Satisfaction with democracy is below 50% in eight of the nine Western countries included in a survey by the market research company Ipsos.
Fake news, lack of political transparency, extremism and corruption are seen as the biggest threats to the democratic system.
A survey of almost 10,000 people in Croatia, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States found low satisfaction with democracy in all countries except one, Sweden.
Gideon Skinner, senior director of UK policy at Ipsos, says that, “Despite strong support for democratic ideals in many countries, people are clearly disappointed with how democracy works in practice and worried about its future.”
Skinner adds that the survey, called “State of Democracy” [Estado da Democracia] showed that concern about democracy is growing rapidly in some countries, particularly the Netherlands and France, and that there is a strong desire for “radical change” in almost all.
Just less than a third of respondents in six countries – 18% in Croatia, 19% in France, 20% in the US, 26% in the UK, 27% in Spain and 29% in Italy – said they were satisfied with the functioning of democracy in their countries.
Opinions are more divided in the Netherlands (36% satisfied, 37% dissatisfied) and Poland (40% satisfied, 31% dissatisfied), while Sweden was the only country in the survey where the majority was satisfied with the functioning of democracy (65%).
In all countries surveyed, more people said that democracy had worsened more than it had improved in the last five years, with particularly negative opinions in France (81%) and the Netherlands (76%), which have been going through government crises. However, this perception is also clearly the majority in the United States (61%), Spain (58%) and the United Kingdom (58%). Poland is the exception to the rule, as 42% of respondents consider that it has improved and 30% that it has worsened.
With the exception of Sweden, respondents in other countries are mostly concerned about the future of democracy in the next five years: 86% in France, 80% in Spain, 75% in the United Kingdom and Poland, 74% in the Netherlands, 73% in Croatia, 69% in the USA and 64% in Italy.
In none of the nine countries did a majority of respondents feel that their government represented their views “very” or “fairly.”
Still, in eight countries a clear majority understands that democracy is crucial for society and that it is worth defending. The Croats were the only ones to consider that democracy should be conditioned on guaranteeing a good quality of life.
Regarding the main threats to democracy, disinformation was considered the biggest danger in France (56%), the United Kingdom (64%), Sweden (67%), the Netherlands (75%) and Poland (76%). In the US (63%) and southern European countries – Spain (73%), Croatia (80%) and Italy (47%, along with economic inequality) – respondents were more likely to identify corruption as the biggest threat.
Among the possible solutions for strengthening democracy, respondents mainly point to stricter anti-corruption laws with more effective enforcement, stronger regulation of social networks, better civic education and the protection of the independence of the courts.
Despite strong support for democracy, there is a perception in most countries that the system is rigged in favor of the rich and powerfulrather than working for everyone.
Support for radical change is high in most countries: 52% in Spain, 55% in Italy, 60% in Poland and the United Kingdom, 66% in France and 69% in Croatia. However, there was also a clear preference in all countries for consensus-seeking political leaders.