Promising democracy, legitimizing autocracy? Perceptions of regime democraticness among university students in Morocco

Following democracy’s global proliferation, authoritarian governments widely use promises of democracy as a legitimation strategy. This article argues that this strategy is facilitated by the existence of varying notions of democracy. In authoritarian contexts, democracy is generally framed in narrow terms, such as holding elections. This renders it compatible with political practices of electoral or liberalized authoritarian regimes. As a result, citizens may perceive their authoritarian regime as democratic and, in extension, legitimate. I show that perceptions of regime democraticness are significantly influenced by attitudes towards and participation in elections and related political institutions, using original survey data from Morocco. By contrast, subjective assessments of individual freedoms had no consistent impact on respondents’ regime perception. A major conclusion from these findings is that authoritarian regimes may seek to justify and strengthen their rule by attempting to induce constituents’ perception of living in a democracy.