“Dissatisfied democrats, but democrats nonetheless?” Unraveling the democratic paradox between populism and preference for alternative political systems

Populism presents a democratic paradox, portrayed both as a democratic threat and a fundamental tenet of democracy. We investigate the paradoxical relationship between populism and pro- and anti-democratic attitudes, focusing on the role of status quo rejection, feelings of powerlessness, and social justice support. Study 1 (United Kingdom, N = 293) and Study S1 (United Kingdom, N = 350, pre-registered) show that populist attitudes are associated with decreased support for representative democracy and increased support for direct democracy and autocracy. These relationships are explained by status quo rejection. Study 2 (United States, N = 397, pre-registered) experimentally shows that a populist worldview increases support for such alternative regimes due to dissatisfaction with the status quo and feelings of powerlessness. Study 3 (United Kingdom, N = 298) disentangles the pro versus anti-democratic facets of populism, showing that social justice positively mediates the relationship between populist attitudes and direct democracy, while negatively mediating the relationship between populist attitudes and autocracy. Study 4 (United States, N = 400, pre-registered) experimentally demonstrates that populist attitudes may lead to greater support for direct democracy due to increased support for social justice and to greater support for autocracy due to increased feelings of powerlessness. Together, these studies elucidate the complex populism–democracy nexus.