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Critical Citizens: Attitudes towards Democracy in Indonesia and Malaysia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 April 2015

JULIET PIETSCH
Affiliation:
School of Politics and International Relations, Australian National UniversityJuliet.Pietsch@anu.edu.au
MARSHALL CLARK
Affiliation:
School of Politics and International Relations, Australian National UniversityJuliet.Pietsch@anu.edu.au

Abstract

In recent years much has been said about how new democracies are backsliding or have regressed since the turn of the century when hope and optimism about the future spread of democracy was widespread. However, ideas that democracy would spread were based on institutional and governance indicators rather than from the perspective of everyday citizens. When we look at public attitudes towards democracy during this period, we can see that such optimism was perhaps misplaced or premature. Drawing on findings from the AsiaBarometer and the World Values Survey, this research finds that public attitudes during this time were not overly convinced by democracy and certainly not yet satisfied with their government's performance in terms of providing basic democratic freedoms and independence.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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