Political Ideals & Systems

Summary of Findings Americans continue to hold more internationalist views than they did prior to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The public favors cooperation with the United Nations and taking into account the views of U.S. allies to a greater extent than in the 1990s. Most notably, there has been a decline in the percentage […]

Introduction and Summary The terrorist attacks and the war in Afghanistan have created a new internationalist sentiment among the public. There is much more support for a multilateral foreign policy than before Sept.11, with roughly six-in-ten (59%) now saying that the interests of allies should be taken into account by U.S. policymakers. By about a […]

Foreword and Overview Foreword In 1987, we embarked on an ambitious project to better understand the nature of American politics. We identified a broad range of beliefs and values that underlie common political labels and that ultimately drive political action. A voter typology emerged from this effort which classifies the electorate into distinct groupings, defined […]

Introduction and Summary After two presidential debates and six weeks of the general campaign Bill Clinton’s lead over Bob Dole is as large as it was in early September. The course of the race has changed little with the passing of each important campaign milestone. The only observable consequence of the debates is that the […]

REPORT SUMMARY As their standard of living goes from bad to worse and uncertainty about the future increases, the Russian people have soured on democracy. By a margin of 51% to 31% Russians say they now favor a strong leader, rather than a democratic form of government to solve their country’s problems.  Only 17 months […]

As their standard of living goes from bad to worse and uncertainty about the future increases, the Russian people have soured on democracy. By a margin of 51% to 31% Russians say they now favor a strong leader, rather than a democratic form of government to solve their country’s problems. Only 17 months ago, as […]