Национальная гордость как медиатор доверия президенту (Случай России)

Полития: Анализ. Хроника. Прогноз. 2023. Т. 108. № 1. С. 126–140.

Зубарев Н. С.

How do leaders of non-democratic states retain support of
the population? One of the most popular explanations in the modern Political
Science suggests that people in non-democratic countries vote for incumbents
and generally have a positive attitude towards them, because the latter possess
maximum access to resources that can potentially be directed to improve the
lives of the people. However, such an explanatory model leaves out the expressive component of political behavior. Meanwhile, citizens of authoritarian
countries can sincerely express solidarity with the current rulers. The theory of
social identity reveals this side of the problem, offering alternative explanations
for the mechanisms of political support.
National identity as one of the forms of social identity shapes expectations,
norms and patterns of behavior that are associated with the idea of a perfect
representative of the nation. The specific characteristics of authoritarian
states nudge citizens towards behavior and attitudes that contribute to maintaining
the status quo. Moreover, since it is often difficult for an average person
to rationally assess the actual performance of government and correctly attribute
responsibility for social, political, and economic outcomes when deciding
which politician to support, voters tend to use cognitive “shortcuts” based
on their own satisfaction with life. The article proposes a hypothesis that national
pride plays the role of a mediator between subjective well-being and the
level of political support (operationalized via trust in president). The author
tested this hypothesis using survey data and reveled that the mediation effect of
pride for the nation is indeed present, however, it is partial. The results of the
analysis indicate that subjective well-being has a positive effect on the support
of the incumbent, both directly and through an increased national pride.

Keywords: субъективное благополучие, political support, политическая поддержка, политическое поведение, political behavior, subjective well-being, national pride, национальная гордость