Americans’ evolving thoughts on the state of democracy continue to be put under the microscope by the McCourtney Institute for Democracy. 🇺🇸🔬🗳️ Liberal Arts Professor of Political Science Eric Plutzer and McCourtney Institute Director and Professor of Political Science Michael Berkman recently received a one-year grant from the National Science Foundation to re-survey people who have participated in their Mood of the Nation Poll. 📊❓ Through the grant, Mood of the Nation’s partner, online polling organization YouGov, is re-surveying 3,000 people who took the 2022, 2023 or 2024 polls to gauge whether their opinions on democracy and freedom have changed due to ongoing political and societal factors. “If you ask most Americans, they’ll say, ‘Democracy is the best system on the planet,’” Eric said. “We try to probe them by asking, ‘Well, what is it about democracy you like the most?’ And that’s where we get interesting responses, when people can explain themselves in their own word...