Political Ideals & Systems

Partisanship remains the strongest factor dividing the American public. Yet there are substantial divisions within both parties on fundamental political values, views of current issues and the severity of the problems facing the nation.

A look at how supporters of European populist parties stand out on key issues, from the European Union to Putin.

Despite improvements in recent decades, the former East Germany trails the former West on several important economic measures.

Americans and Western Europeans largely agree about what is important for democracy, but they put greater emphasis on these principles than Central and Eastern Europeans.

Read key takeaways from a new survey that explores European attitudes three decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

Thirty years ago, a wave of optimism swept across Europe as walls and regimes fell, and long-oppressed publics embraced open societies, open markets and a more united Europe. Three decades later, a new Pew Research Center survey finds that few people in the former Eastern Bloc regret the monumental changes of 1989-1991.

For many, “socialism” is a word that evokes a weakened work ethic, stifled innovation and excessive reliance on the government. For others, it represents a fairer, more generous society.

Republicans express intensely negative views of “socialism” and very positive views of “capitalism.” Majorities of Democrats view both terms positively.

Across 27 nations surveyed by Pew Research Center in 2018, people were more dissatisfied than satisfied with the way democracy is working in their country. This held especially true in a dozen countries where negative views of democracy outpaced positive by more than 10 percentage points.

The share of Euroskeptic members of the European Parliament jumped to 29% in 2014. That's up from 17% in 1979.