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The Danger of Deconsolidation: The Democratic Disconnect
- Journal of Democracy
- Johns Hopkins University Press
- Volume 27, Number 3, July 2016
- pp. 5-17
- 10.1353/jod.2016.0049
- Article
- Additional Information
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The citizens of wealthy, established democracies are less satisfied with their governments than they have been at any time since opinion polling began. Most scholars have interpreted this as a sign of dissatisfaction with particular governments rather than with the political system as a whole. Drawing on recent public opinion data, we suggest that this optimistic interpretation is no longer plausible. Across a wide sample of countries in North America and Western Europe, citizens of mature democracies have become markedly less satisfied with their form of government and surprisingly open to nondemocratic alternatives. A serious democratic disconnect has emerged. If it widens even further, it may begin to challenge the stability of seemingly consolidated democracies.