Respect for US democracy in decline around the world, Pew survey finds
- ‘Few believe US democracy, at least in its current state, serves as a good model for other nations,’ the report says
- US President Joe Biden has made the strength of democracy a key tenet in both his foreign and domestic policies
The world’s advanced economies still look with envy at America’s military strength, its technological prowess, its universities and its high-quality entertainment – but much less so nowadays at perhaps the most famous US export of all: democracy.
These were the results of a new survey from the Pew Research Centre, which found that opinions of America’s political system have declined overseas even as other forms of US power remain in high regard.
The question had three answers: US democracy is a good example for other countries to follow; used to be a good example, but not in recent years; or has never been a good example.
“Few believe US democracy, at least in its current state, serves as a good model for other nations,” said the report, drawn from responses to Pew’s global attitudes survey, which surveyed more than 16,000 adults from 16 advanced economies between March and May, and another 2,500 adults in the US during early February.
More than half of the global respondents – 57 per cent – said that US democracy used to be a good example, “but has not been in recent years”, the report said.
