When it comes to American values, democracy has always been a unifying ideology regarding how government should work. However, public opinion is beginning to shift regarding America as a world-leading democracy.
The Pew Research Center conducted an in-depth survey of both U.S. residents and citizens from 34 different countries on the state of American democracy.
They find that 72 percent of Americans believe America “used to be a good example, but has not been in recent years.”
An additional 8 percent of survey respondents believed America’s democracy was “never a good example.” Only 19 percent of survey respondents believed that America’s democracy was a good example for other countries to follow.
Other Countries Still See America As A Leading Democracy
Opinions from other countries were far more positive. Forty percent of respondents across 34 countries believe that America “was once great but no longer acts as the leader in the democratic world.” A median of 21 percent also believed America is still a great example of democracy in action.
On Reddit’s r/AskAnAmerican, a user asked if Americans believed democracy was in danger. One user explains, “I don’t have any worry of our military going rogue or any militant group of people seizing and maintaining power through violence. I however am worried that the holes in our system of laws and governance are being exploited and that general goal for some politician is to strip the ability to vote from a large swath of Americans.”
Another user gave a grimmer response, posting, “Yes absolutely. We already have entire states gerrymandered to the point were it doesn’t matter if the party in charge loses the majority of votes they will still retain control of the state legislation. Additionally we have Republicans arguing that those same gerrymandered state legislatives should be in control of elections including having the ability to dictate who receives a states electoral college votes regardless of voting outcome.”
Experts Disagree
According to the Economy Intelligence Unit, a company that researches the state of governments and their economies, America is no longer a leading democracy. For the 8th year in a row, the United States rates as a “flawed democracy.”
The EIU rates 44 percent of countries as flawed democracies. Every country is ranked in five categories: pluralism, government function, political culture, political participation, and civil liberties.
The U.S. scored lowest in political culture. The ranking notes the unusually large advantage that comes from long-term political careers and the influence of money in politics.
Related: Billionaires Endorse Trump’s Candidacy
Top-ranked countries on the EIU index included New Zealand, Finland, and Norway. Nevertheless, the EIU notes “the US is still the leading global power and, despite its shortcomings, the most important democracy in the world.”
The United States remains the oldest modern democracy in the world, and highly influential on the global, geo-political stage.
Interestingly, the 2024 presidential election is brimming with debate about which candidate will uphold democratic values.
Related: President Biden Drops Out of 2024 Presidential Race
In his first campaign rally since the July 13 shooting, Trump told attendees he “took a bullet for democracy.”
Earlier this year, President Biden shared a similar sentiment. “Whether democracy is still America’s sacred cause is the most urgent question of our time. It is what the 2024 election is all about,” he said.
In a highly polarized political climate, both parties position themselves as the defenders of Democracy to voters.
Only November will reveal who the public believed can lead the country in upholding its Democratic ideals.
