Antidiscrimination laws, policy knowledge and political support

DOI:	https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007123417000163
URL:	https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-jo...
Weitere URL:	https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/handle/document/66110
Dokumenttyp:	Zeitschriftenartikel
Erscheinungsjahr:	2019
Titel einer Zeitschrift oder einer Reihe:	British Journal of Political Science
Band/Volume:	49
Heft/Issue:	3
Seitenbereich:	1027-1044
Ort der Veröffentlichung:	Cambridge
Verlag:	Cambridge Univ. Pr.
ISSN:	0007-1234 , 1469-2112
Sprache der Veröffentlichung:	Englisch
Einrichtung:	Fakultät für Sozialwissenschaften > Soziologie mit Schwerpunkt Migration u. Integration (Helbling 2020-)
Fachgebiet:	320 Politik
Abstract:	This study investigates how antidiscrimination policy and related policy knowledge influence citizens’ support for the democratic system and its institutions. The article argues that antidiscrimination measures and knowledge about rights to equal treatment foster perceptions of government responsiveness, which increase political support among target groups and citizens who advocate egalitarianism. Utilizing a longitudinal design and more valid measures to resolve causality issues, the results of the empirical models show that increases in policy knowledge over time systematically predict higher political support, especially among individuals who hold egalitarian values. Individuals who are discriminated against express particularly high political support in contexts where antidiscrimination laws are expanded. Overall, the results amplify the role of policy knowledge as a key factor in studying policy feedback effects.