World sees US as significantly greater threat to democracy than Russia & China – survey

05.05.2021 21:55

World sees US as significantly greater threat to democracy than Russia & China – survey

A poll taken in 53 countries has found that 44% of people around the world consider the United States to be a threat to their democracy – significantly less than those who believe the same about China and Russia.

Out of the 53,000 people polled across 53 countries, more respondents (44%) considered US influence on their country to be a “threat to democracy” than those who didn’t (26%). Meanwhile, only 38% considered Chinese influence a threat to democracy.

Fear of Russian influence was the lowest of the three, with only 28% considering Russia to be a threat to their democracy.

Asian countries were high among those that feared US influence, with Pakistan fearing Washington the most. Japanese respondents also consider the US to be a greater concern than China – while Mexico, Canada, Colombia, Greece, Israel, Australia, Ukraine, and Switzerland were also among the top half.

The survey was conducted by Latana in partnership with the Alliance of Democracies, which was founded in Denmark by former NATO secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen – a detail some on social media found interesting, given that the results inconveniently showed higher levels of fear regarding the US than Russia and China.

While people in European countries expressed lower levels of fear when it comes to US influence, they still expressed more fear about it than they did about influence from Moscow or Beijing.

Meanwhile, 64% of the world also considered economic inequality to be a threat to democracy, along with “limits on free speech” at 53%, “unfair or fraudulent elections” at 49%, and the power of Big Tech companies – most of which are based in the United States – at 48%.

Regarding the US’ “role in world affairs,” people in Russia, China, and Europe were most critical, while Latin America and Asia were more positive.

The report also showed that concerns over US influence on other democracies has increased since last year – up 20% in Germany alone and 16% in China.

The Alliance of Democracies boasts that it is funded by “several democratic governments,” including Canada. It has also received money from Google, Facebook, Microsoft, the George W. Bush Institute, the Atlantic Council and the George Soros-funded National Democratic Institute.