Enter democracy into any search engine and you instantaneously get millions of links. Some of these are news stories, some academic musings and one top result is even a game (you too can lead your own democracy!) but what's obvious at a glance is that democracy is complicated and under constant debate.

Synovate, together with BBC World, recently explored attitudes towards democracy in a global survey spanning 15 markets on five continents and discovered that more than half the respondents believe that terrorism can destroy democracy.

Steve Garton, global head of media research for Synovate, said the survey results showed a wide range of opinions, both across cultures and within cultures.

"We set out to reflect people's feelings across the world about how important a role democratic processes played in their lives. The answers may surprise some, showing a diversity of opinion. Interestingly, it is precisely this diversity of opinion that underpins democratic principles."

The countries covered were USA, France, Germany, Singapore, Australia, India, Poland, United Arab Emirates, UK, South Korea, Italy, South Africa, Norway, Denmark and Russia.

In total, 58% of respondents said they agree with the statement: terrorism can destroy democracy. This is made up of 35% who strongly agree and 23% who somewhat agree. The country with the highest seeming concern is France with 76% agreeing, closely followed by Denmark with 75%, United Arab Emirates with 72% and the United States with 70%.

However, opinions both within nations and across nations are polarised. Nearly a quarter of those surveyed across all markets disagree with the statement. Italy and India had a particularly broad spectrum of attitudes with fewer than half agreeing that terrorism could deal a fatal blow to democracy and 37% and 31% respectively strongly disagreeing with the statement.

Synovate's managing director in India, Alok Shanker, points out that the world's largest democracy is of two minds on the issue, with 31% strongly disagreeing and 34% strongly agreeing.

"On the one hand Indians have faith in our government and security forces to deal with acts of terrorism. On the other hand we find ourselves at risk. We are such a vast nation, it's impossible to preempt a terrorist attack and there have been attacks in the past that show our vulnerability."

Garton says: "I would have expected that people who live in democratic nations take the notion of democracy for granted. After all, many people all over the world have the right to vote, but do not exercise it.

"Yet this study shows that a large number of people in some of the world's most entrenched democracies seem to think democracy is quite fragile and could be destroyed. In some ways, you could say that terrorism has put democracy back in the minds of the people who have it."

How important is it to vote?
When it comes to the importance of voting in their national elections, the vast majority of respondents - 84% - feel it is very or quite important. However there are some interesting national variations. France is the most convinced on the importance of voting, with 82% saying they regard it as very important. Other countries sharing similar strength of opinion, with more than three quarters strongly agreeing, are Denmark, South Africa, the USA and India.

Thierry Pailleux, managing director of Synovate France, said the number of people in his country that strongly support voting almost exactly correlates with the 84% of French who actually voted in the last presidential election.

"The right to vote is simply part of being French. It's inextricably tied to the foundation of modern French culture and, since the French Revolution, voting has been seen as vital in protecting the people against absolute power," he said.

In Russia, however, just 34% believe it is very important to vote and 20% say it is not important at all.

Maria Vakatova, Synovate's director of marketing for Russia and the Ukraine, said this is not to say that Russians are against the idea of voting.

"If you also take into account the Russian respondents who believe voting is 'quite important', there are 58% with a positive attitude towards voting. However, for Russians, elections themselves are not essential. It is more important to them that the authorities carry out policies that correspond with the interests of the majority of citizens."

Is a global parliament a good idea?
Support for a global parliament, where votes are based on country population sizes and the parliament is able to make binding policies, is muted.

Just 14% say they would very likely support the concept. However, almost a quarter see the concept as one they may support but with reservations.

The highest level of unqualified support came from India, at 36%. Shanker says: "Indians want to be a part of any important global forum. It appeals to us to have a say in important matters and we feel we have a great deal to contribute on the world stage."

Can democracies solve climate change?
Respondents were also asked whether, given their political structures, they thought China or the USA was best equipped to combat climate change. Overall, the USA came in well ahead of China at 57% versus 22%. However 21% of those asked were undecided. Perhaps unsurprisingly, 87% of US residents believe their system is best equipped.

The most sceptism about the United States' ability to combat climate change came from India where just 40% opted for the USA. The next most sceptical was Russia with 46% for the USA and 34% for China.

CURIOSITIES

• Women are more democratic than men... nearly a third of all people questioned think along these lines. However, 44% of all respondents think men and women are equally democratic.
• Almost half of respondents in Dubai, UAE and 40% in Singapore believe that males are more democratic than females.
• A hefty 21% of respondents could not decide whether the US or China was better equipped to handle climate change. This may have been a strong vote for neither!