Half of Americans believe that the country will lose its superpower status in the next ten years. They believe that their position of influence and power over the rest of the world will deteriorate. A survey conducted by The Economist and YouGov reflects this viewpoint of a significant part of the population: "Half of Americans (50%), consider it likely that in the next decade the United States will cease to be a global superpower."
Other doomsday scenarios that could also occur in the next decade are also raised in the study. The stability of the economy, the preservation of democracy and the potential for a new civil war are also in question. Regarding the economy, almost half of the respondents (47%) believe that there will be an economic collapse. On this scale, Republican opinion is in the majority over Democrat opinion (65% to 38%).
Democracy in danger
The loss of democracy is another prospect raised in the study. Thirty-one percent of all respondents say the United States will live under a fascist dictatorship, while 21% believe it will be a communist dictatorship. By political ideology, four out of ten Democrats think there will be a fascist regime, while 31% of Republicans think the form of state will resemble or be a communist dictatorship.
A rise in extremism has also been identified in society. 43% are very concerned about "white extremism," 39% about right-wing extremism and 34% about left-wing extremism. By religion, 31% are concerned about Christian radicalization and 29% about Muslim radicalization.
Forty-one percent of Republicans think the United States will be invaded, while 24% of Democrats also believe this will happen.
A civil war
Another highlight of the study is the probability of a new civil war in the next ten years. Two out of five people (37%) believe that a new war is likely. Republicans are in the majority believing that the war would be a confrontation between political parties or between people from blue and red states. On the other hand, the percentage of democrats is higher when speculating about a conflict between rich and poor or between cities and rural areas.
Seven out of ten people (69%) rate a new civil war very negatively, while only 6% think it would bring benefits to the country. The opinion among Republicans and Democrats is on a par in rejecting a war in the country. With the advancement of technology, weaponry and other resources, 67% of respondents believe it would be very different conflict from that of the Civil War, to 16% who believe it would have similarities.
