| Summary/Abstract |
Why do citizens support democracy under an authoritarian regime that has been waging a protracted civil war? This paper explores the attitude toward democracy expressed by urbanites who were protected by the incumbent, by employing the AsiaBarometer survey data collected during the Nepali civil war. Our empirical finding is that citizens’ favorable attitude toward democracy is fostered by economic downturn and deterioration in security. In Nepal, civil war weakened relations between the capital’s residents and rural peasants as the rebels extended their influence in the countryside and shrank the urban economic sectors. Rebel infiltration into Kathmandu furthermore posed a great threat to the residents.
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