By Alan Cooperman and James Bell

Pakistanis will go to the polls Saturday in parliamentary elections that mark the first democratic transition from one elected civilian government to another in their country’s 66-year history. But support for democracy is thin in Pakistan, according to a Pew Research Center survey of Muslims around the world. By a nearly two-to-one margin (56% to 29%), Pakistani Muslims say they would prefer “a leader with a strong hand” over “a democratic form of government” to solve their country’s problems. This is among the lowest levels of support for democracy in the 37 countries and territories where the question was asked, as the chart on the right shows and a new Pew Research infographic illustrates.

In addition, most of Pakistan’s Muslims doubt that they can have any real political influence. Two-thirds of Pakistani Muslims either completely agree (53%) or mostly agree (13%) with the statement that “people like me don’t have any say about what the government does.” Just 25% disagree, either completely (20%) or mostly (5%).

The Pew Research survey of Pakistani Muslims (who make up 96% of the country’s population, according to a December 2012 Pew Research demographic study) was conducted in November 2011, well before the current election campaign. A more recent Pew Research poll, conducted in March of this year, shows that most Pakistanis think the country is headed in the wrong direction, and 83% give an unfavorable rating to the incumbent President Asif Ali Zardari of the Pakistan People’s Party.

More than a half dozen political parties are vying for seats in parliament, including some opposition parties that formally identify as religious or Islamic. In the survey of Muslims around the world, respondents were asked to compare Islamic political parties with other parties. A plurality of Pakistan’s Muslims say Islamic parties are about the same as other parties (39%). Just 10% say Islamic parties are worse, while 29% see Islamic parties as better than other parties.

More broadly, many of Pakistan’s Muslims think that religious leaders should have a role in politics. About half say that religious leaders should have either “some influence” (27%) or a “large influence” (27%) in political matters, while about a quarter say religious leaders should have “not too much influence” (12%) or “no influence at all” (14%).

Alan Cooperman is the associate director of research for the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, and James Bell is the Pew Research Center’s director of international survey research.

In addition, most of Pakistan’s Muslims doubt that they can have any real political influence. Two-thirds of Pakistani Muslims either completely agree (53%) or mostly agree (13%) with the statement that “people like me don’t have any say about what the government does.” Just 25% disagree, either completely (20%) or mostly (5%).

The Pew Research survey of Pakistani Muslims (who make up 96% of the country’s population, according to a December 2012 Pew Research demographic study) was conducted in November 2011, well before the current election campaign. A more recent Pew Research poll, conducted in March of this year, shows that most Pakistanis think the country is headed in the wrong direction, and 83% give an unfavorable rating to the incumbent President Asif Ali Zardari of the Pakistan People’s Party.

More than a half dozen political parties are vying for seats in parliament, including some opposition parties that formally identify as religious or Islamic. In the survey of Muslims around the world, respondents were asked to compare Islamic political parties with other parties. A plurality of Pakistan’s Muslims say Islamic parties are about the same as other parties (39%). Just 10% say Islamic parties are worse, while 29% see Islamic parties as better than other parties.

More broadly, many of Pakistan’s Muslims think that religious leaders should have a role in politics. About half say that religious leaders should have either “some influence” (27%) or a “large influence” (27%) in political matters, while about a quarter say religious leaders should have “not too much influence” (12%) or “no influence at all” (14%).

More than a year after the first stirrings of the Arab Spring, there continues to be a strong desire for democracy in Arab and other predominantly Muslim nations. Solid majorities in Lebanon, Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia and Jordan believe democracy is the best form of government, as do a plurality of Pakistanis.

Indeed, these publics do not just support the general notion of democracy – they also embrace specific features of a democratic system, such as competitive elections and free speech.

A substantial number in key Muslim countries want a large role for Islam in political life. However, there are significant differences over the degree to which the legal system should be based on Islam.

The United States is not seen as promoting democracy in the Middle East. In newly democratic Tunisia, only about three-in-ten believe the American response to the political upheaval in their country has had a positive impact.

On the eve of the first presidential election of the post-Mubarak era, Egyptians remain hopeful about the future of their country, and they strongly desire both an improved economy and the democratic freedoms they were denied under the previous regime.

As Egyptians head to the polls, the economy is their biggest concern, according to the Pew survey conducted March 19 to April 10. Roughly eight-in-ten (81%) consider improving the economy a very important priority for the country.

And despite a tumultuous and often difficult year, support for democracy has not ebbed. Two-in-three Egyptians (67%) believe democracy is the best form of government, basically unchanged from 71% in 2011.

Read the full report.

A majority of Russians support public protests that followed the December 2011 parliamentary vote, yet 47% believe the election was fair. Notably, 72% of Russians say they have a favorable view of Vladimir Putin and 62% hold a positive opinion of Dmitri Medvedev.

Read the full report and see detailed findings on these subjects:

• National conditions
• Reaction to presidential election, protests
• Views of leaders
• Nationalism and Russia’s global image

Last year, Egyptians took to the streets to protest their dissatisfaction with then-President Hosni Mubarak, as one of many events that became known as the “Arab Spring.” A new nationwide survey by the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project finds two-in-three Egyptians want democracy in their country, saying it is the best form of government and 52% are optimistic about the nation’s future.

Egyptians also want Islam to play a major role in society, and most believe the Quran should shape the country’s laws. A growing number sees Islam as playing a major role in the political life of the country – 66% currently compared with 47% in 2010. At the same time, a larger minority expresses reservations about religion’s increasing influence in politics.

By a margin of 61% to 17%, Egyptians say Saudi Arabia is a better model than Turkey for the role of religion in government. However, most also endorse specific democratic rights and institutions that do not exist in Saudi Arabia, such as free speech, a free press, and equal rights for women.

The survey shows that Egyptians hold a less favorable view of President Barack Obama, with 29% expressing confidence in him, compared with 2009 when 42% of those surveyed expressed confidence. Only 19% of Egyptians hold a favorable view of the United States.

The report is based on a survey of 1,000 Egyptian adults, conducted between March 19 and April 10, 2012.

Read the full report for detailed findings on these subjects: 

• National conditions and views about the future
• Key leaders, groups and institutions
• Attitudes towards democracy
• Role of Islam in politics
• Views of the United States and Israel

Two decades ago, a survey conducted by the Times Mirror Center of the Soviet Union during perestroika showed a huge divide between hardline communists and the young, urban Russians who backed Boris Yeltsin and favoured a free market economy. Last weekend’s election results show how the divide endures 20 years on.

A new Pew Research Center Global Attitudes Project survey finds that just 50 per cent of Russians approve of multi-party politics and half consider it a misfortune that the Soviet Union no longer exists. By a margin of 57 to 32 per cent, Russians believe that having a “strong leader” is more important than a democratic government.

This is the conviction that, for more than a decade, fuelled the popularity of Vladimir Putin, but is now beginning to pall. His “look-at-me” style appeared when the economy was on the rise but a combination of inflation and stagnant living standards is prompting many Russian voters once again to signal their unhappiness with the status quo. This search for leaders who will deliver economically holds an important lesson for the Middle East where the democratic tide still swells despite panicked opposition from some and the efforts of others to regulate its tempo.

Writing in the Financial Times, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Pew Research Center President Andrew Kohut assess Russia’s struggles in trying to make the transition to a more open society and what principles for nurturing democracy it suggests for the countries in the Middle East swept up by this year’s Arab Spring.

See the full article (registration required) and the Pew Global Attitudes Project’s report on the subject: Confidence in Democracy and Capitalism Wanes in Former Soviet Union.