Democracies depend on the premise that all citizens – even losers (i.e., those who did not obtain the desired outcome in a decision-making process) - comply with the law and retain a certain level of support for the political system and its procedures. In established democracies with high levels of electoral integrity, such as Belgium, obtaining losers’ consent in the context of elections has not been challenging so far. However, when it comes to the acceptance of single policy decisions, also in these countries, fierce resistance has occurred. Losers of policy decisions do not only seem to question democratic procedures, but they also seem willing to accept non-democratic behaviour in reaction to their loss. It is hence essential to gain a better understanding of losers’ consent in the context of salient policy decisions. However, the existing literature on this topic is descriptive, does not focus on the origins of losers’ consent, and has mainly been conducted in the context of elections and referendums. This project aims to address this gap by studying the origins of losers’ consent in the scope of salient policy decisions. Methodologically, the project relies on focus groups, a lab experiment, and survey experiments. By providing a better understanding of the origins of losers’ consent in the context of salient policy decisions, this project offers innovative theoretical and empirical insights that are much required for maintaining a well-functioning democracy.