Satisfaction with democracy has faced a general decline since the mid-1980s.
The US launched an ill-fated war in 2003 to bring democracy to Iraq, but America itself may be in need of political intervention.
That’s the takeaway from a new survey released Friday by the organization Gallup. The poll found that only 28% of Americans are “satisfied with the way democracy is working in the country,” a record low.
Predictably, partisan affiliation plays a role in how people responded to the question, with Republicans least likely to say they are satisfied. Only 17% of people who identify with the conservative political party said they’re happy with how democracy functions in the US.
But Democrats and Independents are also unsatisfied, with 38% and 27% saying they’re happy with the state of democracy in the country, respectively.
Gallup has asked the question nine times since 1984, when 61% of Americans responded affirmatively. By mid-1992 the percentage of Americans satisfied with the country’s democracy had fallen to 36% during the year billionaire Ross Perot mounted a third-party bid for the presidency. The unorthodox candidate’s wealth helped him generate support for his candidacy but his popularity was damaged when he exited the race in July, only to re-enter three months later.
Satisfaction with democracy had recovered by the late 90s but fell to a new low of 35% the next time the question was asked in 2021. Gallup suggests a number of challenges faced by Americans in recent years that may have soured their mood: political gridlock, gun violence, racial tension, and illegal immigration.
More recently, inflation, partisanship, and election security concerns weigh heavily on voters’ minds according to the polling organization. Additionally, many Americans question the independence of the country’s court system with the judicial, legislative, and executive branches of US government all viewed unfavorably.
Interestingly, education level was found to be a predictor of whether respondents were satisfied with democracy in the US, suggesting working class people enjoy less opportunity in 21st-century America.
