Around the world 70% of people support the concept of Direct Democracy versus 77% support for Representative Democracy. That’s despite Direct Democracy not even existing yet.
We share important information here from Pew Research.
Full details of this research at https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2024/02/28/representative-democracy-remains-a-popular-ideal-but-people-around-the-world-are-critical-of-how-its-working/
Enthusiasm for Representative Democracy has slipped in many nations since 2017. And the survey highlights significant criticisms of the way it’s working. Across the countries included in the study:
42% say no political party in their country represents their views.
A median of 59% are dissatisfied with how their democracy is functioning.
74% think elected officials don’t care what people like them think.
The share of the public describing representative democracy as a very good way to govern is down significantly in 11 of the 22 countries where data from 2017 is available (trends are not available in Australia and the U.S.).
Widespread belief that elected officials are out of touch
One factor driving people’s dissatisfaction with the way democracy is functioning is the belief that politicians are out of touch and disconnected from the lives of ordinary citizens.
In every country surveyed, people who feel politicians don’t care about people like them are less satisfied with democracy.
Across 24 nations, a median of 74% say elected officials in their country don’t care what people like them think.
People rate their country’s leaders, parties and overall state of democracy poorly
The survey asked respondents how well they feel democracy is working in their country, and it also asked them to rate major national leaders and parties. Opinions on these questions may have shifted since the survey was conducted in spring 2023, but the overall results provide a relatively grim picture of the political mood in many nations. (Refer to Appendix A for details about the specific leaders and parties we asked about.)
- There are only seven countries where half or more are satisfied with the way democracy is working.
- Among the 24 national leaders included on the survey, just 10 are viewed favorably by half or more of the public.
- Opposition leaders fare even worse – only six get favorable reviews.
- Across the countries polled, we asked about 87 different political parties. Just 21 get a positive rating.
- Opinions vary greatly across regions and countries, but to some extent, we see more positive views about leaders and parties in middle-income nations.
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