Democracy in crisis: Faith in democratic institutions declining worldwide

New research from Southampton University has found that faith in representative institutions such as Parliament, governments and political parties is declining in democratic countries around the world.

the study, Published In British Journal of Political ScienceTill date, the biggest and most comprehensive analysis of trends in the political trusts till date. It brings together the results of 3,377 surveys covering 143 countries between 1958 and 2019, which represents more than five million survey respondents.

While confidence in representative institutions is generally in decline, in non-reforming institutions, trusts such as police, civil services and legal systems have been stable or growing, indicating a special crisis of faith in elected representatives of countries.

Researchers say that findings are a ‘warning signal’ that can pave the way for non-Loktantic political leaders to use the state in more autocratic ways.

The head of the study of Southampton University, Dr. Victor Walgarson says, “The decline of public belief in political authorities is central for the challenges faced by democratic governments in many countries today.”

“Less political belief is associated with support for populist parties and leaders, who do rail against political establishments. It also makes it difficult for governments to respond to crises like climate change and Kovid -19 epidemic.

“In the United States, confidence in the federal government has been in a sharp decline in the last few decades and it is no coincidence that we are now looking at a dramatic attack on Democratic institutions there, which was led by a candidate, What was chosen after promising to do.

“While there is still evidence that citizens support the idea of ​​democracy to a large extent, a large number of them have lost faith in the institutions that are essential for democratic rule, some of them to vote for the candidates. For inspiration that appears with the intention of ending democracy because we know it. “

The study found:

• Overall, the trust in Parliament has declined by nearly nine percentage points in democracy globally from 1990 to 2019, while confidence in the police increased by about 13 points in the same period.
• Faith in 36 democrats including Argentina, Brazil, France, Italy, Spain, South Korea, Australia and the United States is declining in Parliament, and only six have increased.
• In the UK, confidence in Parliament and the government is gradually declining in recent decades, although a small (seems to be temporary) recovery around the Brexit referendum. Faith in the legal system and the police have reduced to the 2008 financial crisis, but have been growing gradually since then.
• Faith in Parliament and Government took a global nose after the 2008 financial accident, but there are some regional differences; In Latin America, the political trust was growing until 2014, but has been decreasing rapidly since. Meanwhile, there was no clear decline in Asia and Pacific.
• Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Ecuador and New Zealand raised the global trend, in which the trust is increasing in representative institutions there.

Professor Wil Jennings, co-writer of the Southmpton University report, says, “Faith is not unavoidable in democratic institutions. If it is something in the way that democratic politics is practiced, then there is mistrust of citizens, perhaps those There is a need for politics.

“Given the frequent high support of citizens for democratic ideals, those changes may be well towards more democratic rule rather than low.”