This project employs advanced survey data analysis, experimental approaches, and social media analysis to uncover when and why voters like rebel politicians at different levels of government. The project will characterise the nature of rebellion by looking at how politicians communicate with citizens. Our survey experiments will tease out the impact of different theoretical causal mechanisms that could explain why voters like politicians who show independence from their party or the system as a whole. Do voters like rebels because they truly value their “independence?” Do they value rebels only when they perceive that rebellion pulls policy in an ideological direction they prefer? Do they truly value behaviour that undermines the system? Are there differences in how voters perceive individual members rebelling from the party line compared with views of populist parties who rebel against the entire system? And, are there differences across different voters and countries? In answering these questions, the project will provide a deeper understanding of why voters support rebellious behaviour and why politicians engage in it. Our answers will help us to understand when and how rebellion undermines, or alternatively, supports democracy across Europe and beyond.