State of Democracy Project

The State of Democracy project has developed a comprehensive methodological tool that the citizens of all democracies in the world can use to assess the functioning of their own democratic systems.

The International IDEA Handbook on Democracy Assessment, volumes I and II, are available for purchase here (external site).

Downlad the Overviews of the State of Democracy Handbook, Volume I: Arabic English French Russian Spanish Overview of the State of Democracy Project is available here (Acrobat format) Country Reports 20 March 2002, London Launch of Global Survey of the State of Democracy Press Release Report from the London Launch Review of the Handbook in the The Guardian (UK), 19 March 2002. How democratic is your country? Perform an online assessment: Learn More... Download the Questionnaire (requires Acrobat 4.0) Alternate download (Word format) Visit the Discussions area Begin the Interactive Assessment View preliminary results Read press coverage from The World Today

The assessments are aimed at raising public awareness, sparking discussions and helping identify areas for reform. The project does not place countries in a ranking order, but rather focuses on progress or setbacks. The methodology has now been tested in eight pilot countries and was published in 2001, The International IDEA Handbook on Democracy Assessment, by Kluwer Law International. A comparative volume analysing the findings of the pilot studies will be published in 2002. The pilot study covered Bangladesh, El Salvador, Italy, Kenya, South Korea, Malawi, New Zealand and Peru.

A slightly shorter version of the assessment methodology can be found here and anyone who is interested can use it online.

A number of research institutions and groups have requested International IDEA's permission to use the methodology even before it was published.

Download overviews of the State of Democracy Project (Acrobat format)

• Arabic
• English
• French
• Russian
• Spanish

For further information, contact:

Ozias Tungwarara
E-mail: o.tungwarara@idea.int

Continue - Introduction | Begin the Interactive Assessment

top