Myth and Reality of the Legitimacy Crisis Explaining Trends and Cross-National Differences in Established Democracies

Carolien van Ham, Lecturer in Comparative Politics, University of New South Wales,Jacques Thomassen, Professor Emeritus of political Science, University of Twente,Kees Aarts, Professor of Political Science, University of Groningen,Rudy Andeweg, Professor of Political Science, Leiden University

Carolien van Ham is a Lecturer in Comparative Politics at the University of New South Wales. Her research focuses on legitimacy and political representation, election integrity and democratization. She has published articles in numerous scholarly journals such as the European Journal of Political Research, Democratization, Government and Opposition, West European Politics, and Electoral Studies.


Jacques Thomassen is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Twente and a member of the Netherlands Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences. His publications include Elections and Representative Democracy (OUP, 2014), The Legitimacy of the European Union after Enlargement (OUP, 2009), and The European Voter.

Kees Aarts is Professor of Political Science at the University of Twente and University of Groningen, and Dean of the Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences at the University of Groningen. His publications include Political Leaders and Democratic Elections (co-edited with Andre Blais and Herman Schmitt, OUP, 2011), and he currently servces as co-editor of Acta Politica.

Rudy Andeweg is Professor of Political Science at Leiden University and a member of the Netherlands Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is Chair of the European Consortium for Political Research 2015-2018. His publications include Governance and Politics of the Netherlands, fourth edition (co-authored with Galen A. Irwin, Palgrave, 2014), and Puzzles of Government Formation (co-edited with Lieven De Winter and Patrick Dumont, Routledge, 2011).

PART 1: Legitimacy and Representative Democracy: State of the Art, Concepts, and Trends
1. A legitimacy Crisis of Democracy?, Jacques Thomassen and Carolien van Ham
2. The Myth of Legitimacy Decline: An Empirical Evaluation of Trends in Political Support in Established Democracies, Carolien van Ham and Jacques Thomassen
Part 2: What is Wrong with Theories of Legitimacy Decline? Re-Appraising Existing Theories
3. Modernization, Globalization, and Satisfaction with Democracy, Kees Aarts, Carolien van Ham, and Jacques Thomassen
4. Social Capital and the Development of Political Support in Europe, Marc Hooghe and Anna Kern
5. Legitimacy Decline and Party Decline, Rudy Andeweg and David Farrell
6. Media Malaise and the Decline of Legitimacy: Any Room for Good News?, Peter van Aelst
Part 3: Diverging Trends? Explaining Within and Between Country Differences in Political Support
7. Institutions and Political Support: How Much Do Institutions Matter?, Shaun Bowler
8. Dissecting the Causal Chain from Quality of Government to Political Support, Tom van der Meer
9. Economic Outcomes, Quality of Governance, and Satisfaction with Democracy, Pedro Magalhaes
10. Political Support in the Wake of Policy Controversies, Peter Esaiasson, Mikael Gilljam, and Mikael Persson
Reflections and Conclusions
11. Studying Political Legitimacy: Findings, Implications and an Uneasy Question, Rudy Andeweg and Kees Aarts