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https://theconversation.com/only-6-of-gen-z-actually-favour-dictatorship-not-half-as-some-reports-would-have-you-believe-250945>
"America’s constitutional framework was designed specifically to prevent the
concentration of power and to impede any president’s authoritarian aspirations.
It is certainly being put to the test right now.
When US vice-president J.D. Vance recently wrote that “judges aren’t allowed to
control the executive’s legitimate power”, he gave perhaps the clearest
indication to date that the Trump administration might ignore court rulings,
potentially laying the ground for what some have argued would amount to a
dictatorship.
Given this context, it certainly seemed plausible when a recent
Channel 4
study suggested UK democracy could be heading towards a similar crisis.
However, we have conducted research that paints a very different picture of gen
z’s tendency towards dictatorship.
Media reports about the
Channel 4 research claimed over half of gen Z in
Britain supported the country becoming a dictatorship. Headlines included:
“Voting’s such a hassle… of course Gen Z like dictators”. An article published
the day after Holocaust memorial day lamented: “Of all the days to discover Gen
Z’s misguided affection for dictators”.
The study actually asked 13-to-27-year-olds whether they agreed that “the UK
would be a better place if a strong leader was in charge who does not have to
bother with parliament and elections”. In their findings and press release,
Channel 4 didn’t suggest that this equated to support for a dictatorship –
but just about every news and comment piece that picked up the study did.
It might seem like a very justifiable interpretation, though the first sign
that we should be cautious was that two major ongoing academic studies which
ask a very similar question to the one released by
Channel 4 get very
different results.
In 2024, the British Election Study (BES) found only 13% of gen Z across Great
Britain agree or strongly agree that “the best way to run the country would be
to have a strong leader who does not have to bother with parliament and
elections”.
In 2022, the World Values Survey (WVS), a study which has tracked attitudes to
democracy since 1981, found 27% of gen Z in Britain think that “having a strong
leader who does not have to bother with parliament and elections” is a very or
fairly good way of governing the country.
So the BES finding is around a quarter the level found in the
Channel 4
study, and the WVS finding is around half the level. Together, these suggest we
should be extremely wary about putting too much weight on the
Channel 4
finding.
As an aside, the difference between these two larger, more rigorous studies is
very likely to be related to the varying response categories used. The BES
allows people to choose “neither agree nor disagree”. The WVS does not include
this option."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
