And then when we talk about the state of US democracy, to be specific, do we think US democracy is improving or worsening? And if so, in what areas? In what ways? And so I think we’ve been able to be more precise about that. So it’s been really helpful to me to disaggregate that and to think about all these different aspects. And thinking about its status is not an easy thing.
#UNDERMINE DEMOCRACY FULL#
The full idea of liberal democracy that has this bundle that includes the rule of law, constraints on the use of power, and the exercise of influence by the public at the ballot box and through public opinion’s effect on elected representatives and so forth, that full bundle is quite complex. I think what I’ve learned from it is just how multidimensional democracy is in the fullest sense. There’s no objective measurable way to directly assess democracy as such, how well is it working? But we think it gives an important window into how things have developed during the Trump presidency. We’ve never had such high-frequency data, both in terms of perceptions of US democracy among the public, and perceptions of US democracy among political science experts too. I think we’re really proud of the data that we’ve been able to put together tracking the status of US democracy over this time period. What are the biggest things you’ve learned and the biggest surprises?īrendan Nyhan: Well, we’ve learned a lot about the state of US democracy, both the good news and the bad news. Here’s our conversation, which also offers a bit of 2020 year in review and post-election retrospective.īright Line Watch has been going for 13 waves of expert surveys and 11 waves of the public surveys. I have an ever-so-slightly more optimistic view, so you’ll hear me interject more than usual. He finds significant signs of weakness, many of which are likely to last. He’s an organizer of Bright Line Watch, an effort to survey experts and the public about American democratic norms, tracking their erosion. How much significant democratic backsliding did he create? And what did his presidency reveal about the strength and limits of our institutions? This week, I’m joined by Brendan Nyhan of Dartmouth and The Upshot for a special conversational edition. Donald Trump has broken democratic norms throughout his presidency in words and deeds, and tried to impede and overturn the results of the 2020 election. For the Niskanen Center, I’m Matt Grossmann.
Matt Grossmann: How much did Trump undermine American democracy for good, this week on The Science of Politics. Niskanen Center – The Science of Politics
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