Understanding public confidence in the police within democratic and authoritarian regimes

Abstract

Studies of public confidence in the police have enabled important insights into the factors responsible for achieving public support. Empirically tested in overwhelmingly democratic nations, there remain questions about the generalizability of this work to different types of political regimes, especially authoritarian nations. Using Wave 7 of the World Values Survey (n = 38,838) we assess whether predictors of police confidence operate in similar or different ways within the most democratic and authoritarian nations. Both regimes share similar underpinnings of confidence (corruption, religious identity, neighborhood trust, and government performance). Yet, key differences exist (i.e., country-level differences measuring insecurity and instability, press freedom and corruption).