Poll: Authoritarianism vs. Democracy

This Navigator Research report covers Americans’ views of democracy, authoritarianism, and the federal government.

Democracy is Underwater

We asked Americans how well or not well the following words described our current federal government: authoritarian, dictatorship, democracy, fascist, oligarchy. A majority of Americans today believe the federal government can be described as “authoritarian” (52%). When asked how well “democracy” describes the federal government, Americans are five points more likely to say “not well” than “well” (48% and 43%, respectively).

Significant shares of Americans also agree that other undemocratic forms of government aptly describe the federal government, including:

• Dictatorship: (net +4; 47% say well – 43% say not well)
• Fascist: (net -1; 40% say well – 41% say not well)
• Oligarchy: (net 0; 34% say well – 34% say not well).

Among tested terms, Americans appear least familiar with “oligarchy.” About one third of Americans say they “don’t know” how well the term describes the federal government (32%).

Americans are more likely to describe their current government as undemocratic than democratic. Just 16% say “democracy” describes the federal government “very well” – 10 points less than the share who say “dictatorship” describes the federal government “very well” (26%) and 12 points less than the share who say “authoritarian” describes the federal government “very well” (29%). Americans are also more likely to say “fascist” (22%) and “oligarchy” (19%) describe the federal government “very well.”

Gen Z, Active News Consumers, and MAGA v. Non-MAGA Republicans

While each generation was more likely than not to describe the federal government as “authoritarian,” Gen Z adults are particularly inclined to see their government as undemocratic. Just 36% of Gen Z respondents feel “democracy” appropriately describes the federal government, with majorities of Gen Z adults instead agreeing with descriptors like “authoritarian” (60%), “fascist” (51%), or “dictatorship” (54%). Just under one third (31%) of Gen Z adults say “fascist” describes the federal government “very well” – nearly twice the number who say “democracy” describes the federal government “very well” (16%).

55% of active news consumers (those who say they seek out the news, rather than letting the news come to them) say “authoritarian” describes the federal government well – nine points greater than the share of passive news consumers who say the same (46%). Passive news consumers were also 13 points more likely to say they “don’t know” if “authoritarian” describes the federal government well (24% of passive news consumers).

Republicans who do and do not consider themselves supporters of the MAGA movement also demonstrate strong differences in how they view the federal government. Non-MAGA Republicans are 17 points less likely than MAGA Republicans to say “democracy” describes the federal government well (59% and 76%, respectively). Non-MAGA Republicans are 16 points more likely to describe the federal government as “authoritarian” (39% and 23%, respectively), and 14 points more likely to say “dictatorship” describes the federal government well (26% and 12%, respectively).