Measuring Democracy: A Bridge between Scholarship and Politics
About this ebook
Drawing on his years of academic research on democracy and measurement and his practical experience evaluating democratic practices for the United Nations and the Organization of American States, Munck's discussion bridges the theories of academia with practical applications. In proposing a more open and collaborative relationship between theory and action, he makes the case for reassessing how democracy is measured and encourages fundamental changes in methodology. Munck’s field-tested framework for quantifying and qualifying democracy is built around two instruments he developed: the UN Development Programme’s Electoral Democracy Index and a case-by-case election monitoring tool used by the OAS.
Measuring Democracy offers specific, real-world lessons that scholars and practitioners can use to improve the quality and utility of data about democracy.
About the author
Gerardo L. Munck is a professor in the School of International Relations at the University of Southern California. He consults regularly on democracy evaluation for international and nongovernmental organizations, including the United Nations and the Organization of American States. Munck is the coauthor of Passion, Craft, and Method in Comparative Politics, also published by Johns Hopkins.
