Processes of Democratization and Autocratization

Freedom House

Defines democracy as electoral democracy, measures freedom

Electoral Democracy (Freedom House)

More narrowly focused on the process of electing leaders through free, fair, competitive, and regular elections (thin and procedural)

Procedural

How do we get a government? How do you get into power and how it is allocated?

Liberal Democracy

Encompasses electoral process and also checks and balances, liberal rights (rule of law)

Liberal Democracy - Thick vs Thin

Thickest defintion, least abstract

Substantive

What policies are pursued? Emphasize exercise of political power and content of policies

Economist’s Democracy Index

Includes electoral process and pluralism but also culture, political participation, civil liberties (thick)

Political Culture

How people in a society think and feel about politics — like willingness to engage in public debate, elect representatives and join political parties

V-Dem

Criteria for Economist’s Democracy Index

Five interrelated criteria: electoral process and pluralism; civil liberties; the functioning of government; political participation; and political culture.

Four Indexes of Economist’s Democracy

Full democracies, flawed democracies, hybrid regimes, authoritarian regimes

V-Dems Democracy Indexes

No universal defintion of democracy (egalitarian, liberal, electoral, participatory, deliberative)

V-Dem’s Electoral Democracy

Elections are free, fair, and regular, empirical measure of Dahl’s defintion of polyarchy

V-Dem’s Participatory Democracy

Active participation and direct rule by citizens (looks at how citizens influence politics through civil society organizations, direct democracy [referenda, local participation], local self-government.

V-Dem’s Deliberative Democracy

Public good must be pursued based on reason rather than emotional appeals or coercion

V-Dem’s Egalitarian Democracy

All social groups have equal access to power, rights, political equality and participation, regardless of wealth, gender, ethnicity, etc.

V-Dem’s Liberal Democracy

Checks and balances, rule of law, civil liberties (constraint state repression and secure fundamental rights)

Components of V-Dem’s Liberal Democracy Index 

Electoral democracy index (suffrage, elected officials, clean elections, freedom of association, freedom of expression + alternative sources of info) + liberal component index (equality before law and individual liberty, judicial contraints on the executive, legislative constraints on the executive)

Dahl’s Polyarchy

Free inclusive elections undergirded by political liberties (ex: freedom of speech)

IDEA report "International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance" (criteria)

this is an international organization (composed of states)
- produces monthly updates on the state of democracy
- launched the Global State of Democratization

GSoD’s Defintion of Democracy

Popular control over public decision-making and political equality.

Four Key Attributes

Representation (free and equal access to political representation); Rights (individual liberties and resources); Rule of Law (predictable and equal enforcement of the law and judicial checks on government power); Participation (active political involvement by the citizens)

GSoD Positives

Only ranks at attribute level so countries can be compared across these dimensions (useful for policymakers), tries to not to favor liberal democracy over others

Ancient Greece

No oligarchy, political participation was necessary, citizens took turns ruling via lottery, citizenship and participation was limited to adult free men

Aristotle and Politeia

Fear of “rule by many” leads to mixed constitution (mix of oligarchy, democracy, and monarchy - shared power across institutions and classes)