Abstract
Despite the fact that autocracies are frequently portrayed in art as states where all power belongs to a single person or a group of people, such states need mass political support. The latter signals that attempts at changing the status quo have little chances of success, lowers the probability of violent revolutions, and forms democratic legitimacy, while at the same time weakening the political role of civilian population. A significant share of studies on mass support of autocracies considers economic factors as key variables. Nevertheless, a number of papers point out that such states could be rather resilient to economic shocks. Social psychology has a number of approaches that could offer additional explanations of dynamics of political support in autocracies. This article attempts to systematize results of publications that maintain the significance of these theories. Potential explanatory models include social identity theory, value theories of Inglehart-Welzel and Schwartz as well as Big Five personality traits and emotions in politics.
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