I don’t know if the Tribbers will have much energy to discuss the linked article on a day like this. But I thought that it should be brought to everyone’s attention.
The Economist’s Intelligence Unit has just published an article (pdf) on ‘how democratic’ various nations are:
Defining and measuring democracy
There is no consensus on how to measure democracy, defi nitions of democracy are contested and there is an ongoing lively debate on the subject. The issue is not only of academic interest. For example, although democracy-promotion is high on the list of American
foreign-policy priorities, there is no consensus within
the American government on what constitutes a democracy.
As one observer recently put it, “the world’s
only superpower is rhetorically and militarily promoting
a political system that remains undefi ned–and it
is staking its credibility and treasure on that pursuit”
(Horowitz, 2006, p 114).
The Economist Intelligence Unit has developed an index based on 60 indicators, broadly grouped in the 5 following categories:
- free and fair competitive elections
- civil liberties
- political culture
- functioning of government
- participation
The methodology is fully explained at the end of the linked article. A total of 167 countries were evaluated (micro-states were not included) against all the indicators. The ranked countries were divided into the below groups:
- Full Democracies (the top 28 countries)
- Flawed Democracies (the following 54 countries)
- Hybrid Regimes (30 countries)
- Authoritarian Regimes (53 countries)
It is worth noting that the 5 Nordic countries + Netherlands (also a welfare state) block out the top 6 spots. The US is 17th, the UK is 23rd, France is 24th. Italy is 34th, in the “Flawed Democracies” group!
Here’s the ranking of all the “Full Democracies” (doubt that the table will reproduce well):
Economist Intelligence Unit democracy index 2006
Category scores
Overall I Electoral process II Functioning of Government III Political Participation IV Political Culture V Civil Liberties VI
Full democracies I II III IV V VI
Sweden 1 9.88 10.00 10.00 10.00 9.38 10.00
Iceland 2 9.71 10.00 9.64 8.89 10.00 10.00
Netherlands 3 9.66 9.58 9.29 9.44 10.00 10.00
Norway 4 9.55 10.00 9.64 10.00 8.13 10.00
Denmark 5 9.52 10.00 9.64 8.89 9.38 9.71
Finland 6 9.25 10.00 10.00 7.78 8.75 9.71
Luxembourg 7 9.10 10.00 9.29 7.78 8.75 9.71
Australia 8 9.09 10.00 8.93 7.78 8.75 10.00
Canada 9 9.07 9.17 9.64 7.78 8.75 10.00
Switzerland 10 9.02 9.58 9.29 7.78 8.75 9.71
Ireland 11= 9.01 9.58 8.93 7.78 8.75 10.00
New Zealand 11= 9.01 10.00 8.57 8.33 8.13 10.00
Germany 13 8.82 9.58 8.57 7.78 8.75 9.41
Austria 14 8.69 9.58 8.21 7.78 8.75 9.12
Malta 15 8.39 9.17 8.21 6.11 8.75 9.71
Spain 16 8.34 9.58 7.86 6.11 8.75 9.41
US 17 8.22 8.75 7.86 7.22 8.75 8.53
Czech Republic 18 8.17 9.58 6.79 7.22 8.13 9.12
Portugal 19 8.16 9.58 8.21 6.11 7.50 9.41
Belgium 20= 8.15 9.58 8.21 6.67 6.88 9.41
Japan 20= 8.15 9.17 7.86 5.56 8.75 9.41
Greece 22 8.13 9.58 7.50 6.67 7.50 9.41
UK 23 8.08 9.58 8.57 5.00 8.13 9.12
France 24 8.07 9.58 7.50 6.67 7.50 9.12
Mauritius 25= 8.04 9.17 8.21 5.00 8.13 9.71
Costa Rica 25= 8.04 9.58 8.21 6.11 6.88 9.41
Slovenia 27= 7.96 9.58 7.86 6.67 6.88 8.82
Uruguay 27= 7.96 10.00 8.21 5.00 6.88 9.71
It seems that the US scores comparatively low primarily because of low political participation. The score is also low on civil liberties. Not a good combination.
So there we have it.
Are we all focused on turkey today?
I am shocked that we rank that high. It seems to me these days we should be ranked with the dictatorships.
Good to see you Ask!
Hugs and happy Turkey Day.
Shirl
Hey shirl,
good to see you too. curly and I are just back from the feast at her brother’s/sil’s. I’m a bit surprised that the story did not get more attention, but today is not the day for this heavy shit.
Happy Thanksgiving, shirl and everyone!
I was pleasantly surprised to see that over 40% participation occured in the last election. The numbers of people who actively participate had been steadily dropping due to feelings of disenchantment with the workings of government and a feeling of powerlessness. All of which had been used by at least the Goopers to encourage their votes to come out and discourage Dem votes away.
I really think lack of education is a huge problem in the US. People do not understand the workings of government and without that understanding they can’t understand about judgeships or about how laws are affected by lobbyists or any of the crucial things about government.
But I am with Shirl – no way, especially with the damn voting machines, are we able to be in that top tier. No way, especially with our lack of education are we able to sustain participation.
As the new kid on the block, first I’d like to hello to everyone and hope you had ya’ll had a good Thanksgiving.
Grandma, I have to agree with your statement. People, over the last six years, have slowly watched this Administration pull a 180 from what they campaigned about. And I think this is what finally brought them out. Bush preached about accountiblilty…but refuses to be held accountable for what he does. They preached morals…we don’t even have to go there.
I don’t know about the education…but think if you break it down it’s easier to handle. Our country is ruled, not by Congress and laws, but by the special interest groups(Corp. America, Oil, etc). This is where the money is, and as we all know…money talks. That’s the problem…if we want to take our country and government back…we eliminate the lobbiest then those who are really interested in this country will come to the top. How many would run if they knew that there is no money to be made. Yes, I have a very cynical out look on politics.
I don’t think, IMO, that the people are stupid about politics…just tired of this Administration and the lies. I’m waiting for 08(and the time leading up to it)to see how they are going to react then. Maybe this past October are a sign of things to come.
SNAKE