THE POLITICAL CULTURE OF DEMOCRACY IN JAMAICA: 2006

1. THE POLITICAL CULTURE OFDEMOCRACY IN JAMAICA: 2006

2. The Paradoxes of Toleration in Jamaica by Balford A. Lewis University of the West Indies, Jamaica September 27, 2007

3. The Paradoxes of Toleration in Jamaica PRESENTATION AGENDA • Citizens’ attitude to the System and Practices of Democracy • Conceptions of Democracy and the Value of Tolerance • Social Tolerance – Indicator and Determinants • Political Tolerance- Indicators and Determinants • Implications for Democracy • Questions/Comments

4. The Paradoxes of Toleration in Jamaica

7. The Paradoxes of Toleration in Jamaica Sample Design • National Survey using national sample of 1595 persons, 18 years and over • Self-weighted sample, designed to be representative of the voting population in terms of gender, age and geographic distribution based on the 2001 Population Census of Jamaica • Margin of error of + or - 2.5%

8. Spatial Distribution of Respondents

9. The Paradoxes of Toleration in Jamaica Attitude to Democracy • How do Jamaicans view democracy as a system of government? • Given a choice, what would be their regime preference? • What system of democracy do they prefer? • How do they evaluate the performance of their democracy?

10. Preference for Democracy among Jamaicans DEM2. With which of the following statements do you agree the most? - To people like me, it doesn’t matter whether a regime is democratic or non-democratic - Democracy is preferable to any other type of government - In some circumstances, an authoritarian government can be preferable to a democratic one - Don’t know.

11. Support for Democratic System of Government(ING4 - Democracy may have problems, but it is better than any other form of government. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?)

12. DEM11 Do you think that our country needs a government with an iron fist, or that problems can be resolved with everyone’s participation?(1) Iron fist (2) Participation for all (8) Doesn’t respond

13. Level of Support for Electoral Democracy AUT1 There are people who say that we need a strong leader that does not not have to be elected by the vote, others say that although things may not work, electoral democracy, that is, the popular vote, is always the best. What do you think?

14. Satisfaction with the Performance of DemocracyPN4. In general, would you say that you are very satisfied, satisfied, dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the way in which democracy is works in Jamaica?

15. The Paradoxes of Toleration in Jamaica How do Jamaicans conceptualize this democracy that they so strongly favor?

16. Alternative Conceptions of Democracy, Jamaica

17. Paradox # 1 Strong endorsement of the key principles of democracy among Jamaicans – Democracy defined mostly in terms of: • Liberty and freedom • Participation of all/minorities • Human Rights Yet, Jamaicans are vehemently oppossed to certain rights and privileges being accorded to a particular groups in society The problem of exceptionally low level of social tolerance among Jamaicans

18. Indicator of Social ToleranceD5. And now, changing the topic and thinking of homosexuals, how strongly do you approve or disapprove of such people being permitted to seek public office?

19. Social Tolerance – Comparative Perspective

20. Determinants of Social Tolerance • Support for the Rule of Law? • Religious Persuasion? • Social and Economic Factors?

21. Respect for the Rule of Law AOJ8 In order to capture criminals, do you think that the authorities should always respect the law or occasionally, they can operate at the margin of the law? • They should always respect the law • Can operate at the margin of the law occasionally • Don’t know

22. Respect for the Rule of Law and Social Tolerance

23. Religion and Social Tolerance

24. Wealth and Social Tolerance

25. Sex and Social Tolerance

26. Area of Residence and Social Tolerance

27. Educational Level and Social Tolerance

28. Level of Education and Social Tolerance

29. Paradox # 2 • Exceptionally low level of social tolerance yet exceptionally high political tolerance • So very little respect for the basic rights of those with different personal and lifestyles choices • But broad acceptance of the rights of others, especially minority groups, to participate in the political process

30. Indicators of Political and Social Tolerance, Jamaica

31. Indicators of Political Tolerance

32. Comparative Perspective on Political Tolerance

33. Comparative Perspective on Social and Political Tolerance

34. The Paradoxes of Toleration in Jamaica Determinants of Political Tolerance

35. Political Tolerance and Interpersonal Trust

36. Political Tolerance and Sex

37. Political Tolerance and Education

38. Political and Social Tolerance

39. Tolerance, System Support and Political Stability

40. System Support Indicators – Jamaica,2006

41. Average System Support from a Comparative Perspective

42. Empirical Relationship between System Support and Political Tolerance in Jamaica - 2006

43. Tolerance and Political Stability • Political attitudes of Jamaicans indicate that the prospect for the stability of the Jamaican democracy is highly favourable • Given the relatively low level of system support, high level of Political Tolerance a major factor in the prospect for stability

44. Attitudes Conducive to Stable Democracy - Comparative Perspective

45. Policy ImplicationsIncrease level of Tolerance by improving the content, quality and coverage of higher education

46. End of Presentation Questions and Comments?

47. THANK YOU