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
- ++ Functioning Government
- +++ [You are here] Political Participation
- ++++ Democratic Political Culture
- +++++ Civil Liberties
- ====== The Final Tally
- 27. Voter participation/turn-out for national elections. Average turnout in parliamentary and/or presidential elections since 2000. Turnout as proportion of population of voting age.
- 1: if consistently above 70 per cent
- 0.5: if between 50 and 70 per cent
- 0: if below 50 per cent
- If voting is obligatory, score 0. Score 0 if scores for questions 1 or 2 is 0.
- 28. Do ethnic, religious and other minorities have a reasonable degree of autonomy and voice in the political process?
- 1: Yes
- 0.5: Yes, but serious flaws exist
- 0: No
- 29. Women in parliament. Per cent of members of parliament who are women.
- 1: if more than 20 per cent of seats
- 0.5: if 10-20 per cent
- 0: if less than 10 per cent
- 30. Extent of political participation. Membership of political parties and political non-governmental organisations.
- 1: if over 7 per cent of population for either
- 0.5: if 4 to 7 per cent
- 0: if under 4 per cent
- If participation is forced, score 0.
- 31. Citizens’ engagement with politics. Proportion of the population that is very or somewhat interested in politics.
- 1: High (over 60 per cent)
- 0.5: Moderate (between 40 and 60 per cent)
- 0: Low (less than 40 per cent)
- 32. The preparedness of population to take part in lawful demonstrations. Proportion of the population that has taken part in or would consider attending lawful demonstrations.
- 1: High (if over 40 per cent)
- 0.5: Moderate (between 30 and 40 per cent)
- 0: Low (less than 30 per cent)
- 33. Adult literacy
- 1: if over 90 per cent
- 0.5: if 70 to 90 per cent
- 0: if less than 70 per cent
- 34. Extent to which adult population shows an interest in and follows politics in the news. Proportion of the population that follows politics in the news media (print, TV, or radio).
- 1: High (over 50 per cent)
- 0.5: Moderate (between 30 and 50 per cent)
- 0: Low (less than 30 per cent)
- 35. The authorities make a serious effort to promote political participation. Consider the role of the education system, and other promotional efforts, and measures to facilitate voting by members of the diaspora.
- 1: Yes
- 0.5: Some attempts
- 0: No
- If participation is forced, score 0.
SCORE: 5/9 = 5.556 out of 10
- Move to another section of the questionnaire
- + Electoral Process and Pluralism
- ++ Functioning Government
- +++ [You are here] Political Participation
- ++++ Democratic Political Culture
- +++++ Civil Liberties
- ====== The Final Tally
