Crazier than usual domestic politics in the last two years has convinced the commentariat that liberal democracy is in trouble. There’s a little room for reassurance as new data from the Democracy Fund Voter Study Group shows that citizens of established democracies “still overwhelmingly prefer democracy as the best form of government.” Also encouraging is the number of Americans who prefer a “strong leader who does not have to bother with Congress or elections” dropping back to 1995 levels, 24 percent, after rising consistently for two decades.
Something worrisome, though, is the party breakdown of these numbers. Trump voters were twice as likely to favor the authoritarian option, and voters who switched from Obama to Trump in 2016 were the most authoritarian leaning of all. But a populist groundswell need not necessarily translate into electoral victory, as political parties have historically acted as gatekeepers to weed out extreme candidates. Political scientists recognize this as one tool that keeps liberal democracies stable.
