New research reveals a widespread flaw in how survey studies report public support for democracy. While cross-national polls often claim large majorities favor democratic systems, many fail to properly handle non-responses regarding political system preferences.

When asked about the suitability of democracy as their country's regime type, respondents frequently provide vague or non-substantive answers.

This oversight significantly inflates reported public backing for democratic institutions across multiple regions.

Data & Methods:

The study analyzes responses from over 50 national surveys covering more than two decades and representing diverse methodologies (quantitative polls, online questionnaires).

Researchers identify patterns in how non-responses are typically coded as missing or excluded by default.

Key Finding:

A substantial portion of survey participants offer vague answers when asked about democracy's suitability for their nation.

This "don't know" phenomenon is more pronounced in certain regions and among specific demographic groups.

When these responses are treated statistically as if they represent undecidedness rather than lack of opinion, support estimates become inaccurate.

Implications:

Properly accounting for nonsubstantive responses reveals a much lower level of public enthusiasm for democracy than previously reported.

This calls into question many comparative studies on democratic attitudes and requires reassessment of existing findings across political science literature.

The paper offers practical recommendations to improve survey reporting standards.