A New Index of Democracy

Abstract

The present paper analyses and revises the latest Democracy Index
published by the Economist Intelligence Unit in the United Kingdom. We
analyze the changes produced in the index from 2006 to 2011, as well
as in the five basic factors that constitute the index: electoral process
and pluralism; civil liberties; the functioning of government; political
participation; and political culture. The analysis of these factors
—measured by sixty variables— has made it possible to develop a new
index, based on the data from 167 countries, and calculate a revised
ranking. Countries have been classified into four types: democracies,
flawed democracies, mixed systems, and authoritarian/totalitarian
regimes. The new index permits a better understanding of the impact of
the crisis through variables such as economic growth, human
development, quality of life, corruption, and violence.