The United States’ global reputation has been tarnished over the past year, with a majority of Americans believing that election integrity threatens the country’s democracy, while immigration is currently one of the biggest concerns among Europeans.
The decline in positive attitudes toward the United States was particularly pronounced in Muslim-majority countries surveyed such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey, Morocco, Egypt, and Algeria, as well as in European countries such as Switzerland, Ireland, Ukraine, and Germany. Remarkable.
The study found that although Russia and China are now viewed as favorably as the United States in most MENA countries surveyed, the United States remains viewed positively globally. It is said that
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Biden speaks at the Pipper Hillside Boys and Girls Club in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on March 13, 2024. America’s reputation suffered worldwide from spring 2023 to spring 2024. (Sarah Status/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
As concerns about climate change fade, the proportion of people in Europe who believe “reducing immigration” should be a top priority for governments has soared, according to a global survey released Wednesday. There is. According to European data, around 5.1 million migrants from non-EU countries will enter the EU in 2022, an increase of around 117%, or 2.7 million people, compared to 2021.
In terms of the percentage of people who want the government to focus on reducing immigration, Germany topped the list at 44%, followed by Ireland and France.
The survey, called the Democracy Perceptions Index (DPI), is one of the world’s largest annual surveys of how people perceive the state of democracy in their countries, and is based on data from people in 53 countries. It consists of 63,000 interviews. The study was carried out by the Denmark-based think tank Democracies Alliance Foundation and the research group Ratana. It was not the reason for the decline in America’s reputation.
DPI has found over the past six years that trust in democracy remains high around the world, with 85% of those surveyed saying it is important for them to have democracy in their country.
However, governments do not always meet people’s expectations. His 58% of respondents were satisfied with the state of democracy in their country, while the rest were dissatisfied.
In the United States, 60% of respondents said unfair elections or election fraud threaten the country’s democracy, and about 77% said corruption is a threat to democracy.
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A container settlement providing housing for refugees stands in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin, Germany, on April 16, 2024. Immigration is currently a major concern among Germans. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
The study said dissatisfaction is not limited to non-democratic countries. It was also prevalent in the United States, Europe, and other regions with long democratic traditions.
In Europe, about a third of Hungarians believe they live in a democracy.
Approximately half of people around the world, in both democracies and non-democracies, feel that their government acts only in the interests of a small number of people. Research shows that over the past four years, this perception has been highest in Latin America and lowest in Asia, and has steadily increased in Europe since 2020, particularly in Germany.
Israel, Ukraine, and Russia have all experienced the “rally around the flag” effect, in which the public perception that the government is acting in the interests of the majority of the population has diminished since the beginning of their respective conflicts. It is rapidly increasing. However, in Ukraine, this perception peaked in 2022 and then declined sharply.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, chairman of the Alliance for Democracies Foundation and former Danish Prime Minister, said these numbers are eye-opening and the trend shows the Global South is at risk of being lost to authoritarian states. He said there was.
DPI has found over the past six years that trust in democracy remains high around the world, with 85% of those surveyed saying it is important for them to have democracy in their country. (Paul J. Richards/AFP via Getty Images)
“People around the world want to live under democracy, and these numbers are a wake-up call for all democratic governments,” Rasmussen said.
“Defending democracy means advancing freedom around the world, but it also means listening to the concerns of our constituents at home… From China to Russia to Iran, we We are witnessing an axis of authoritarian states forming. We must act now to make freedom more attractive than dictatorship and to unite.” Through an alliance of democracies, we must act to make freedom more attractive than dictatorship. fight back against someone.
War and violent conflict are increasingly considered the most important global challenges, followed by poverty and hunger and climate change. Last year, the proportion of people who think immigration and terrorism are among the world’s biggest challenges increased globally, especially among Europeans.
At the national level, most people want the government to focus more on poverty reduction, corruption, and economic growth.
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However, there are wide regional differences in priorities, with Europeans and Americans believing their governments should improve health care and tackle climate change, compared to Asian and Latin American countries, where fighting corruption and boosting growth are more important. far more likely to want to fight back and prioritize reducing immigration. important.
Globally, 33% of those surveyed believe climate change is one of the world’s top three challenges, but that combating climate change should be among the top three priorities for governments. Only 14% of them were.
Immigration is likely to play a big role in next month’s European elections, where nationalist parties are expected to make a big jump.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
