Majorities say the democratic principles tested on our survey are at least somewhat important. But often, underwhelming percentages describe democratic rights and institutions as very important.
The Chinese Communist Party is preparing for its 20th National Congress, an event likely to result in an unprecedented third term for President Xi Jinping. Since Xi took office in 2013, opinion of China in the U.S. and other advanced economies has turned more negative. How did it get to be this way?
Thirty years ago, a wave of optimism swept across Europe as walls and regimes fell, and long-oppressed publics embraced open societies, open markets and a more united Europe. Three decades later, a new Pew Research Center survey finds that few people in the former Eastern Bloc regret the monumental changes of 1989-1991.
Americans and Western Europeans largely agree about what is important for democracy, but they put greater emphasis on these principles than Central and Eastern Europeans.
Many across Western Europe and the U.S. would be willing to accept Muslims as family or as neighbors. Yet there is no consensus on whether Islam fits into these societies.
Despite broadly positive sentiments among Germans about the changes of the past 30 years, views differ in some notable ways in the former West and East.