Democracies ‘not democratic’ say many in West, who see banks, social media as threats to political system
- In Europe, 52 per cent say EU does not act in interests of the people, while most Westerners see US having negative impact on democracy
Only half of the world’s population thinks their country is democratic, a survey published on Tuesday found, with many Western Europeans viewing banks and social media as threats to democracy.
The survey of over 150,000 people from 57 countries by German polling firm Dalia Research and Alliance of Democracies Foundation found that even in democracies, 38 per cent of people are dissatisfied with the state of affairs.
“Right now, the biggest risk for democracies is that the public no longer sees them as democratic,” said Nico Jaspers, CEO of Dalia Research.
People surveyed in the United States, which is preparing for the 2020 presidential election, were split as to whether their country was democratic – 46 per cent said it was and 40 per cent said it was not democratic enough.
Over half of Americans surveyed said the US has had a positive impact on democracy around the world, though majorities in Western countries such as Canada and most of Europe felt the impact had been negative.
In Europe, 52 per cent thought the EU does not act in the interest of most Europeans, with the most criticism coming from Italy, France and Greece.