Declining Support for Democracy in the Americas: Causes, Symptoms, and (Possible) Remedies

Across the Americas, support for democracy is on the decline. Using data from LAPOP’s AmericasBarometer, this talk identifies important trends in democratic values in the region. The presentation offers a set of hypotheses regarding the causes, as well as the consequences of brewing democratic disillusionment. The talk will also touch on the question of what alternatives to democracy hold appeal in the region, and what dynamics may serve to restore confidence in democracy. 

Elizabeth (Liz) Zechmeister is Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Political Science and Director of LAPOP Lab at Vanderbilt University. She is author over thirty articles and two books: Democracy at Risk: How Terrorist Threats Affect the Public (University of Chicago Press, 2009) and Latin American Party Systems (Cambridge Press, 2010). She is co-editor of The Latin American Voter (University of Michigan Press, 2015). Her research on public opinion in times of crisis has been awarded three grants from the U.S. National Science Foundation. In her work as LAPOP Director, she leads the AmericasBarometer – a regular regional survey of democracy and public opinion in 34 countries. She also currently chairs the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES) project. Dr. Zechmeister has received Vanderbilt’s Jeffrey Nordhaus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching and Vanderbilt’s Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching.

*FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC and available via YOUTUBE LIVESTREAM HERE and via Zoom Webinar HERE. Please note that to participate in the Q&A following the presentation, you must register for the Zoom Webinar.