The Danger of Deconsolidation: The Democratic Disconnect
The citizens of wealthy, established democracies are less satisfied with their governments than they have been at any time since opinion polling began. Most scholars have interpreted this as a sign of dissatisfaction with particular governments rather than with the political system as a whole. Drawing on recent public opinion data, we suggest that this optimistic interpretation is no longer plausible. Across a wide sample of countries in North America and Western Europe, citizens of mature democracies have become markedly less satisfied with their form of government and surprisingly open to nondemocratic alternatives. A serious democratic disconnect has emerged. If it widens even further, it may begin to challenge the stability of seemingly consolidated democracies.
About the Authors
Roberto Stefan Foa
Roberto Stefan Foa is university lecturer in politics at the University of Cambridge, director of the YouGov-Cambridge Centre for Public Opinion Research, and co-director of the Cambridge Centre for the Future of Democracy.
View all work by Roberto Stefan Foa
Yascha Mounk
Yascha Mounk is associate professor of the practice of internationalaffairs at Johns Hopkins University and the author of The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure(2022).
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Further Reading
Volume 32, Issue 4
The Age of Political Fragmentation
Just as public frustration with democracy is mounting across the West, social turmoil and new technologies are splintering the very political authority governments need to act.
Volume 30, Issue 1
Illiberal Democracy and the Struggle on the Right
At present, the key struggle for the future of liberal democracy appears as if it will be unfolding among parties and thinkers on the right.
Volume 22, Issue 1
A Russian Liberal’s Lament
A review ofLonely Power: Why Russia Has Failed to Become the West and the West Is Weary of Russia by Lilia Shevtsova.