Only half of young people in France, Spain and Poland think the government is the best, while one in five young Europeans would accept an authoritarian government under certain conditions. Such and other similar figures, with some ups and downs, often see the light of day in recent years.
Where does this illusory charm or even sometimes nostalgia for authoritarianism come from? And why do young people seem to be prone to it? “To Vima” addressed Dr Abigail BradfordLeverhulme Early Career Research Fellow at the University of Oxford (who was recently in our country for the Athens Democracy Forum) and the Katia Salomoresearcher at the University of Kassel, for answers.
In their latest study, the two scientists combined data collected from 1994 to 2022 in 36 European countries and 15 African countries, with the aim of examining the political attitudes of different generations towards democracy and authoritarianism.
Do young people today feel any fascination with authoritarianism? And if so, why is this?
Dr. Abigail Bradford
Abigail Bradford: “I have studied extensively how young people in England understand the history of British colonialism, which was essentially an authoritarian system for many who lived under its rule, who had no say in how they were governed. Three patterns from my research may also resonate in other European contexts.
First, young people’s views vary widely, even among peers with the same background and teacher. This reveals the emptiness of populist claims that schools today “indoctrinate” young people. This position assumes that young people will believe anything an authority figure tells them. The people who spread these stories seem to have never met a teenager in their life. Young people are not passive receivers of information – they interpret and question what they hear.
Second, some groups are more likely to romanticize an authoritarian past than others. The most consistent difference I’ve seen is related to gender: boys are more likely to see authoritarian regimes as regimes that ensure “order” and “power”.
One reason may be that boys and girls inhabit different online worlds and are algorithmically exposed to different narratives about the past in .
And the third?
AM: “The third is that while most young people recognize that authoritarian regimes were violent and oppressive, many still accept the claims of ‘economic benefits’ they supposedly brought. They often separate politics from economics: They don’t ask who these “benefits” benefited. On the contrary, many imagine these regimes as agents of modernization, with some “collateral losses”.
Does what happens at school matter?
AM: “Yes, it does, especially if teachers and curricula perpetuate ‘there were pros and cons’ approaches rather than criticizing an authoritarian regime. But school is not the only factor. It is more important to understand how the school interacts with students’ earlier beliefs, their identities, and the larger context within which they attempt to understand the past.’
In your last study you focused on Europe and Africa. Are there differences?
Dr. Katia Salomo
Katia Salomo: «Together with Abigail, we compared the degree of support for democracy or authoritarianism among different age groups in European and African democracies from the 1990s to the early 2020s. In Europe, the Great Recession of 2008 and the euro crisis reduced support for democracy and made authoritarian alternatives more attractive in countries that were hit hardest, as well as in those that were not. they had long, stable history of liberal democracy. The good news is that, overall, support for democracy has rebounded.
The bad news is that for people who came of age or were young adults during these crisis years the impact was more lasting: as a generation, they are more critical of democracy and more open to authoritarian alternatives than those who came before them, and are likely to remain so. In some newer democracies, such as Albania and Croatia, we even see a broader intergenerational shift toward an attitude of greater openness to authoritarianism.”
While in Africa?
AM: “In Africa the picture is even more alarming. Support for democracy has declined across all age groups in many countries, with the steepest declines among younger ages seen in countries where the level of democracy has remained relatively stable over the past decades, such as Senegal and Namibia. Even more impressive is the increase in support for authoritarianism among young people in countries that were once considered democratic success stories, such as Botswana, Mauritius and South Africa.
Could one speak in specific cases of nostalgia for authoritarianism?
KS: “The question to what extent this openness to authoritarianism is driven by a nostalgia for the past remains open. “One way to think about it is that in countries where previous authoritarian regimes were relatively ‘successful’ in providing basic services – such as health care, job security, housing – nostalgia is likely to play a greater role.”
Do you agree with the term “democratic regression” that is often used to describe the current situation worldwide?
K.S.: “There are probably different definitions of the term, but in any case public attitudes towards democracy and authoritarianism constitute an important aspect of it. These attitudes are formed early and are quite resistant to change during life. If a generation grows up less committed to democracy and more open to authoritarianism, this is not a passing trend.
This is not just a temporary disturbance, but a long-term weakening of democratic resilience. In Europe, economic insecurity during the crisis years appears to have affected the way young people view democracy, even if the long-term impact is difficult to measure precisely.
It is striking that even in countries with strong, stable democratic institutions that protect basic rights – often alongside strong social security systems – young people who came of age or were young adults during the crisis years have become more open to authoritarian alternatives.”
Do the youth really care about politics? Is this fascination/nostalgia for authoritarianism an energetic ‘parti pris’ or just the symptom of a disillusionment with the current political staff?
KS: “People often confuse two very different things: temporary political discontent among young people and long-term changes within specific generations. Our research shows both. In every year of the survey, younger people were always slightly more critical of democracy (this in itself is not a threat if they end up less critical of democracy as they get older). This was an almost universal pattern. What is different now is that in many (though not all) European and African countries these judgmental attitudes among today’s younger generations seem to persist. It’s not just a phase they’re going to get over.”
