Doctoral Dissertation Research in Political Science: The Party's Over: Citizen Disenchantment in Mexico's Emerging Democracy

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This Doctoral Dissertation research project studies Mexican attitudes toward politics and their implications for democratic consolidation. Specifically, it seeks to determine (1) whether the proclivity to distinguish support for democracy from government performance is related to the prominence of socioeconomic expectations in conceptions of democracy and (2) whether conditions exist-particularly, the development of new citizen values-to soften the impact of poor socioeconomic performance on support for democracy and political participation. Statistical analysis of opinion polls (both existing and original) will provide a broad understanding of political attitudes and participation. The quantitative investigation must be fleshed out with testimonial evidence provided by informants and focus groups. It may be that a new, "citizen" political culture is sufficiently rooted to prevent dissatisfaction with really existing democracy from turning into rejection of democracy as an ideal. Intellectual Merit A long line of political thought and empirical research contends that the survival and growth of democracy rests on the foundation of an informed, active citizenry that believes in and practices democratic values. In the old democratic polities, democracy rests upon a foundation of stable institutions and economic prosperity, both conditions propitious for the development of democratic habits on the party of the citizenry. The intellectual merit of the present project lies in elucidating the factors that mitigate the impact of failed socioeconomic expectations on support for democracy in emerging democracies, which typically lack the advantages of the older democracies. The dissertation will shed light on an important debate in political science: whether democratic consolidation depends mostly on economics or whether, and how, public opinion and citizen concepts of democracy also intervene. Broader Impact This dissertation research will benefit the research community, and could potentially benefit Mexican society, in three main ways. Methodologically, the survey instrument will offer new items to measure attitudes toward democracy, asking about satisfaction with, support for democracy, and conceptions of democracy much more extensively than any existing survey. This could help researchers public opinion, political psychology, and democratization in the context of other democracies, old and new. Substantively, the findings generated should be applicable outside Mexico, since it faces socioeconomic challenges typical of emerging democracies. Finally, the research could have policy ramifications in Mexico. Mexican researchers-as well as the Mexican government, through the polls it has financed-have demonstrated keen interest in answering some of the questions raised here. At present, both the Federal Electoral Institute and the Interior Ministry (Secretaria de Gobernacion) are undertaking educational campaigns in public schools and the communications media to help foster tolerance, abate discrimination, promote voter turnout, and raise awareness of human rights. citizen views of politics and policy-makers who desire to improve programs that foster citizen values.