Source: The Local
The study released on Tuesday was conducted by government agencies and research institutes, and surveyed more than 2,300 adult refugees who arrived in Germany between 2013 and early 2016.
The report noted that refugees showed a “high degree of agreement with fundamental democratic values”, and in some cases showed that asylum seekers were slightly more democratic than Germans: 96 percent of refugees said that a democracy was the best form of state government, compared to 95 percent of German citizens who agreed in a separate World Values Survey.
And while 21 percent of refugees agreed that “people should have a strong leader who does not have to deal with parliament and elections”, 22 percent of Germans agreed with this statement.
Nearly 60 percent of Germans agreed that “experts and not the government should decide what is best for the country” while 55 percent of refugees agreed with this statement.
When asked about what the most important aspects of a democracy should be, 96 percent of refugees said that free elections were important, compared to 92 percent of Germans. An equal portion of refugees and Germans believed democracies should also entail equal rights for men and women: 92 percent.
Categories: Europe, Europe and Australia, European Union, Germany