Abstract
This paper discusses the current prospects of democracy in Europe from four perspectives: the birdʼs-eye view of long-term trends; the perspective of citizens’ support of democratic principles and their dissatisfaction with the way democracy works in their own countries; the voters’ perspective, which points to the rise of populist challengers in reaction to rising democratic dissatisfaction; and the elites’ perspective of populists in power. Overall, there is reason for concern, but no reason to dramatize. The long-term trends point to the expansion of democracy; the citizens’ support for democracy is still massive in Europe. At the same time, democratic dissatisfaction is widespread, giving rise to the surge of populist challengers from the left and the right. However, even if they gain power, populists meet with a large number of constraints that stabilize democracy.
Highlights
From the vantage point of the Chinese elites, free market capitalism and Western-style democracy has lost its attraction, and they suggest that “90 percent of democracies created after the fall of the Soviet Union have failed” (Wolf 2018)
This paper discusses the current prospects of democracy in Europe from four perspectives: the bird’s-eye view of long-term trends; the perspective of citizens’ support of democratic principles and their dissatisfaction with the way democracy works in their own countries; the voters’ perspective, which points to the rise of populist challengers in reaction to rising democratic dissatisfaction; and the elites’ perspective of populists in power
Using data from the European Social Survey 6 (ESS6), which includes an exceptional set of questions on democracy, I would like to show that support for the democratic ideal is alive and well in Europe, even if there are some regional variations
Summary
Zusammenfassung Dieser Artikel diskutiert die gegenwärtige Lage der Demokratie in Europa aus vier verschiedenen Perspektiven: aus der Vogelperspektive der langfristigen Trends, aus der Perspektive der Unterstützung demokratischer Prinzipien durch die Bürgerinnen und Bürger sowie ihrer Unzufriedenheit mit der Art und Weise, wie die Demokratie in ihrem Land tatsächlich funktioniert, aus der Perspektive der Wählerinnen und Wähler, die sich als Reaktion auf ihre demokratische Unzufriedenheit in zunehmendem Maße für populistische Herausforderer entscheiden, und aus der Perspektive der Eliten, welche Bezug nimmt auf Populisten an der Macht. Die langfristigen Trends stehen im Zeichen einer Ausweitung der Demokratie, und die Unterstützung der Demokratie in Europa ist noch immer massiv. Selbst wenn sie an die Macht gelangen, unterliegen diese aber einer Reihe von Einschränkungen, welche zur Stabilisierung der Demokratie beitragen.
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