Defining and Measuring Democracy

Since the 1980s, the rapid worldwide pace of democratization has stimulated a renewed interest in just how we define and measure democracy. But what criteria are used to assess a country′s democracy? How far is it subject to measurement? What kind of measurement and with what degree of precision? Can the same criteria or indexes be applied to developing democracies as to established ones? And are the standards used by Western scholars ethnocentric or universal? Leading political theorists, political scientists, and experts in comparative government from across Europe answer these and other questions in Defining and Measuring Democracy. This volume also offers an integrated analysis of the key debates and issues from how to define democracy to the issue of cultural diversity. Every chapter offers new insights and approaches, making Defining and Measuring Democracy essential reading for students and scholars in the field.

David Beetham is Professor of Politics and Director of the Centre for Democratization Studies, University of Leeds. He is author of a number of books on political theory, including The Legitimation of Power (1991).