The best measure of democracy is done annually by The Economist. Their methodology consists of answering a 60-point questionnaire with scores of 0, 0.5, or 1. They then take the score from each category (out of ten) and calculate the average across all categories, from the fairness of the electoral process to the openness of government. Here Gabe de Roche presents how he graded the U of T Students’ Union to arrive at the Democracy Score of 6.54 out of 10—on the low end of what The Economist would call a “Flawed Democracy.”
Read de Roche’s commentary
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- Move to another section of the questionnaire
- + Electoral Process and Pluralism
- ++ [You are here] Functioning Government
- +++ Political Participation
- ++++ Democratic Political Culture
- +++++ Civil Liberties
- ====== The Final Tally
- 13. Do freely elected representatives determine government policy?
- 1: Yes
- 0.5: Exercise some meaningful influence
- 0: No
- 14. Is the legislature the supreme political body, with a clear supremacy over other branches of government?
- 1: Yes
- 0: No
- 15. Is there an effective system of checks and balances on the exercise of government authority?
- 1: Yes
- 0.5: Yes, but there are some serious flaws
- 0: No
- 16. Government is free of undue influence by the military or the security services
- 1: Yes
- 0.5: Influence is low, but the defence minister is not a civilian. If the current risk of a military coup is extremely low, but the country has a recent history of military rule or coups
- 0: No
- 17. Foreign powers do not determine important government functions or policies
- 1: Yes
- 0.5: Some features of a protectorate
- 0: No (significant presence of foreign troops; important decisions taken by foreign power; country is a protectorate)
- 18. Special economic, religious or other powerful domestic groups do not exercise significant political power, parallel to democratic institutions?
- 1: Yes
- 0.5: Exercise some meaningful influence
- 0: No
- 19. Are sufficient mechanisms and institutions in place for assuring government accountability to the electorate in between elections?
- 1: Yes
- 0.5: Yes, but serious flaws exist
- 0: No
- 20. Does the government’s authority extend over the full territory of the country?
- 1: Yes
- 0: No
- 21. Is the functioning of government open and transparent, with sufficient public access to information?
- 1: Yes
- 0.5: Yes, but serious flaws exist
- 0: No
- 22. How pervasive is corruption?
- 1: Corruption is not a major problem
- 0.5: Corruption is a significant issue
- 0: Pervasive corruption exists
- 23. Is the civil service willing and capable of implementing government policy?
- 1: Yes
- 0.5: Yes, but serious flaws exist
- 0: No
- 24. Popular perceptions of the extent to which they have free choice and control over their lives. Proportion of the population that think they have a great deal of choice/control.
- 1: High (more than 70 per cent)
- 0.5: Moderate (between 50 and 70 per cent)
- 0: Low (less than 50 per cent)
- 25. Public confidence in government. Proportion of the population that has a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in government.
- 1: High (more than 40 per cent)
- 0.5: Moderate (between 25 and 40 per cent)
- 0: Low (less than 25 per cent)
- 26. Public confidence in political parties. Proportion of the population that has a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence.
- 1: High (more than 40 per cent)
- 0.5: Moderate (between 25 and 40 per cent)
- 0: Low (less than 25 per cent)
SCORE: 7/14 = 5 out of 10
- Move to another section of the questionnaire
- + Electoral Process and Pluralism
- ++ [You are here] Functioning Government
- +++ Political Participation
- ++++ Democratic Political Culture
- +++++ Civil Liberties
- ====== The Final Tally
