(Mis)perception of Party Congruence and Satisfaction with Democracy

This study investigates the implications of perceived ideological incongruence between voters and their supported parties for satisfaction with democracy. Using panel data from the British Election Study, we first demonstrate that greater misperceptions of party positions correspond to higher perceived ideological distance from one’s preferred party. We then show that such increased perceived incongruence is associated with reduced satisfaction with democracy, even when accounting for actual incongruence based on expert surveys of party positions. This pattern is also seen when using several alternative measures and specifications, as well as in cross-sectional data from Europe. The findings suggest subjective perceptions of representation, potentially distorted by misperceptions, play a role in how ideological congruence relates to citizen attitudes toward the political system. While potential endogeneity warrants caution in interpreting the relationship, the results suggest that potentially inaccurate beliefs about parties can distort the link between representation and satisfaction with democratic performance.