Set this page to:
Go to FERI in:
T +49 (0) 6172 916-3631
info@feri-institut.de
Rathausplatz 8 - 10
D-61348
Bad Homburg
CONTACT
CONTACT
Languages
Are Western countries facing the “suicide of democracy”? In the important election year of 2024, only 20% of US citizens still believe that their government is doing the right thing and can solve urgent problems (see chart). An alarming 85% of Americans are in favor of restructuring US democracy; two out of three US voters reject the current system and want a “strong leader”.
However, it is not only in the USA, but also in Europe that democracy is in a serious crisis. This is shown by the results of the 2024 European elections and the most recent elections in eastern Germany. In Germany, trust in political institutions has already fallen significantly: two out of three German citizens (67%) describe German society as “broken”; as many as 70% consider the German state to be “overwhelmed”.
In many Western countries, the political center is currently disintegrating and radical fringes are being strengthened. This is a dangerous development that is destroying the basic fabric of Western democracies with sharp fault lines.
In particular, the presidential elections in the deeply divided USA - with the possible return of populist Donald Trump - signal the risk of a “suicide of democracy”.
This global development is increasingly jeopardizing individual and collective freedoms - and is therefore also becoming more relevant for the economy and capital markets.
Our latest analysis warns that Western countries - and democracies as a whole - could suffer serious damage from this development.
More information on this can be found in our study “Global Recession of Freedom”, which is available as a short version in German in the download area on this page.
T +49 (0) 6172 916-3631
Rathausplatz 8 - 10
D-61348 Bad Homburg