Shared power, more satisfied people

The attack by authoritarian governments on their own political institutions is pushing many democracies to their limits. This affects their legitimacy, among other things. In a wide-ranging study, researchers from the Universities of Bern and Mannheim show that a strong division of power in democracies tends to lead to greater satisfaction among the population. Government leaders such as Donald Trump, Viktor Orban and Andrzei Duda are constantly trying to use their power to weaken other political institutions such as the parliament and judiciary and to undermine the separation of powers. This is one of the greatest challenges for today's democracies. Now a study by the Institute of Political Science at the University of Bern shows that there is a link between the division of power in a democracy and the satisfaction among the population. By contrast, a strong concentration of power in the government leads to a higher voter turnout.