Humanity’s Attitudes about Democracy and Political Leaders

Abstract

For decades, researchers have examined people’s beliefs across countries and over time using national samples of citizens. Yet, in an era when economies, societies, and policymaking have become increasingly interconnected, nation-states may no longer be the only or most relevant units of analysis for studying public opinion. To examine what people think about politics on a global scale, we develop tools for measuring public opinion that allow us to transcend national and regional boundaries. Starting with the world as the unit of analysis and humans as the relevant population, we measure and then explore patterns and trends in human preferences for democratic government and political leaders with the help of surveys collected around the world since 1994.

Public support for deliberative citizens' assemblies selected through sortition: Evidence from 15 countries

“…Although international surveys show that citizens of the world believe that democracy is the best system of collective governance (Anderson et al., 2021; Norris, 2011), the functioning of representative democracy is increasingly criticized. There is growing public distrust against politicians and parties (Cain et al., 2003; Van der Meer, 2017), which many consider as a cause of the decline in electoral participation (Grönlund & Setälä, 2007), the surge in populism (Norris & Inglehart, 2019) as well as a general threat to the survival of current political regimes (Rosanvallon, 2008).…”

Technocracy above partisanship? Comparing the appeal of non-partisan and partisan experts as ministers – A survey in 14 countries

“…As Bertsou (2022) recently showed, experts are liked by citizens to advise on policy decisions but not to have the final say. Even if satisfaction with democracy has eroded, citizens remain deeply attached to elections and to representative democracy as a model (see Anderson et al, 2021;Ferrín and Kriesi, 2016). It is even more true among elected politicians.…”

Democratic and Authoritarian Government Preferences in Times of Crisis

“…Democracy refers to a form of government in which the sovereign power resides in the people as a whole and is exercised either directly by them or through officials elected by them. Although democratic states have existed since antiquity, democracy is still regarded as one of the highest goods within our modern world (Anderson et al, 2021). In recent years, however, there has been a growing pessimism regarding the prospects of democracies.…”