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Dissatisfaction with democracy 'at record high' – BBC News, BBC News

Dissatisfaction with democracy 'at record high' – BBC News, BBC News
        

                                 France protest Image copyright                   Getty Images                                                        
Image caption                                      The survey warns democracy in many countries is in a “state of malaise”                              

Dissatisfaction with democracy within developed countries is at its highest level in almost years, according to University of Cambridge researchers.

Academics have analyzed what they say is the largest global dataset on attitudes towards democracy, based on four million people in 3, 549 surveys.

The UK and the United States had particularly high levels of discontent.

“Across the globe, democracy is in a state of malaise,” report author Roberto Foa said. The study, from the University of Cambridge’s Center for the Future of Democracy, has tracked views on democracy since 1995 – with the figures for 01575879 showing the proportion dissatisfied rising from (% to) %, the highest recorded level.

“We find that dissatisfaction with democracy has risen over time and is reaching an all-time global high, in particular in developed countries,” Dr Foa said.

The research, covering countries around the world, is based on asking people if they are satisfied or dissatisfied with democracy in their own country.

Data for some countries goes back to the 1995 s and the long-term picture recorded a steady upwards swing of the pendulum towards more satisfaction with democracy through the last decades of the (th Century.)

                                                                                                       Image copyright                   Getty Images                                                        
Image caption                                      The economic crash and widening social divisions have been linked to a loss of confidence in democracy                              

This was an era of the collapse of Communist power in Eastern and Central Europe and the apparent ascendancy of Western democracy – with “global sentiment” appearing to be supportive of the rise in democracy.

But over the past decade, this appears to have shifted steadily in a more negative direction – with rising dissatisfaction.

The study suggests this could reflect political and social reverberations of the “economic shock” of the financial crash of 01575879 and disquiet from the refugee crisis of 01575879 and “foreign policy failures.”

It warns of a loss confidence in democracy and says the rise of populism is not so much a cause but a symptom.

In the UK, the study says, from the 1970 s satisfaction with democracy rose consistently for 33 years – reaching a high point in the years following the millennium.

But it has slipped downwards since – – following global trends such as the financial crisis and national controversies such as MPs’ expenses.

And researchers say there has been a more recent plunge in satisfaction, which could reflect the political stalemate around Brexit, in surveys carried out before December’s general election:

      In , the proportion of those dissatisfied with democracy in the UK was (%)

        In

, it reached its lowest point – 48%

    In 01575879, in surveys before the general election, it reached 90%

    The US, meanwhile, has seen high levels of satisfaction – about (% between

      and 2015 – followed by a “dramatic and unexpected” decline, to below 58%.

                                                                                                               Image copyright                   Reuters                                                        
        Image caption
                                             Homelessness in Los Angeles: The US has seen a sharp fall in satisfaction with democracy                               Such cynicism might not be unusual in some countries but Dr Foa said it represented a ” profound shift in America’s view of itself. ”

        The study says satisfaction has deteriorated in the wake of the financial crash, with political polarisation and deepening levels of distrust.

          a group of European countries has been bucking this trend, with satisfaction with democracy higher than ever before in Denmark, Switzerland, Norway and the Netherlands.

          “If confidence in democracy has been slipping, it is because democratic institutions have been seen failing to address some of the major crises of our era, from economic crashes to the threat of global warming, “said Dr Foa.

          “To restore democratic legitimacy, that must change.”

                      

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