The citizens of wealthy, established democracies are less satisfied with their governments than they have been at any time since opinion polling began. Most scholars have interpreted this as a sign of dissatisfaction with particular governments, rather than with the political system as a whole. Drawing on recent public opinion data, we suggest that this optimistic interpretation is no longer plausible. Across a wide sample of countries, citizens of democracies have become markedly less satisfied with their form of government and surprisingly open to non-democratic alternatives. In this paper we suggest that a serious democratic disconnect has emerged. If it widens further, it may begin to challenge the stability of even seemingly consolidated democracies.
