The findings emphasize the role of leader attachment and affective polarization.

Synthesizing research across subfields, there’s 5 theoretical explanations for why people support backsliding: personalistic leadership, affective polarization, populism, majoritarianism, and entanglement with the law. It then test these accounts using panel data.

The strongest predictors of support for the judicial overhaul are attachment to the leader (Netanyahu) and dislike of partisan opponents (center and left parties), followed by a majoritarian worldview. Populist attitudes were not associated with support.