Mary Bono

How bad is the crisis in democracy?

Distan, Aurélie Filippetti, Elena, Mary Bono, Lee Drutman, Kadri Gürsel, Ekrem İmamoğlu

This analysis details a global decline in democratic quality driven by widening elite-citizen gaps and rising populist influence, with specific case studies of France's elite disconnect, U.S. corporate lobbying stalling opioid responses, and Turkey's electoral resilience against authoritarian drift. Key metrics reveal that full democracies now house 10% fewer people than a decade ago, while trust in U.S. and French governments has plummeted to 17% and 32% respectively due to perceived corruption and policy capture by special interests. Despite these crises, the report concludes that democratic systems remain resilient through active citizen engagement, as evidenced by Turkish election outcomes and the rejection of dictatorship by 83% of French citizens.