Perception of democracy and conspiracies in Austria

Over the past few years, the European Union has coped with far-reaching political, economic and social changes and a string of successive and sometimes overlapping crises. The financial and economic crisis, refugee and migration flows and the Covid-19 pandemic all underscore both the extent to which our world is interconnected and the vulnerabilities of modern societies. Globalization, digitalization and an all-encompassing information age are indeed providing an unending challenge to all.

GLOBSEC’s report, Voices of Central and Eastern Europe: Perceptions of democracy & governance in 10 EU countries, provides unique insight into public satisfaction with the functioning of democracy and governance in ten Central and Eastern European countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.

This country report focuses specifically on Austria. As the Austrian partner within the project, the Austrian Society for European Politics (Österreichische Gesellschaft für Europapolitik / ÖGfE) helped to analyse Austrian specific results and has compiled the present country report that focuses on public opinion in the alpine country.

The key findings of this report are:

1. There is a considerable support for liberal democratic system but sobering view on everyday politics.
2. Austrians see the domestic media landscape as largely free but trust is still only modes.
3. Migration and Islam remain controversial issues in the societal and value discourse.
4. There is an ambivalent relationship with the European Union.
5. Misinformation and conspiracy theories resonate within certain groups of society – especially among those who are dissatisfied with how democracy works in Austria.

Read more in the fact-sheets and reports below (both in English and German).

For more information about Austria, please visit ÖGfE's website.