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Abstract

Do pro-freedom values beget pro-democratic values? Conventional wisdom in the comparative politics literature would suggest so. This research complicates those assertions. Using survey and social media data, I find that pro-freedom values are not only integral to the rhetorical strategies of authoritarian populist parties and politicians in the West, but that constituents who support those parties express stronger pro-freedom values than their more democratically-minded counterparts. These findings would suggest that authoritarian populists are decidedly more pro- freedom than previously theorized; casting significant doubt upon the claim that pro-freedom values and pro-democratic values are inherently linked. It concludes by considering the implications of these findings on the rise of authoritarian populism, and the study of freedom in comparative politics.

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