Previous research has shown that economic sanctions affect public opinion in targeted countries, either by rallying the public around the incumbent government or turning them against the sanctioning actors. This study explores the effects of economic sanctions on popular political orientations, with a particular focus on democratic sanctions. We argue that, in response to external coercion in the name of democracy, the public is motivated to defend their own country, thereby triggering a backlash against democracy. Based on evidence from Arab states (2010–2019) and using instrumental variable estimation to address the endogeneity, our research reveals that democratic sanctions can trigger anti-democratic attitudes in targeted countries. Furthermore, the backlash effects intensify with the escalation of patriotic indoctrination, confirming that foreign pressure interacts with a state’s indoctrination potential in influencing public political orientations.
