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Drawing democracy: popular conceptions of democracy in Germany

Author

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  • Lina Silveira

    (University of Passau)

  • Horst-Alfred Heinrich

    (University of Passau)

Abstract

There are various ways to measure attitudes toward democracy. But what does democracy mean? Here, it is inquired into democracy as concept by getting insight into people’s understanding of it. In the paper, first, a four-dimensional concept is theoretically proposed. Furthermore, it is assumed that word-based questionnaires only provide limited access to the four dimensions of meaning. Consequently, a visualbased methodology is developed and applied. In the empirical part of the study, German citizens were invited to draw and verbally explain their images of democracy. This research yields evidence for following assumptions: (1) visual research reveals that democracy is indeed perceived as multifaceted concept in society together with reinforcement of results found by word-base methodologies; (2) the visual approach brings new insights to the realm of democratic theory; and (3) the four-dimensional approach is a possible framework to cluster the variety of definitions that might be offered by ordinary citizens to the concept of democracy.

Suggested Citation

  • Lina Silveira & Horst-Alfred Heinrich, 2017. "Drawing democracy: popular conceptions of democracy in Germany," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 51(4), pages 1645-1661, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:qualqt:v:51:y:2017:i:4:d:10.1007_s11135-016-0357-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s11135-016-0357-7
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. K.E. Boulding, 1959. "National images and international systems," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 3(2), pages 120-131, June.
    2. H.-A. Heinrich, 2005. "Who Perceives the Collective Past and How? Are Refusals on Open-ended Questions Substantial Answers?," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 39(5), pages 559-579, October.
    3. Sendhil Mullainathan & Marianne Bertrand, 2001. "Do People Mean What They Say? Implications for Subjective Survey Data," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(2), pages 67-72, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Alexander P. Martin, 2021. "A mixed-methods assessment of civil political culture during a democratic transition. The case of Tunisian civil society organisations," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 55(6), pages 2189-2218, December.
    2. Quinton Mayne & Brigitte Geißel, 2018. "Don’t Good Democracies Need “Good” Citizens? Citizen Dispositions and the Study of Democratic Quality," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 6(1), pages 33-47.

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