An increasingly high percentage of citizens in advanced democracies express a preference for ‘strong leaders’ who ‘bend the rules’ or ‘ignore parliament and elections’ in survey research. Why do citizens in established democracies prefer ‘strongman’ leaders, and is this preference really an expression of anti-democratic attitudes? Existing research primarily examines the scope and contextual predictors of anti-democratic attitudes. By contrast, we aim to understand what citizens actually mean when they express these attitudes, which might range from a preference for a full-fledged dictator to a wish for a democrat who ‘gets things done’. To examine whether citizens see democratic values and strongman leadership as at odds with one another, we conduct a conjoint experiment of Australian and British respondents that compares respondents’ stated preferences for 'strongman’ leadership to their revealed preferences for hypothetical candidates who exhibit these leadership styles. We find that voters in both countries – even those who indicate a preference for ‘strong’ leaders in survey questions – are less likely to choose hypothetical candidates who ignore democratic institutions and refuse to compromise with other parties. Our study contributes to the literature on support for democracy and authoritarian values in established democracies.

About the presenter:

Dr Annika Werner is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Politics and International Relations, Australian National University. Her research focuses on party behaviour, representation and public attitudes in the democracies of Europe and Australia and has been published in journals such as the Journal of European Public Policy, Democratization, Party Politics, International Political Science Review, Representation, and Electoral Studies. Her book “International Populism: The Radical Right in the European Parliament”, co-authored with Duncan McDonnell, is published with Hurst/Oxford University Press. Annika is Steering Group member of the Manifesto Project (MARPOR, former CMP) and Co-Editor of the Australian Journal of Political Science.

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