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Measuring democracy:

Measuring democracy:. Can it be done?. Problem:. How can we systematically assess whether a country is a liberal democracy or not?. Solutions:. Clarify what you mean: decide what kinds of criteria you should assess

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Measuring democracy:

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  1. Measuring democracy: Can it be done?

  2. Problem: • How can we systematically assess whether a country is a liberal democracy or not?

  3. Solutions: • Clarify what you mean: decide what kinds of criteria you should assess • Consider whether you can develop operational measures for the criteria you want to assess • Decide whether these should be qualitative (judgmental) or quantitative

  4. Criteria: What do we expect to find in a democracy? • Inclusiveness • all or almost all of the adult population entitled to vote • Elections • free and fair elections -- elections with choice • Competition for power – public contestation

  5. Dimensions of liberal democracy:

  6. Using quantitative indicators What are they? • Numerical indicators, sometimes based on quantitative data – e.g. Gross national product • Sometimes based on expert judgments, e.g. placing a country on a scale • Examples: • Freedom House Scores • Human development index

  7. Freedom House Scores • Freedom House: • an NGO or non-profit org. dating from World War II • Assesses democracy in 193 countries by examining the availability of • Political rights • civil liberties • Uses reports, assessments by scholars & experts to rate each country on a 7 point scale: • 1 is high…………......7 is low www.freedomhouse.org

  8. Political rights: 10 scales in three subcategories • Electoral Process (3 questions) • Political Pluralism and Participation (4) • Functioning of Government (3)

  9. Civil liberties: 15 scales in four categories • Freedom of Expression and Belief (4 questions) • Associational and Organizational Rights (3) • Rule of Law (4) • Personal Autonomy & Individual Rights (4)

  10. Overall ratings • Free = mean score of 1.0 - 2.5 • Partially Free = mean score 3.0 – 5.0 • Not free = mean score 5.5 - 7.0 Some scores

  11. Freedom in the World 2007: Country Subscores

  12. Library Session: • Friday, September 21st, L1015

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