U.S. foreign policy experts are more pessimistic about democracy than their European counterparts
Foreign policy experts on opposite sides of the Atlantic have markedly different assessments of the way democracy is working in their countries.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Foreign policy experts on opposite sides of the Atlantic have markedly different assessments of the way democracy is working in their countries.
Last fall, large shares of Italians said they distrust parliament, that the national economic situation is bad and that politicians don’t care what people like them think.
Donald Trump’s international image remains poor, and ratings for the U.S. have declined since his election. Yet most people around the world still want the U.S., not China, as the world’s leading power.
Most Indians hold a favorable opinion of Narendra Modi, and many are content with the state of the economy and the country’s direction. The public is also satisfied with the way their democracy is working.
Though Japanese are split on their democracy’s performance, most endorse representative democracy and back referenda on major policy issues.
Just 8% of Russians believe the Russian Revolution was the country’s most important event of the past century. A 34% plurality says it was World War II.
Around the world, few people trust Putin to do the right thing when it comes to international affairs. While Russia is not seen as particularly threatening in most countries, it is viewed unfavorably in many.
Surveys of foreign policy experts and the general public reveal a division between these two groups over the role of the people’s voice in governing, as well as on the consequences of Trump’s presidency.
Filipinos have positive views of the U.S. and China and their respective leaders, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. They also approve of their own leader, President Rodrigo Duterte, and his war on drugs.
Ahead of the June 8th general election, the British public is split on Brexit’s consequences and unsure of how much to trust their national government.
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