Research

Abstract

The use of the Internet to access news has an impact on African citizens’ perceptions of democracy. Using repeated cross-sectional data from the Afrobarometer survey across 35 African countries over the period 2011–2018, along with an instrumental variable approach, allows addressing potential endogeneity bias between Internet use and citizens’ perceptions. The results indicate that using the Internet to obtain information has a significant negative effect on both the preference for and the perception of the extent of democracy. This negative effect is due to several factors. First, Internet use erodes trust in government institutions, mainly in the parliament and the ruling party. It increases the perception that parliament members are involved in corruption. In addition, the erosion of trust is correlated with more political mobilization, in the form of greater participation in demonstrations and voting. These results echo the existing literature and, in particular, hint at the risks of reversal of nascent democratization processes. Finally, the Internet seems to act as a misinformation channel. On the one hand, Internet users’ perception of the extent of democracy and perception of the corruption of legislators diverge from experts’ assessments. On the other hand, Internet use increases the likelihood of inconsistency in respondents’ stances on their preference for democracy. The Internet is not a neutral information channel: it tends to undermine citizens’ preference for democracy while also altering perceptions about political institutions.

How does immigration challenge the identities and cultural homogeneity of receiving societies? This paper investigates this question by analyzing the impact of immigration on cultural heterogeneity in Europe between 2004 and 2018. It combines regional cultural fractionalization indices derived from the European Social Survey with immigration shares from the European Labor Force Survey. The findings indicate that immigration increases the salience of birthplace along cultural lines and fosters a shift toward nativist identities and nationalism among the population. In response to the perceived challenge of cultural diversity, natives increasingly align their norms and values with those of the broader native-identified population.