Largest global democracy study finds more in favour of cutting ties with Russia than against

 

Poll also shows growing disenchantment with social media, worries over economic inequality, and improved perceptions of the US within Europe.

A new poll of over 50,000 respondents from 53 countries shows that more people than not want their country to cut economic ties with Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

The Democracy Perception Index, released by Latana and the Alliance of Democracies Foundation, is the fifth installment of the world’s largest annual study on democracy covering more than 50 countries and representative of more than 75% of the world’s population. It was prepared for the fifth-annual Copenhagen Democracy Summit on June 9-10, which will feature speakers such as former US President Barack Obama, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, and Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė.

When asked if they think their countries should cut economic ties with Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, people in 31 out of the 52 countries surveyed are more in favor of cutting ties than against.

The poll also found that the vast majority of people around the world support assistance to Ukraine. Nearly half (46%) globally say that the European Union, United States, and NATO are doing too little to assist Ukraine, only 11% said that they are doing too much.

The study shows perceptions of Russia are far more negative than positive in most countries, with a net perception of -32. Views of China are more evenly divided with slightly more people having a negative opinion than positive opinion (-4). Meanwhile, most people around the world have a positive perception of the United States (+22) but the European Union is the body viewed most positively (+32).

Other highlights: 

While democracy is in decline around the world, the study shows that people still believe in it: 84% say that it is important to have democracy in their country. However, a growing number are disenchanted with the state of democracy, 41% feeling that there is not enough democracy in their country.

• Respondents view economic inequality as the single biggest threat to democracy around the world (68%).
• 66% of people view corruption as a threat to democracy in their country. This concern is particularly high in the African (91%) and Latin American (80%) countries surveyed.

Attitudes on social media’s effect on democracy turn negative in US and Western Europe

• Across the democracies surveyed, more people say that social media platforms have a positive effect on democracy (55%) than negative (29%).
• However, in the United States and across Western Europe, attitudes have turned negative. More people say that social media has a negative than positive effect on democracy (France -2, UK -6, Germany -8, US -15, Netherlands -18). This is a significant change since 2020, when attitudes were positive in every country surveyed.

Global perceptions of the USA: A growing Biden divide?

• The global perception of the US’s influence on democracy is generally more positive than negative. (+15)
• It has improved significantly over the last year among European countries (+10), and with people living in ‘free’ democracies (+10)
• However, attitudes in the rest of the world have taken the opposite turn. This is particularly true in Asia (-10) and in ‘less democratic’ countries (-9).

Cutting ties with China over Taiwan

• When asked about cutting economic ties with China if it were to invade Taiwan, more people were in favour than against in half of the countries surveyed (26 out of 52).
• These countries include many of China’s top trading partners such as the United States, Japan, South Korea, and Germany, and collectively account for over 53% of China’s total trade, or $2.3 trillion.

The full study can be downloaded by clicking here.

For the full data set visit - Democracy Perception Index – 2022 – Results Tables

Speaking after the release of the report, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Chair of the Alliance of Democracies Foundation, former NATO Chief and Danish Prime Minister, said:

“Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has refocused people’s minds and shows we can’t take our freedom or liberties for granted. People around the world are demanding freedom of speech, fair elections, and equal rights.”

“The war in Ukraine has also reinforced the bond across the Atlantic, with people in Europe recognising the continued value of US global leadership. People living in democracies want to see greater unity to push back against rising autocratic powers and demand that their governments do more to help Ukrainians in their fight for a democratic future.”

Nico Jaspers, CEO, Latana, said:

“We can no longer take democracy and freedom for granted. We have to fight for it - in Ukraine, in our own countries, and across the world. We have a lot of work ahead of us if we want to make sure that democracy and freedom thrive in the 21st century.”

About Latana

Latana is an AI-Powered brand tracking solution that leverages key insights to help companies track their brand and campaign performance. An international market leader in brand tracking services, Latana also uses its technology to understand the underlying forces behind the opinions of people worldwide.

Countries/areas surveyed were:

Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela, Vietnam.

Methodology:

This report presents an overview of a study conducted by Latana and the Alliance of Democracies in the spring of 2022, between March 30th and May 10th. The sample of n=52,785 online-connected respondents was drawn across 53 countries, with an average sample size of around 1,000 respondents per country. Nationally representative results were calculated based on the official distribution of age, gender, and education for each country’s population, sourced from the most recent and available data from Barro Lee & UNStat, and census.gov. The average margin of error across all countries sampled is (+/-) 3.2 percentage points.

The study uses Freedom House classifications to create the following categories of countries: “Free” - labeled as “Free” by Freedom House

“Less Free” - labeled as either “Partially Free” or “Not Free” by Freedom House

The full results tables are available below:

Democracy Perception Index – 2022 – Results Tables

Democracy Perception Index – 2021 – Results Tables

Democracy Perception Index - 2020 - Results Tables

Democracy Perception Index - 2019 - Results Tables