What Can Improve Democracy?
Amid growing discontent with the state of democracy globally, we asked over 30,000 people what changes would make their democracy work better.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Amid growing discontent with the state of democracy globally, we asked over 30,000 people what changes would make their democracy work better.
Across 27 countries surveyed, people generally see social media as more of a good thing than a bad thing for democracy.
We asked over 30,000 people what would help democracy work better in their country. Key themes in their responses were addressing basic needs and improving or rebuilding the political system.
A 24-country survey finds a median of 59% are dissatisfied with how their democracy is functioning, and 74% think elected officials don’t care what people like them think.
The share of the public that supports authoritarian systems ranges from 85% in India to 8% in Sweden.
The majority of Americans say preventing terrorism and reducing the flow of illegal drugs into the country are top foreign policy priorities.
Most think social media has made it easier to manipulate and divide people, but they also say it informs and raises awareness.
74% of Republicans say social media has been more of a bad thing for U.S. democracy, compared with a smaller majority of Democrats (57%).
People in advanced and emerging economies have mixed feelings about social media’s impact on political life.
As daunting challenges from Russia, China and a flagging global economy ripple across the world, Americans and Germans continue to say that relations between their countries are good. Most Americans and Germans continue to see each other as partners on protecting European security, and publics in each country are willing to support using military action to protect themselves and their allies.
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ABOUT PEW RESEARCH CENTER Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts.
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