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DemocracyDemocracy
About the author
Natasha Kassam
Natasha Kassam was Director of the Lowy Institute's Public Opinion and Foreign Policy Program from 2019 to 2022, directing the annual Lowy Institute Poll and researching China’s politics, Taiwan, and Australia-China relations.
The past year appears to have boosted Australians’ preference for democracy. In a November 2020 survey, seven in ten (71%) said ‘democracy is preferable to any other kind of government’, a record high in the 17 years of Lowy Institute polling. The number of Australians who said ‘in some circumstances, a non-democratic government can be preferable’ had fallen 6 points to 16%.
Support for democracy reached a record high during the pandemic
The gap between younger and older Australians on this issue — which has provoked considerable debate since this question was first asked in 2012 — had narrowed: 61% of 18–29 year olds expressed a preference for democracy, compared to 73% of Australians over 30. In 2012, only 39% of 18–29 year olds expressed a preference for democracy, and the gap between younger and older Australians was much larger at 21 points.
