Public support for democracy is vital to its resilience, but situational threats like terrorism can shift attitudes, increasing support for non-democratic alternatives. Citizens facing security threats may favor regimes perceived as more effective against terrorism, even at the expense of liberal rights. While much research has examined democratic backsliding in established democracies, less is known about how terrorism affects public attitudes in non-Western regions where regimes struggle to combat such threats effectively. This study explores whether exposure to terrorism undermines public support for democracy in non-Western contexts. We employ two empirical strategies. First, we conduct an online survey experiment in Burkina Faso, priming respondents on terrorism to assess its impact on democratic attitudes. Second, we use geocoded observational data by matching AfroBarometer respondents from all African countries to the nearest terrorist attack locations at the time of their interviews. This proximity serves as a measure of terrorism exposure, allowing us to estimate its causal effect on democratic support using the (random) timing of attacks. By combining survey experiments with observational data, this study provides a comprehensive analysis of how terrorism influences democratic attitudes. It aims to uncover whether such threats universally erode democracy or create opportunities to strengthen it in non-Western contexts.