Research Article

Conceptualizing and Measuring Democracy: A New Approach

Michael Coppedge^a1, John Gerring^a2, David Altman^a3, Michael Bernhard^a4, Steven Fish^a5, Allen Hicken^a6, Matthew Kroenig^a7, Staffan I. Lindberg^a8, Kelly McMann^a9, Pamela Paxton^a10, Holli A. Semetko^a11, Svend-Erik Skaaning^a12, Jeffrey Staton^a13 and Jan Teorell^a141

^a1 Helen Kellogg Institute for International Studies, the University of Notre Dame (coppedge.1@nd.edu)

^a2 Boston University (jgerring@bu.edu)

^a3 Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

^a4 University of Florida

^a5 University of California, Berkeley

^a6 University of Michigan

^a7 Georgetown University

^a8 Gothenburg University and the University of Florida

^a9 Case Western Reserve University

^a10 University of Texas at Austin

^a11 Emory University

^a12 Aarhus University

^a13 Emory University

^a14 Lund University

Abstract

In the wake of the Cold War, democracy has gained the status of a mantra. Yet there is no consensus about how to conceptualize and measure regimes such that meaningful comparisons can be made through time and across countries. In this prescriptive article, we argue for a new approach to conceptualization and measurement. We first review some of the weaknesses among traditional approaches. We then lay out our approach, which may be characterized as historical, multidimensional, disaggregated, and transparent. We end by reviewing some of the payoffs such an approach might bring to the study of democracy.

(Online publication June 03 2011)

Michael Coppedge is Professor of Political Science and a Faculty Fellow of the Helen Kellogg Institute for International Studies at the University of Notre Dame (coppedge.1@nd.edu). He has served as Chair of the APSA Task Force on Indicators of Democracy and Governance. (Although this collaboration has many synergies with the APSA task force, this article is not a product of the task force and does not necessarily represent the views of its members.)

John Gerring is Professor of Political Science at Boston University (jgerring@bu.edu). He served as a member of The National Academy of Sciences' Committee on the Evaluation of USAID Programs to Support the Development of Democracy in 2006–07 and as President of the APSA's Organized Section on Qualitative and Multi-Method Research in 2007–09.

Footnotes

1 This article represents one product of a larger collaborative effort to produce new indicators of democracy for all countries since 1900. Other team members include co-Principal Investigators Staffan Lindberg and Jan Teorell, as well as Project Managers David Altman, Michael Bernhard, Steven Fish, Allen Hicken, Matthew Kroenig, Kelly McMann, Pamela Paxton, Holli Semetko, Svend-Erik Skaaning, and Jeffrey Staton. Coppedge and Gerring are primarily responsible for the text of this article, though input was received from the entire team. The Appendix is a joint effort.

The authors' names are listed alphabetically to reflect equal contributions.

The authors thank the Kellogg Institute at Notre Dame and the Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future at Boston University for their generous support.

The other collaborators—David Altman (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile), Michael Bernhard (University of Florida), Steven Fish (University of California, Berkeley), Allen Hicken (University of Michigan), Matthew Kroenig (Georgetown University), Kelly McMann (Case Western Reserve University), Pamela Paxton (University of Texas at Austin), Holli Semetko (Emory University), Svend-Erik Skaaning (Aarhus University), Jeffrey Staton (Emory University), and especially Staffan I. Lindberg (Gothenburg University and the University of Florida) and Jan Teorell (Lund University)—are participants in an ongoing effort to implement the approach described here and have made many substantive contributions to this article.

The authors also thank others who generously commented on various drafts of the manuscript: André Bächtiger, Tabitha Benney, David Black, Christian Davenport, John Dryzek, Amitava Dutt, Tasha Fairfield, Tiago Fernandes, Robert Fishman, Archon Fung, Larry Garber, Carlos Gervasoni, Clark Gibson, Jack Goldstone, John Griffin, Rita Guenther, Jonathan Hartlyn, Macartan Humphreys, Jo Husbands, Sebastian Karcher, Phil Keefer, Fabrice Lehoucq, Jim Mahoney, Mick Moore, Gerardo Munck, Peter Nardulli, Guillermo O'Donnell, Aníbal Pérez-Liñán, Sabine MacCormack, Kunle Owolabi, David Samuels, Margaret Sarles, Fred Schaffer, Andreas Schedler, Mitchell Seligson, Rich Snyder, Ottón Solís, Paul Stern, Strom Thacker, J. Samuel Valenzuela, Nicholas van de Walle, and Jeremy Weinstein.