Performance and Political Support

Chapter 4 presents an analysis of how Baltic people evaluate the performance of their respective political systems. The focus is thus on the evaluative dimension of political culture: do people get what they expect from their governments; and if not, what are the implications for system support and democratic stability in the region? It starts with a conceptual discussion about political culture and public support. It continues with an overview of performance-related public attitudes in the three Baltic countries, looking at ethnic differences as well as cross-national and longitudinal patterns. In the third part, a fourfold typology for classification of different political subcultures is introduced before the question of system support is discussed in light of democratic stability.