Prof. R.J. Rummel cited this University of Michigan The World Values Survey. Some of the results are definitely not as "everbody knows" at the NYT. Just look at this graphic on Support for Democracy vs cultural zone:
Rummel is a constant source of insights and references on democracy initiatives worldwide. E.g., from his Democratic Peace website see "Talk By Radwan Masmoudi: "Islam & Democracy: Between The Past, The Present & The Future"
Whoa there. Fewer than 40% of Americans are strongly in favor of democracy?? (I realize it’s aggregated with Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, but I’d be surprised if there were a huge variation in attitudes toward this question among those four.)
Agreed, and thanks for comment. It may be that the graphic has simplified the survey questions to a heading that isn’t indicative of what was asked. I’ve downloaded the whole survey but haven’t had time to digest.
I have email a query on this to Dr. Rummel as follows:
Dear Dr. Rummel,
Something is not right about the graphic you selected from the World Values Survey. A lower “support for democracy” result for zone:US/AUS/CAN/NZ does not make sense. I.e., lower than Arab, EU, etc.
I’ve downloaded some of the World Values Survey info but have found it too voluminous to digest quickly.
Can you explain the basis of this result? Or perhaps provide a URL to the specific report that you are quoting?