The Disturbing Democracy Index

Where are we free to be? -- Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
I hear you asking, "What is the Democracy Index?" Well, probably not. But I'll tell you anyway -- the Democracy Index (DI) is an index of political freedom, assessed by country for every country in the world. The conservative British magazine, The Economist does this assessment once every year using 60 questions across 5 categories (pluralism, civil liberties, participation, culture and government functioning). Independent scholars employed by The Economist offer expert opinion but objective survey results are also used in answering the questions.

If you look at the map above, you’ll see there are 4 classifications indicated by color (this will also test you for color blindness :-)):

Light blue / Medium blue -- Full democracy
Canyon blue -- Flawed democracy
Royal blue -- Hybrid regime
Cobalt blue / Black -- Authoritarian regime

It’s a bit jarring to see that 50% of the world (by population %) toils under some type of regime. You might be surprised to see the USA languishing at #18 and United Kingdom (home to this survey) at #21. Russia and China, two great powers of the world show as a hybrid and an authoritarian regime respectively. The DI has been criticized for neglecting popular opinion of citizens; another factor that appears missing from the DI formula is standard of living. Thus it might be very possible that citizens of Saudi Arabia, China and Vietnam live under generous tyrannies that give them comfortable livings.

If you look at the map, there are ample (albeit politically incorrect) conclusions to draw. The authoritarian regimes are depicted with dark colors, which roughly correspond to the ethnicities of the people in those countries. As an advocate of Church-State separation, I can’t help but notice that the regimes are dominated by authoritarian, intolerant religions (like Islam) or indigenous religions that promote things like female circumcision. The countries with the greatest democracy attributes seem to be Scandinavia and the British Commonwealth (but not Britain itself). The USA has a history of racial strife (Jim Crow laws up until 1965) and anti-immigrant movements so our #18 is probably deserved.

Other things are note-worthy. Democracy apparently cannot be dispensed like aspirin at a vending machine. Liberia in Africa was founded as a nation for freed slaves, using much of our Bill of Rights and legal precedents. No matter -- it still is a hybrid regime at #98. Democracy is something that needs to be absorbed, sponge-like by an educated and appreciative populace. Other analogies spring to mind…Democracy is a delicate, beautiful instrument which must be tuned and maintained by a caring populace. It doesn’t maintain itself.

What is the future prospect for the authoritarian regimes shown above? Should we be cynical and say that some people don’t mind being told how to live, don’t wish to hassled with things like town council meetings and voter registration? More likely, the voice of freedom hasn’t reached everywhere it needs to be heard. We ourselves are marveling over our 1st black President and a Latina Supreme Court justice. Religious and sexual preconceptions generally come bundled with political packaging. When Afghanistan decides that women can go to school, when Saudi Arabia decides that Christians can worship openly in Mecca, things will move however glacially toward a free and freedom-loving world.

© 2009 blogSpotter