Conflict exposure and support for democracy: examining the legacies of violent and nonviolent conflict

This research note investigates the long-term impact of individuals' exposure to violent and nonviolent political conflict on their subsequent support for democracy. Drawing on insights from research on political socialization, we theorize how large-scale political conflicts shape the formation of individuals' political attitudes, leaving a lasting attitudinal imprint beyond the immediate participants and victims of conflict. We combine information on historical conflict episodes with global survey data covering over 600,000 respondents from 91 countries to study the individual-level consequences of both violent and nonviolent conflict comparatively. The results reveal that citizens' conflict experiences matter greatly for their attitudes to democracy, yet the effects differ significantly between the two types of conflict. Whereas violent conflict exposure increases their appetite for democracy, surprisingly this desire is dampened after experiences of large-scale nonviolent conflict. Given the importance of citizen support for the functioning of democracy, our findings provide insights into the prospects for democracy in a time of persistent intrastate conflict.