Chapter 5: Democracy and Dictatorship: Conceptialisation and Measurement Flashcards
Plato on democracy
Political decision should be based on expertise; “ocholocracy” (mob rule) would result from democracy
Aristotle on democracy
Good forms of ruling: Monarchy, Aristocracy, Polity
Bad forms of ruling: Tyranny, Oligarchy, Democracy
Definition of “Demokratia”
Greek: “rule by the demos”
Dahl’s View of Democracy
Contestation (the extent to which citizens are free to organise themselves into competing blocs in order to press for the policies and outcomes they desire.)
Inclusion (who gets to participate in the democratic process.)
Dahl’s view of how to measure democracy
Employ a minimalist (procedural) view, which classifies political regimes in regard to their institutions and procedures
Substantive view of democracy
Classifies political regimes in regard to the outcome they produce
According to Dahl, are there many democracies in the world?
No. He viewed democracy as an ideal (the highest level of contestation and inclusion) and referred to states with high levels as “polyarchies” instead.
What are the three measures of democracy and dictatorship mentioned?
The Democracy-Dictatorship (DD) Measure, Polity IV, and Freedom House
How does the DD Measure conceptualise a democracy?
Governmental offices (both the chief executive office and the legislature must be elected.)
Contestation (there exists an opposition that has some chance of winning office.)
Which three elements does contestation entail?
- Ex ante uncertainty
- Ex post irreversibility
- Repeatability
What does “ex ante uncertainty” mean?
The outcome of the election is unknown before it happens.
What does “ex post irreversibility” mean?
The winner of the election actually takes office.
What does “repreatability” refer to?
Elections that meet the first two criteria must occur at regular and known intervals.
In the DD measure, which four conditions must met to be classified as a democracy?
- The chief executive is elected
- The legislature is elected
- More than one party competing in the elections
- An alternation in power under identical electoral rules has taken place
How does the DD measure differ from Dahl’s view of democracy, and why?
Does not focus on the aspect of inclusion, as there is almost no variation of inclusion for the time frame 1946-2008-
How does the DD measure treat regime types?
As a dichotomy - countries are EITHER a democracy or a dictatorship
How does Polity IV treat regime types?
As a continuum - usually classified as a democracy, dictatorship, or an anocracy/mixed regime
How is the Polity IV score calculated?
The democracy score minus the autocracy score
What are the precise rules that generate the Polity score?
- The competitiveness of executive recruitment
- The openness of executive recruitment
- The constraints that exist on the executive
- The regulation of political participation
- The competitiveness of political participation
What does the Freedom House measure, measure?
“Global freedom”, so is technically not a measure of democracy although it is used as one
What two dimensions is a country’s Freedom House score based on?
A country’s level of political rights and civil rights
How does scholars code countries, using the Freedom House score?
Free (democratic), Partly Free (mixed), or Not Free (dictatorship)
What views of democracy does the different measures (DD, Polity IV and Freedom House) use?
DD: procedural + dichotomous
Polity IV: procedural + continuous
Freedom House: substantive + continuous
