THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT'S DEMOCRACY INDEX VS. COUNTRIES’ OWN PERCEPTIONS
THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT'S DEMOCRACY INDEX VS. COUNTRIES’ OWN PERCEPTIONS

Summary/Abstract: All forms of democracy, the most dominant form of government in The West, rely on the democratic principle of each citizen has the right to vote and all votes are equal. Yet not all democracies are the same. Since 2006, the Economist Intelligence Unit has been measuring the democratic status of 167 countries. The periodic Democratic Index Report relates to 60 objective indices, grouped into five categories: electoral process and pluralism, civil liberties, government functioning, political participation and political culture. The resulting rating suggests the nature of democracy in each country. Once rated, the index sorts countries into one of four regime types: full democracies, flawed democracies, hybrid regimes, and authoritarian regimes. This paper explores the gaps that may exist between the objective rating of a country and its subjective self-perception.

• Details
• Contents