The Quality of Democracy in Southern Europe: Methods, Theories and Policy Outreach

Abstract

There is a long tradition in defining, measuring, and comparing forms of government that dates back to Aristotle’s famous classification of six types of rule, according to the nature of the authority ('good' versus 'corrupt') and the way it was exercised (by one ruler, few, or many). Contemporary efforts have built on this tradition through defining, measuring, and assessing democracy, democratic performance and the Quality of Democracy (QoD), serving five complementary functions: (1) description, (2) classification, (3) hypothesis testing, (4) prediction and policy advice, and (5) advocacy and reform. With the Third and Fourth Waves of democratization, scholars shifted their focus from democratic transitions to democratic consolidation: ‘from the ways in which democratic regimes come into being to the ways in which they can be rendered stable and secure’ (Plattner 2005: 77). Today, the fear of regression to authoritarianism seems to have vanished forever in the mindset of politicians and citizens of these democracies. This does not mean, however, that the study of the dynamics of democracy has lost its appeal. On the contrary, with the end of the Cold War and the expansion of liberal democracy world wide, academics and practitioners begun to reflect upon its quality(ies), in other words, what makes a democracy good or bad and how can it be improved and strengthened (Diamond and Morlino 2005; Morlino 2006). The aim of this panel is to discuss current efforts in defining, measuring, and assessing QoD, with a special focus on South and Southeast Europe. More specifically, the panel will accept papers both with empirical findings and reflections on the various methodological, theoretical, and policy outreach dimensions of QoD. We are equally interested in comparative assessments of the Quality of Local Democracy. Potential participants: The workshop aims at excellence by striking a balance between matured and fresh input research. Well-established experts will be contacted and selected directly and will not constitute more than one-third of the total expected number of participants. The remaining applications are aimed at advanced research students, hopefully coming from different academic backgrounds, and will be selected according to the merit and suitability of the proposal. The Chairs will equally ensure that fairness of geographical spread, gender and age will be taken into consideration when selecting participants

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