Popular Legal Attitudes and the Political Order: Comparative Evidence from Georgia, Russia and Ukraine

Abstract

Using data from nationally representative surveys in 2015 in Georgia, Russia and Ukraine, we show that legal attitudes are shaped by experiences within a country’s specific political-legal order. Many who expressed support for legality when their own needs were at stake became more willing to evade the law when reminded of elites doing so. And, in an authoritarian, rule-by-law setting, expressed respect for legality correlates negatively with support for democracy. Whether a country’s most democracy-supporting citizens more strongly support legality will depend on whether the legal system is a fair and neutral arena or a tool of undemocratic political authorities.