Survey research undertaken for the United States Studies Centre in December 2021 reveals a United States deeply divided, increasingly isolationist and pessimistic, undergoing substantial democratic backsliding and at risk of more. Specifically:
- The United States has fallen out of the top 30 liberal democracies, a trend that continues as many Republican-controlled states enact laws making voter registration and turnout burdensome and election administration subject to partisan interference.
- Under Trump, Republican Party supporters have become disproportionately authoritarian and populist.
- Related to the currency, salience and concentration of authoritarianism and populism among Republican voters are historically high levels of isolationism, a profound lack of optimism about the future of the United States, and deep partisan disagreements as to what problems the US faces — at home and abroad — and how to address them.
