Who does not protect democracy?: Examining the role of right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation

This study investigates how right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation predict one's tendency to protect basic democratic principles. Structural equation modelling of questionnaire data (N = 220) showed that social dominance orientation clearly predicted greater disregard for basic democratic principles, operationalized using the sacred-value-protection model as the extent to which one accepts monetarization of democratic procedures (e.g., election). By contrast, right-wing authoritarianism was associated with an ambivalent approach to democratic principles. While there was a small indirect effect between right-wing authoritarianism and protection of democratic principles, mediated by distrust in politicians, it was counterbalanced by an additional positive direct effect between these variables. Overall, results show that right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance relate differently to people's views of democracy.