stable and thus for consolidation to take place. Recently many scholars have put forth the claim that we should look to civil society and especially civic groups in an effort to explain how democratic values can be transferred and maintained in the citizenry at the individual-level of analysis. This paper attempts to examine the effects of civic group involvement on democratic values across 25 countries, which vary greatly in terms of their experiences with democracy. Regionally this includes Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Asia. Using the World Values Survey (1995-1998) the analysis reveals differential effects for civic group involvement on democratic values. Results demonstrate a strong, positive relationship between civic association and democratic values cross-nationally. Specifically, a strong relationship is uncovered between religious groups and democratic values. However, this picture varies greatly amongst geographic regions. This demonstrates the increased need to study the differential effects of civic groups on democratic values cross-nationally at the individual level of analysis and examine any special role that religious groups may play in this process.