Supporters cheer as Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a primary election night party at the South Carolina State Fairgrounds in Columbia, S.C., Feb. 24, 2024. A new survey provides a sobering outlook of the world's democracies. While most citizens in two dozen countries say representative democracy is a good way to govern, they are deeply dissatisfied with the way it's working in their country. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
The voting comes as support for more authoritarian forms of government are on the rise. The Pew survey found that in eight of the surveyed countries, support for a "strong leader" who can make decisions without court or legislative interference increased since 2017.
Those countries included Brazil, Germany, Mexico, Kenya and Argentina, where Javier Milei, a self-described "anarcho,-capitalist" whose supporters call him "the madman," won that country's presidential election in November, after the Pew survey work was completed earlier last year. Overall, just under one-third typically backed some sort of authoritarian system across the surveyed countries.
Support for a strong leader also rose in India, which stood out as the country with the highest level of support for that form of government, with 67% of those surveyed ranking it as a good system, an increase of 12 % from when Pew asked the question in 2017.
India's popular prime minister, Narendra Modi, has been criticized for eroding that country's democratic and secular traditions with his Hindu nationalist party. But the country's residents also reported a high level of satisfaction with democracy in the poll, and Wike said the two factors are intertwined in India.
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"These authoritarian models have more support there," Wike said. "That gives authorities some foundation of public support they can draw on."
The poll found support for a strong leader increased the most in Mexico, where it jumped 23% since 2017. At the same time, Mexico was one of three countries where support for democracy increased — Brazil and Poland were the other two.
Support for more authoritarian leadership tended to be strongest among those with lower levels of education and income, as well as those on the ideological right. Poorer countries registered higher support for autocratic systems, including military rule. Having the military in control of governing also was backed by about a third of all residents in eight of what Pew called more "middle-income" countries, such as Mexico, India, Indonesia and South Africa. Overall, though, military rule is the least popular form of government, with a median of just 15% supporting it.
The U.S. is an outlier in multiple categories, including its support for more autocratic systems.
Argentina's President Javier Milei speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2024, at National Harbor, in Oxon Hill, Md., Feb. 24, 2024. A new survey provides a sobering outlook of the world's democracies. While most citizens in two dozen countries say representative democracy is a good way to govern, they are deeply dissatisfied with the way it's working in their country. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
It was the wealthiest country surveyed, and while its support for autocratic systems was well below majority level — only 15% back military rule and 26% back a strong leader system — they were higher than half the other countries in the poll.
That comes as former President Donald Trump, the leading candidate for the Republican Party's presidential nomination, has continued to speak warmly about authoritarian leaders, such as China's Xi Jinping, North Korea's Kim Jong Un and Russia's Vladimir Putin.
Wike said the U.S. also stands out for its polarization over questions of whether more diverse representation would improve the country's policies. A median of 50% across the surveyed countries believe policies would improve if more women were elected, while in the U.S. that share was only 42%.
Across the surveyed countries, a median of 46% believed electing more younger adults to office would improve policies, while in the U.S. that share was 38%, the second-lowest recorded after Japan. The U.S. also registered the largest ideological gap on the question, with 7 in 10 liberals saying younger leaders would improve conditions and only 2 in 10 conservatives agreeing.
While representative democracy was the most popular system, direct democracy, in which citizens themselves vote on major issues, was close behind, with a median of 70% saying it would be a good way to run their country. Pew also found an increase in support for a system run by experts rather than elected officials, with a median of 58% backing that model.
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Pew surveyed 30,861 people in 24 countries between February and May 2023. The margin of error varied by country.
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/new-poll-finds-many-nations-hold-elections-democracys-appeal-slipping