US Downgraded to a 'Flawed Democracy' Because of Erosion of Trust in Government Josh Lowe - Newsweek
go to original January 26, 2017

The U.S. - memorably described by Ronald Reagan as a “shining city upon a hill” inspiring the rest of the world - is now a “flawed democracy,” according to an influential think tank.

The 2016 edition of the annual democracy index from the Economist Intelligence Unit downgraded America from a “full democracy” to a “flawed democracy.”

The report cited the collapse of trust in American public institutions as a reason for the change.

“Trust in political institutions is an essential component of well-functioning democracies,” it stated, “Yet surveys by Pew, Gallup and other polling agencies have confirmed that public confidence in government has slumped to historic lows in the U.S.”

The report said that new U.S. President Donald Trump, who won an election victory on the basis of an anti-elite, populist campaign, was “not to blame for this decline in trust, which predated his election, but he was the beneficiary of it.”

The report drew a link between the election of Trump and the British Brexit vote, saying that “both were an expression of deep popular dissatisfaction with the status quo and of a hankering for change.”

Read the rest at Newsweek

Related: Trump and the Crisis of Democracy (Inter Press Service)

Related: Doomsday Clock Advances to Two and a Half Minutes to Midnight (AskMen)

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