Popular Support for Authoritarianism: Exploring Mass Beliefs about Democracy and Dictatorship in Contemporary Ukraine.

Under what conditions do ordinary citizens prefer authoritarian rule? Answering this question will help us better understand why many post-communist states have developed authoritarian or hybrid regimes while others have successfully transitioned to democracy. This paper explores the conditions under which citizens in states which meet a minimal electoral definition of democracy tolerate or even demand authoritarian rule. The question is particularly significant for the contemporary case of Ukraine, as the fragile gains of the Orange Revolution are threatened by renewed political and economic instability which affects the preferences of Ukraine’s voters. Using an original nationwide survey of Ukrainians as well as extensive qualitative interviews conducted with citizens across Ukraine, I explore the factors that shape citizens’ beliefs about democracy and dictatorship, and particularly their potential preference for the latter. In doing so, I examine the effects of post-Soviet economic and political instability, Soviet-era ideological influences, and deeper historical-geographical forces arising from the process of nationalization in forming contemporary political beliefs in Ukraine. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]