Democracy has been sick for some time in many countries and this erosion is taken advantage of by populism to make way for itself even among the most stable ones. However, a study by the Pew Research Center reveals that citizens not only decisively support it but also want to improve it. The vast majority believe that there is no alternative to democracy, although there must be one for the political elites that manage it. They distrust their leaders and believe that it is best to limit their power by offering citizens a more decisive role in public affairs.
Richard Wike, director of the study that was presented in Washington, recognizes that the decline of democracy has been palpable for years, but that, at the same time, “the supporters of authoritarian systems are a minority, although in some countries this is not the case.” be so.” Support for direct democracy and, likewise, for technocratic governments demonstrate that there is a future for parliamentary systems.
The study was carried out last spring in 24 countries on five continents. 77% of the thousands of respondents consider that democracy is a good form of government. They appreciate the values ??associated with it, such as impartial justice, periodic elections, freedom of expression, gender equality, unrestricted access to the Internet and the free functioning of opposition and human rights organizations.
This support does not hide the serious pathologies suffered by representative democracy. 59%, for example, think that it does not work well in their country. In Spain it is 71%, the second highest figure among Europeans, behind France, which has 73% critics.
Of all the ailments of democracy, none is more serious than a lack of trust in political leaders. “People are very frustrated with them,” admits Richard Wike. 74% consider that they do not represent them. The situation is very serious in Spain. It is the country with the highest discontent among the 24 in the study. 85% of Spaniards consider that politicians do not care about the needs and opinions of citizens.
The way to solve this mistrust is not by giving new opportunities to political elites, but by taking away their power. “People want to have a more prominent role in decision-making,” explains Wike, “and for their voice to have much more impact.”
The good thing for democracy is that citizens do not go beyond it. On the contrary, he wants to take the reins. Support for direct democracy (70%) and technocratic governments (58%) has been increasing for years. 65% of Spaniards and 61% of Germans, for example, would support a government of experts.
People also want more referendums on key issues, reform electoral systems to make them more representative, and limit the terms of office not only of politicians but also of judges.
Citizens would also like to have access to better information to be able to participate more effectively in political life. He believes that better information would allow for greater tolerance and involvement in public affairs.
Another great improvement would be to increase the presence of women, young people and people of humble origins in parliaments, courts and other democratic institutions. Those surveyed, however, believe that democracy would worsen if there were more businessmen, more union members and more religious politicians.
Religion is one of the great divisions that can be seen between the global south and the advanced democracies in the north. In Brazil, Mexico, India or South Africa, for example, it is valued that politicians have strong religious convictions.
Likewise, support for authoritarian systems is greater in middle-income countries in the south. Taking all the 24 countries studied, 15% are in favor of a military dictatorship and 26% are in favor of an autocracy, systems where the leader acts without interference from Parliament or the justice system.
Support for this type of authoritarian leader, whether civilian or military, reaches 85% in India, 71% in Mexico and 57% in Brazil. In high-income countries it is lower, but not negligible. In Spain, 22% support it, in the United States 32% and in the United Kingdom, 37%, the highest figure among European democracies.
The people who choose authoritarianism as a form of government in advanced democracies are conservative and, many of them, poor.
Richard Wike admits that “there are worrying signs”, both in the decline of people who think that democracy is very good and in the rise of support for the extreme right.
Democracy as a very good system has lost support in Sweden, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, France and the United Kingdom. Authoritarianism, for its part, is gaining followers. In Germany it has gone from 6% in the last survey in 2017 to 16% today. In Poland it has risen from 15% to 25%. They are powerful and alarming minorities due to the upward trend.
“Global attitudes – explains Wike – are changing gradually and what we see in recent times is going in a negative direction.”
The Pew Center, as Wike highlights, wanted to give a voice to anonymous citizens so that their opinions, gathered in a sociological study, can have an impact on the governments of their countries.