Population Size, Local Autonomy, and Support for the Political System*

Tetsuya Matsubayashi

Social Science Quarterly, 2007, vol. 88, issue 3, 830-849

Abstract: Objectives. Does size of democracy shape citizens' support for the democratic regime? Previous literature demonstrates that a variety of political contexts are associated with the level of system support among citizens, yet none has tested the effect of a fundamental contextual feature of contemporary societies—size of democracy—on system support from a cross‐national perspective. Methods. Survey data for nations of different sizes in Europe, North America, and Oceania are analyzed using a hierarchical generalized linear model. Results. Empirical analysis shows that less populous states and highly decentralized states demonstrate higher system support among citizens, and it offers some evidence that the negative effect of population size is moderated by the level of decentralization. Conclusions. My findings are consistent with the common expectation that smaller size of nation and governments “closer to the people” are preferred. Further, they have substantive implications for contemporary democratic governance.

Date: 2007
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