Public opinion polling in a globalised world

80% of the world’s population still believe democracy to be the best option, but concede that it is far from perfect, according to the first chapter of a new book by the research agency TNS entitled ‘Public opinion polling in a globalised world’.

Out of 60 countries monitored across the world, only Russians display a negative perception of democracy, the chapter on “The Effects of Globalisation on the Perception of Democracy” reveals (just 41% support it).

The overall picture becomes grimmer when citizens reveal whether they consider elections in their country to be free and fair (54%), with Western Europe lending the largest support to this notion (73%), according to the Democracy Index cited in the book. 

By the same token, the vast majority of Europeans (72% in the West and 86% in the East), as well as the world in general (67%), do not consider their countries to be ruled by the will of the people, the index reveals. Of the ‘great powers’, only China was exempted from both questions due to the difficulty of asking them there. 

Interestingly, citizens of some countries say they enjoy “free and fair” elections but at the same time do not feel to to be ruled by “the will of the people”, TNS says. While only 25% of world citizens identify themselves as being in this group, those countries with a very high score include nations such as Germany (63%), the Netherlands (59%), UK (51%) and France (50%), the author Tony Cowling explains.

“Allowing voters to put a tick in a box once very four to five years no longer seems to be democracy enough for an increasingly knowledgeable, educated and informed public,” says Cowling. 

Globalisation has contributed to better educated and knowledgeable electorates, faster and almost immediate access to massive amounts of information, increased awareness of the opinions and attitudes of the public and rapid turnaround of opinion polls, states the author. 

All these factors now serve as “drivers for change” in the world’s democracies and contribute to “changing people’s expectations of what democracy is and should be,” according to TNS. 

“In ancient Rome and ancient Greece, it was difficult for leaders to go forward with their proposed actions and decisions unless they had the support of the people,” TNS points out. 

Today’s world is moving towards a “globalised village” and the concept of democracy needs a “serious makeover”, concludes the chapter. 

Moreover, survey research and information systems can play a key role in applying the democratic process by enabling “real time dialogues” between the people and their leaders, it adds.