Varieties of Democracy : Measuring Two Centuries of Political Change

The Varieties of Democracy project rates hundreds of features of democracy and institutions in nearly all countries. This volume answers questions about where the data comes from, how to interpret it, and how to use it responsibly. It is an essential reference for journalists, researchers, teachers, and students who use the data frequently.

Varieties of Democracy is the essential user''s guide to The Varieties of Democracy project (V-Dem), one of the most ambitious data collection efforts in comparative politics. This global research collaboration sparked a dramatic change in how we study the nature, causes, and consequences of democracy. This book is ambitious in scope: more than a reference guide, it raises standards for causal inferences in democratization research and introduces new, measurable, concepts of democracy and many political institutions. Varieties of Democracy enables anyone interested in democracy - teachers, students, journalists, activists, researchers and others - to analyze V-Dem data in new and exciting ways. This book creates opportunities for V-Dem data to be used in education, research, news analysis, advocacy, policy work, and elsewhere. V-Dem is rapidly becoming the preferred source for democracy data.