Measuring Democracy and the Quality of Democracy in a World-Wide Approach

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
David F. J. Campbell ◽  
Elias G. Carayannis ◽  
Thorsten D. Barth ◽  
George S. Campbell
Keyword(s):  
World Wide ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Central Research ◽  
Quality Of Democracy ◽  
Global Comparison ◽  
Measuring Democracy ◽  
Democracy Measurement ◽  
Freedom House

The central research question for this article is: How can democracy and the quality of democracy be measured globally and empirically? Certainly, democracy measurement represents a wider research field; however, this article wants to contribute to it by offering to the reader an introduction and by giving first views about the ideas of democracy measurement in a global comparison and world-wide approach. The article contrasts different approaches to the measurement of democracy, with a focus on three macro-models of democracy measurement as well as the democratic indices (indicators) that they apply specifically: Freedom House, Democracy Index and Democracy Ranking. All three initiatives want to measure a large number of democracies over a longer period of time. In conclusion, it could, at least implicitly, be argued for Freedom House: the higher the freedom evaluation of a country, the greater the chances are or the more there is an expectation of a tendency for an advanced quality of democracy.

Freedom, Equality and the Quality of Democracy

2015 ◽  
pp. 1778-1804
Author(s):  
Thorsten D. Barth
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Research Question ◽  
The United States ◽  
Quality Of Democracy ◽  
Democratic Development ◽  
Quintuple Helix ◽  
Essential Questions ◽  
Democratic Life

Freedom and equality are the content, the substance and the tension in a liberal democracy of today. Freedom and equality describe the design, stability and the quality of a democracy. Especially in a Quintuple Helix Model, the quality of democracy and sustainable development are closely related, because a high-quality democracy is a prerequisite for promoting sustainability in democracies. By investigating the quality of democracy this article develops two theses: 1.) Democracy with their quality rises or falls with the expression of freedom and/or equality; 2.) Democracy generates its stability from a balanced interaction between freedom and equality. With the concept of Democratic Life this article examines these two theses: Democratic Life as newly developed concept measures the quality of democracy with providing information about the type of a democracy and an approach to measure a democracy´s democratic development for the top 20 of the Democracy Ranking (2009). The central keys of the Democratic Life concept are the ‘Index of Classification' and the ‘Democratic-Life-Index', which are formed from an ‘Index of Freedom' and an ‘Index of Equality'. By empirical examination of the research question of Democratic Life two essential questions in the modern democratic theory can be investigated: 1.) How democratic is a democracy? 2.) How much freedom and equality does a liberal democracy need? The countries analyzed for the Democratic Life concept in this article are the United States, Australia, Sweden and Germany in comparison between 1995 and 2008. This degree of democratic quality will create a lot of problems towards developing sustainability in a democracy, because in the United States there is currently a big disparity between freedom and equality.

How to Improve the Quality of Democracy? Experiences with Participatory Innovations at the Local Level in Germany

2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 51-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brigitte Geissel
Keyword(s):  
World Wide ◽  
Fast Track ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Interesting Case ◽  
Quality Of Democracy ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
End Of History ◽  
The World ◽  
Research Analysis

Despite the world-wide triumph of democracy, the quest for an optimal politike has not yet reached the “end of history.” It turns out that representative democracies do not necessarily satisfy citizenries. These malaises are regarded as causes for concern and political actors increasingly pin their hopes on participatory innovations as re-legitimizing responses. But do they work? Germany is an especially interesting case for empirical research. Analysis of the variety of participatory innovations utilized at the local level in Germany—often varying considerably among the different Bundesländer—provides preliminary insights. The German case shows overall that participatory innovations have the potential to cure some of the current malaises of representative democracy. Participatory innovations, however, are certainly no fast-track cure. The useful implementation of participatory innovations requires comprehensive consideration, caution, and, (up to now limited) knowledge about possibilities and pitfalls.

