Valuing democracy: project findings

Read the latest research results of Dr Rebekka Kesberg’s project, which investigates the relationship between how people think about democracy and how likely they are to support political violence.

Protestors hold placards aloft in a pro-democracy rally

Survey results

In one of the first studies of her project, Dr Rebekka Kesberg and colleagues asked around 1000 UK citizens of various socioeconomic demographics:

The key takeaways

Initial findings from this project are that:

  • the more people value democracy, the less they support violent political action
  • younger citizens and women are slightly less likely to value democracy and slightly more likely to support political violence
  • people who feel close to the Green Party and Reform UK are most likely to support political violence.

How much do UK citizens value democracy?

Dr Kesberg asked participants how much they value democracy and support democratic governance:

  • almost 80% of participants said they value and support democracy
  • less than 3% said they do not 
  • the rest neither agreed nor disagreed. 

Older citizens and men were more likely to agree that democracy is important, while younger citizens and women were more likely to disagree or to not have a strong opinion. For instance:

  • less than 1% of 56-65 year-olds disagreed that democracy is important, and 11% felt neutral
  • less than 5% of 18-25 year-olds disagreed that democracy is important, and 24% felt neutral. 

How people of different age groups responded to the statement ‘I value democracy’

A graph illustrating that older people value democracy more than younger people

 

How women and men responded to the statement ‘I value democracy’ 

A graph illustrating research which shows men value democracy slightly more than women

Dr Kesberg and her team also asked participants about their political affiliations. They found that: 

  • around 85% of people who feel close to the Labour Party, the Conservative Party or the Liberal Democrats said they value democracy
  • less than 80% of people who feel close to Reform UK or do not feel close to any political party said they value democracy 

How people of different political affiliations respond to the statement ‘I value democracy’ 

A graph illustrating how much people of different political affiliations value democracy 

To what extent do UK citizens support violent action against government?

The researchers also asked participants the degree to which they would endorse action against the government. 

They asked about how much they agree with statements like ‘we need more agressive action against the government if it continues to refuse to listen’.  

Around 9% of participants agreed with statements like this, while 35% said ‘maybe’ and 53% disagreed. 

The team found a strong negative correlation between people who said they value democracy and how much they support violent action. That is, the more people value democracy, the less they support violent action. 

They found that older citizens and men were more likely to disagree that violent action is justified, while younger citizens and women were more likely to agree. For example:

  • among 18 to 25 year-old citizens 17% agreed and 40% disagreed
  • among 56 to 65 year-old citizens 6% agreed and 62% disagreed 
  • 60% of men disagreed with violent action compared to just 51% of women.

Support for violent action against government by age group

A graph illustrating research which shows 18-25 year olds are more likely to support political violence than older people 

  • Support for violent action against government by age group

    66-year-olds and above

    Do not agree: 60.17%

    Maybe: 37.17%

    Agree: 2.65%

    56-65-year-olds

    Do not agree: 62.39%

    Maybe: 31.62%

    Agree: 5.98%

    46-55-year-olds

    Do not agree: 55.23%

    Maybe: 37.2%

    Agree: 7.55%

    36-45-year-olds

    Do not agree: 56.62%

    Maybe: 31.32%

    Agree: 12.05%

    26-35-year-olds

    Do not agree: 50.3%

    Maybe: 38.18%

    Agree: 11.51%

    18-25-year-olds

    Do not agree: 40.16%

    Maybe: 42.62%

    Agree: 17.22%

Support for violent action against government by gender

A graph illustrating research which shows women are slightly more likely than men to support political violence

Exploring different political affiliations, the team found that people who feel close to the Green Party (~24%) or Reform UK were most likely to agree that they support violent political action (~16%). In contrast, people who feel close to the Labour Party (~5%) and the Conservatives (~3%) were less likely to agree.

Support for violent action against government by political affiliation 

A graph illustrating research that shows people affiliated with the Reform and Green parties are most likely to support political violence 

  • Support for violent action against government by political affiliation 

    No party

    Do not agree: 46.34%

    Maybe: 43.9%

    Agree: 9.75%

    Conservative

    Do not agree: 69.06%

    Maybe: 28.05%

    Agree: 2.87%

    Green

    Do not agree: 41.03%

    Maybe: 34.61%

    Agree: 24.35%

    Labour

    Do not agree: 64.2%

    Maybe: 30.42%

    Agree: 5.38%

    Liberal Democrats

    Do not agree: 72.46%

    Maybe: 18.84%

    Agree: 10.14%

    Reform

    Do not agree: 27.14%

    Maybe: 56.42%

    Agree: 16.42%

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