Polarization and ideology: exploring the contextual nature of democratic commitment

ABSTRACT Introduction: Political polarization stands as a pivotal topic in contemporary Political Science. Existing literature indicates that ideological extremism, prevalent in polarized environments, fosters the erosion of democratic norms by political elites. This phenomenon has primarily been explored through the examination of isolated cases or limited comparisons among a handful of highly polarized countries. This article investigates the role of “guardians of democracy”, questioning whether specific ideological groups maintain their commitment to democratic principles even amidst profound polarization. Materials and methods: Our analysis draws on public opinion data from 57 countries, encompassing over 77,000 respondents, sourced from the most recent wave of the World Values Survey (2017-2020). We explore the interaction between contextual and individual factors, investigating the impact of national-level polarization on individuals with varying ideological orientations and how the government's dominant ideology shapes individual responses to political polarization. Results: There is a negative relationship between polarization and democratic legitimacy. However, the impact varies depending on the ideology of the voters and their alignment with the ideology of the ruling party. Discussion: Our analysis suggests that the interaction between contextual factors (polarization and government ideology) and individual factors (voter ideology) creates scenarios that foster different profiles of guardians of democracy. However, none of these scenarios involved right-wing individuals presenting themselves as such.