Support for democracy has famously waned in recent years, but research from the University of Kansas suggests this might be as much due to our lack of understanding of what it truly means than any lasting discontent with it.

The intricate interplay between individual perceptions of democracy and its resonance within diverse national and regime landscapes has come to light through a comprehensive examination of global cross-national survey data.

By scrutinizing the understanding of democracy at an individual level, this study unveils a compelling association between divergent conceptualizations and the level of democratic support observed across various countries and regime contexts.

Consequently, this research underscores the imperative nature of accounting for nuanced variations in conceptual frameworks when delving into the complex realm of democratic opinions.

Perfect democracy

Of course, perfection is almost impossible to find, not least because definitions vary so much. For instance, the two-party system in the United States fails on many measures of democracy, yet can be effective nonetheless, while the multiparty system common across Europe can become dysfunctional despite its vibrancy.

“Coalitions are hard to build because there are so many parties and each of them holds a small share of votes, so it is easy to block decisions,” the researchers explain. “It is perhaps a ‘better’ democracy in a way, but it’s not functional. You want to live in a functional society because roads need to be built and things need to be kept in order.”

After analyzing several waves of the World Values Survey, the researchers found that people across 85 different countries often had a fairly basic understanding of democracy.

“A significant proportion of respondents conflate things like army rule or religious cleric rule with manifestations of democracy,” they explain..

“What it means for us as educators is we need better education so that people understand what a democratic political system is. And, by the way, the U.S. is not an exception. A lot of Americans who say they support democracy also say they support a strong man’s rule—a strong man who is a man of action who does things no matter what, disregarding the legislature and elections if needed.”