An Ipsos survey found 18% of U.S. adults somewhat or strongly favored authoritarian government after reading a definition, while 81% preferred democratic rule, offering a snapshot of views on political accountability.
The questionnaire described a system in which leaders had little accountability, could stay in office without a set time limit and controlled government institutions such as courts, schools and the media. Ipsos conducted the survey for the Online Courtroom Project.
Ipsos collected responses online in English from 1,000 U.S. adults ages 18 and older between March 13 and March 26, 2026. Recruitment drew on Ipsos's panel, panels run by partners and “river” sampling, with demographic weighting. Because the sample was not probability-based, Ipsos says a conventional margin of error does not apply; it gives a ±3.8-percentage-point credibility interval for all respondents.
The questionnaire also asked about due process and government restrictions. Twenty-seven percent said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should be able to deport people it believes are national security threats without a court hearing; 73% said a hearing should be required. Twenty-six percent supported allowing the government to restrict speech it considers harmful, and the same share backed restrictions on press coverage it considers harmful.
Separately, the Pew Research Center found 69% of U.S. adults dissatisfied with how democracy was working in March 2026, seven percentage points above the 2025 result. That poll measured views of democracy's performance, not whether people favored authoritarian or democratic government.
Ipsos posted its survey findings on May 29, and the companion report, America’s Rule of Law: Contradictions and Crossroads, is dated June 16. The report also draws on six online focus groups held in September and October 2025; those discussions are not a representative poll. Its authors cite cynicism about politicians, confusion about government, pressure to join political camps, weaker trust in objective facts and the personalization of political issues as factors in public disenchantment. They recommend civic education, political accountability and transparency, discussion forums and media-literacy training. The report also compares U.S. pressures during the Great Depression with Germany's post-World War I economic crisis, an analogy offered by its authors rather than a survey finding.
The New York County Lawyers Association has scheduled a discussion of the report for Thursday, Oct. 29, from 6:15 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET.
