Episode 2

full
Published on:

29th Jan 2025

When Democracy Isn't Democratic Enough with Pew Research's Richard Wike and Patrick Moynihan

Across democracies worldwide, citizens aren't necessarily losing faith in democratic values -- they're frustrated with how democracy is actually working in their countries. New research reveals a striking pattern: from the United States to Italy to South Korea, people want better representation and more responsive leadership, not necessarily a different system of government. 

In this episode, Pew Research Center's Richard Wike and Patrick Moynihan share insights from their extensive global democracy study spanning 31 countries, explaining how they measure democratic satisfaction across different cultures and political systems and the fascinating regional patterns that are revealed, like the north-south divide in European attitudes and America's uniquely high levels of political polarization. They share their methodological approach to conducting cross-national surveys and touch on upcoming new research on global views about free speech and inequality. 

Resources 

Freedom House  

Economist Intelligence Unit  

V-Dem  

International IDEA  

World Values Survey  

‘Economic Inequality Seen as Major Challenge Around the World’ - Pew Research Center (Richard Wike et al)  

‘What Can Improve Democracy’ - Pew Research Center  

‘What the World Thinks in 2002’ - Pew Research Center  

2022 Political Polarization Study - Pew Research Center  

31-Country Democracy Study - Pew Research Center  

Global Attitudes Project - Pew Research Center  

‘The Danger of Deconsolidation: The Democratic Disconnect’ - Roberto Stefan Foa, Yascha Mounk 

 

Our Guests 

Patrick Moynihan is associate director of international research methods at Pew Research Center. Before joining Pew, he served as survey methodologist at the U.S. Department of State and as senior polling analyst at ABC News. He holds a doctorate in sociology from SUNY Stony Brook and has extensive experience in survey design, polling methodology, and election research. 

Richard Wike is director of global attitudes research at Pew Research Center, where he studies international public opinion on topics like democracy, globalization, and America's global image. His research has been featured in major publications including The Atlantic, Foreign Affairs, and The Guardian. He holds a doctorate in political science from Emory University. 


Your Host 

Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy at The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy. With over 20 years of experience turning audience insights into effective strategies for B2B and B2C companies, Farrah helps business leaders make big decisions across various industries. Learn more at thedifferenceengine.co and connect with Farrah on LinkedIn.

 

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About the Podcast

Cross Tabs
People • Data • Power
Our world is governed by numbers — surveys, polling, algorithms, and data.

On Cross Tabs, we bring you the stories behind these numbers. This podcast is your introduction to the people, perspectives, and agendas that shape our reality, and call it “public opinion”.

We invite experts to discuss pressing issues and walk us through their methods. You’ll hear about the issues that matter from some of the brightest thinkers in policy and politics, tech and business.

Join us and you’ll learn about how polling works — or doesn’t work — and how research can be manipulated to advance a political agenda. Discover the history of topics in the news and hear insights on culture and society.

And learn what’s really at risk in the race to influence and optimize, well, everything.

The show is hosted by Farrah Bostic, founder of The Difference Engine, where she works as a qualitative researcher and strategist working outside The Beltway to understand what drives business leaders, experts, and people like you so we can all make better decisions.