The Quality of Democracy-Concept vs. the Quintuple Helix

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerhard Schlattl
Keyword(s):  
Central Research ◽  
Political Democracy ◽  
Quality Of Democracy ◽  
Quintuple Helix ◽  
Conceptual Discussion

This article focuses on the virtues of minimalist vs. maximalist democracy conceptions, based on the central research: Should the Quality of Democracy be equated with the Quality of Society? The article addresses the Quintuple Helix, recently introduced by Carayannis & Campbell (2010), followed by a conceptual discussion of one practical operationalization, notably the “Democracy Ranking” developed by Campbell (2008). By contrast, a more concise model on political democracy, notably the Quality-of-Democracy Concept (QD-Concept), is subsequently elaborated and finally incorporated into the Quintuple Helix for further discussion. The primary aim of the article is highlighting the need to avoid the fallacy of conceptual overstretch in the framework of assessing the quality of democracy. Democracy conceptualizations should more clearly be differentiated from broader conceptualizations on quality of society.

scholarly journals Portrayal of Canada in the Dutch Print Media

2003 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leen D'Haenens ◽  
Jan Bosman
Keyword(s):  
Research Question ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Central Research ◽  
News Frames ◽  
News Reporting ◽  
On Line ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Le Canada

Abstract: This article is devoted to the nature of recent news coverage of Canada in the on-line versions of eight Dutch newspapers. The research literature points to five recurrent frames in news reporting: conflict, human interest, economic impact, morality, and responsibility. Our central research question concerned the nature of recent news reporting on Canada in Dutch newspapers in terms of amount of coverage and themes dealt with - and whether this news reflects the news frames. Two periods of study included eight weeks of routine reporting early in 2001 and two event-driven crisis months starting with September 11. In-depth interviews were also conducted with media makers and experts on Canada regarding their perception of the overall quality of the Dutch news reporting on Canada. Résumé : Cet article porte sur la manière dont les versions en ligne de huit journaux néerlandais ont couvert le Canada récemment. La littérature de recherche indique cinq « frames » récurrents dans la couverture de nouvelles : conflit, dimension humaine, impact économique, moralité, et responsabilité. Notre question de recherche concerne des reportages récents sur le Canada dans des journaux néerlandais par rapport au nombre de reportages et aux thèmes soulevés, ainsi qu'aux cinq « frames » mentionnés ci-dessus. Deux périodes d'étude comprennent huit semaines de reportage routinier au début de l'an 2001 et deux mois de crises provoquées par les événements suivant le 11 septembre. Des entrevues en profondeur ont été menées auprès de professionnels des médias et d'experts sur le Canada pour apprendre comment ils perçoivent la qualité générale des reportages néerlandais sur le Canada.

Freedom, Equality and the Quality of Democracy

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thorsten D. Barth
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Research Question ◽  
The United States ◽  
Empirical Examination ◽  
Quality Of Democracy ◽  
Democratic Development ◽  
Essential Questions ◽  
Democratic Life

Freedom and equality are the content, the substance and the tension in a liberal democracy of today. Freedom and equality describe the design, stability and the quality of a democracy. Especially in a Quintuple Helix Model, the quality of democracy and sustainable development are closely related, because a high-quality democracy is a prerequisite for promoting sustainability in democracies. By investigating the quality of democracy this article develops two theses: 1.) Democracy with their quality rises or falls with the expression of freedom and/or equality; 2.) Democracy generates its stability from a balanced interaction between freedom and equality. With the concept of Democratic Life this article examines these two theses: Democratic Life as newly developed concept measures the quality of democracy with providing information about the type of a democracy and an approach to measure a democracy´s democratic development for the top 20 of the Democracy Ranking (2009). The central keys of the Democratic Life concept are the ‘Index of Classification’ and the ‘Democratic-Life-Index’, which are formed from an ‘Index of Freedom’ and an ‘Index of Equality’. By empirical examination of the research question of Democratic Life two essential questions in the modern democratic theory can be investigated: 1.) How democratic is a democracy? 2.) How much freedom and equality does a liberal democracy need? The countries analyzed for the Democratic Life concept in this article are the United States, Australia, Sweden and Germany in comparison between 1995 and 2008. This degree of democratic quality will create a lot of problems towards developing sustainability in a democracy, because in the United States there is currently a big disparity between freedom and equality.

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