Confidence in Merit-Based Public Administration in the Context of Right-Wing Authoritarian Populism

Abstract

The rise of right-wing authoritarian populism (RWAP) challenges modern democratic governance and the legitimacy of a career-service, nonpartisan, merit-based public administration—hallmarks of modern democratic institutions. Using citizen survey data collected for the first 2 years of the Trump presidency, this study finds that some core features of RWAP are negatively related to confidence in public administration. Generally speaking, the populist tendency appears to be a significant source of negative affect toward public administration.