The study effectively distinguishes between the roles of political knowledge and internal efficacy in shaping democratic evaluations. However, the potential confounding effects of media consumption habits and political misinformation are not explicitly addressed. Given that exposure to partisan media or misinformation could influence both knowledge levels and perceptions of democratic institutions, were any controls included to account for these factors? Additionally, the reliance on self-reported political efficacy may introduce response biases. Could the authors clarify whether alternative measures, such as behavioral indicators of political engagement, were considered to validate these self-assessments?
