To Belong: Feeling “At Home” and Support for Democracy

Avery Lord — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 20:04:13 +0000

To Belong: Feeling “At Home” and Support for Democracy Avery Lord Tue, 06/16/2026 - 14:04

By: Jennifer Fitzgerald, Kathryn Schauer, Rachel Janie O’Neal, Pavel Bačovský

Abstract:

What explains support for democracy? We ask this question in the context of scholarly assertions that democratic values are weakening among citizens of long-time democracies, most notably among young people. We leverage a panel survey of young Swedes to explore the development of pro-democratic sentiments over time. Investigating whether belonging—specifically, feeling “at home” in Sweden, the municipality, and the neighborhood—strengthens support for democracy, we find that it does positively influence principled support for democracy. In relative terms, we find the impact of belonging to be stronger than that of well-known predictors such as socio-economic status and social capital. Our analysis stands to inform scholarship on democratic values and to illuminate the implications of belonging for political behavior. It also offers insight into the ways that societal integration in the form of belonging can develop among young democratic citizens: through feeling integrated into a range of social communities.

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Crime, Violence, and Political Participation

Avery Lord — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 19:14:50 +0000

Crime, Violence, and Political Participation Avery Lord Tue, 06/16/2026 - 13:14

Crime, Violence, and Political Participation

By: Carew Boulding, Shawnna Mullenax, Kathryn Schauer

Abstract:

The paper explores the relationship between crime victimization and political participation, making the argument that the observed (and oft-cited) relationship in surveys is the result of response bias. We show that people who are more extroverted, efficacious, and opinionated are more likely to respond positively to a question about victimization, and they are more likely to participate in politics. The implications of this finding are important and widespread—both for survey researchers interested in sensitive questions and for research on the relationship between crime and political engagement.

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