IDEA began its work on the methodology of democracy analysis and assessment with a project that became known as the "State of Democracy", carried out with the expert support of Professors David Beetham and Stuart Weir, building on their work with the UK Democratic Audit. In 2001, the International IDEA Handbook on Democracy Assessment was produced. The handbook sets out the methodology; provides sources; lists international standards and best practice for comparative purposes; and describes in detail processes for stakeholder and other consultative legitimation, the use of opinion polling, and techniques for validation, publicity and dissemination.
The framework is driven by two democratic principles: popular control of public decisions and decision makers, and equality between citizens in relation to those decisions. The principles are realized through a set of mediating norms: those of participation, authorisation, representativeness, accountability, transparency, responsiveness and solidarity. The methodology is designed primarily as a tool for dialogue with assessments being carried out by in-country teams of experts. The framework was subsequently piloted in eight countries (Bangladesh, El Salvador, Italy, Kenya, Malawi, new Zealand, Peru and South Korea) resulting in the publication of a second volume, The State of Democracy: Democracy Assessments in Eight Nations around the World, which provides a summary of the eight assessments; builds a set of both qualitative and quantitative indicators; and draws a series of comparative conclusions. A number of other assessments have since employed the State of Democracy framework in one way or another. The aim was to garner the views of citizens on questions like: how democratic is your country in practice? What features should be cause for concern? What progress has been made and what remains to be done? What improvements can be made?
Summaries of the International IDEA Handbook on Democracy Assessment were produced and disseminated in Arabic, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
On 25-26 June, IDEA hosted a workshop in London to share the lessons learned by its State of Democracy project. Presentations were given by representatives from four of the original assessment teams from Bangladesh, Malawi, New Zealand and South Korea, as well as by the quite separate new initiatives on democracy analysis in Australia, the Philippines and South Asia and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UN ECA). There was general agreement that the State of Democracy framework was a very flexible and robust instrument, which, if utilized with some political imagination, had the potential to achieve positive change. Areas where it could prove useful include civic education, policy advocacy, democracy dialogue and training and teaching.
The original Malawi team has remained intact and is using the State of Democracy approach to conduct other assessments, the findings of which are being included in civic education materials. The New Zealand assessment is a recommended textbook at the University of Canterbury. The assessment team at the National College of Public Administration and Governance, University of the Philippines, plans to include its assessment in programmes in public administration and governance, law, political science and sociology. The Framework has been used in a number of postgraduate courses in Australia, Canada and the UK, to encourage students to link theoretical reflection on democracy with empirical research. It has been successfully piloted as the basis of a foundation undergraduate course in political science at the University of Toronto. In Australia, the methodology is being applied in a major national research project led by the Australia National University (ANU) in the form of a democratic audit, examining such issues as the fairness of elections, internal democracy within political parties, government accountability to parliament, corruption and the difference federalism makes to democracy. In Peru, an NGO coalition has used the framework building on the pilot assessment for policy reform advocacy. The methodology is used for training purposes in the New Zealand Parliament and has been used for training members and officials of the Parliament of Zimbabwe.
A good example of how the methodology has been used as a tool for dialogue came from Peru. A coalition of civil society organizations; Citizens for Good Governance, has been established with the aim of carrying out policy reform advocacy. Using the State of Democracy methodology and building on the pilot assessment, the group is working on issues that relate to the exercise of political power in prioritizing public policies. They have made proposals to the government on participation mechanisms focusing on civil society, political parties and mass media. They plan to continue the dialogue regarding economic development with equity, decentralization and efficient public administration of state institutions.
Under its Democracy at the Local Level activity, IDEA is developing a Local Democracy Mapping Guide drawing from the State of Democracy methodology. The guide is designed for elected officials, civil society leaders, the media, scholars and other public policy analysts, and international agencies to monitor democratic process at local / city level. It allows a user to identify and evaluate two principal elements of local democracy that are critically important to exploring the quality of rule by the people: representative democracy (parties and candidates, elected authorities, and elections); and participatory democracy (civil society, forging consensus, and civic engagement). The guide is being developed in collaboration with the African Union of Local Authorities (AULA) and the Electoral Institute of Southern Africa in response to a need to enhance citizen participation at the local level identified by mayors of cities in Eastern and Southern Africa. Pilot assessments have already been carried out in Gaborone (Botswana), Lusaka (Zambia), Mwanza (Tanzania) and Nairobi (Kenya).
Also discussed at the June workshop was how the State of Democracy methodology could be of value to the donor community with regard to governance assessment frameworks and short-term policy outcomes that are a key concern of most donors. It was acknowledged that most donors have developed their own tailor-made governance assessment frameworks that aim to identify "change agents" and analyze the dynamics of power. While acknowledging that the State of Democracy methodology in its current formulation might not provide the analysis of political dynamics needed by donors for programming purposes, it still offered the possibility of a tool for policy analysis and evaluation that could be employed by in-country partners.
The workshop recommended that the methodology be continuously updated, especially the sections that detail potential democracy indicators and examples of international best practice. It was also seen as important that further assessments be carried out at the national and regional levels. Participants felt that IDEA has added value to the project due to its status as an international inter-governmental organization with a single mandate to promote democracy. IDEA could support the fundraising efforts of those who intend to conduct assessments, and it could facilitate linkages between democracy assessment teams and its networks of experts and other stakeholders.
For more information contact:
Mr Ozias Tungwarara
Senior Programme Officer
o.tungwarara@idea.int
Discuss
Tell a friend
