Talk:Liberty Index

Kistan can we get the formulas/questionnaires on this page for each of these indices?

Each questionnaire is to get a rough estimate - actual scores should be to the hundredth decimal point, and you can find an RNG to use here:

This is to reflect that the actual stats used by most intnat'l bodies are *far* more in-depth than this. Please note that extremely high scores (9.90+) may be slightly nerfed to prevent reporting bias. In each case, you may opt to 'estimate' a score, i.e. '7/10 on this one =.7 pts'

Democracy Index

1) What does your nation consider itself (generally/practically, not by title or propaganda)?

• Absolute Monarchy or dictatorship (0 pts)
• 'Hard' Constitutional Monarchy, Illiberal Democracy or Republic (.5 pts)
• 'Soft' Constitutional Monarchy or Liberal Democracy or Republic (1 pts)

2) Are there any public elections for higher offices held in your nation?

• No, no public elections (0 pts)
• No, lower-level elections only or Yes, but no or few lower-level elections (.5 pts)
• Yes, public elections are held for most positions (1 pts)

3) What is the political party situation in your country?

• One Party with or without multiple wings (0 pts)
• Multiple Parties with one overwhelming (60%+) leading party (.5 pts)
• Multiple Parties or No Parties (1 pts)

4) Who reports election results?

• State Media only or no elections (0 pts)
• State and free or controlled media (.5 pts)
• primarily Free Media reports elections (1 pts)

5) Does your nation allow extensive private financing or foreign donations, either through loopholes or openly?

• Yes, uncontrolled donation and financing of politicians (0 pts)
• Moderate controls or only through loopholes (.5 pts)
• Tight restrictions on political campaign funding (1 pts)

6) Is voting confidential?

• No, open voting only or no voting (0 pts)
• Semi-confidential or party-based vote counting or secret vote tracking (.5 pts)
• Yes, votes are confidential (1 pts)

7) Are voters commonly intimidated/coerced/bribed/terrorized, either legally or illegally?

• Yes, intimidation is commonly used by the gov't or by parties or militias (0 pts)
• It exists but is (in practice, not just theoretically) combated by the government/legal procedure (.5 pts)
• There is a solid or near-total lack of political violence (1 pts)

8) Is your country's voting system limited to certain members?

• Yes, only a minority (ethnic, class, or otherwise) votes or no voting (0 pts)
• Generally people can vote but segments of the population are denied the right or voting rights are a privilege (.5 pts)
• Most of the population can vote barring age, (actual, not rigged) mental competence, etc. (1 pts)

9) Does your government respect election results?

• Elections are blatantly farcical, violent, votes are changed or destroyed, or no elections (0 pts)
• Occasional issues with stepping down or votes being tampered with (.5 pts)
• Generally elections run smoothly (1 pts)

10) Do people respect/listen to the government and its authority?

• The country is a failed state, anarchy, or large swathes are unrecognized states or in full-scale rebellion or revolution (0 pts)
• There are significant issues with central authority reaching the whole of the country (.5 pts)
• Nation is politically cohesive (1 pts)

Civil Rights Index

Rule of Law, Security and Safety, Movement, Religion, Association, Assembly, Civil Society, Expression, Relationships, Size of Government, Legal System and Property Rights, Access to Sound Money, Freedom to Trade Internationally, and Regulation of Credit, Labor, and Business.

1) Movement

• People may not leave the country or travel long distances without considerable red tape, either generally or in certain groups based on discriminatory or wantonly punitive criteria. (0 pts)
• Non-incarcerated persons are not barred from free travel, but extralegal or other state-controlled means practically make leaving or travelling difficult.(.5 pts)
• Other than prisoners or dependents, travel is not hindered in any serious manner by the state or militia/party-associated groups. (1 pts)

2) Religion/Affiliation

• Certain non-cult faiths are banned outright or followers are attacked with state direction, approval or dismissal, or there is a mandatory religion. (0 pts)
• Some faiths are harassed or legally disadvantaged, or one or several faiths are promoted, or the state has a state faith but does not ban others. (.5 pts)
• Religious plurality is enshrined in the law and typically protected. (1 pts)

3) Property (such as inheritance, weapons ownership, stocks and business ownership, income, land/eminent domain, etc.)

• There are heavy limits on or arguments over individual property rights or high taxes for most or all earning people (0 pts)
• There are noticeable limits on or arguments over individual property rights or high taxes for one or more earning classes (.5 pts)
• There are minimal or few limits on individual property rights and few or no people are heavily taxed (1 pts)

4) Representation

• (0 pts)
• (.5 pts)
• (1 pts)

5) Work

• (0 pts)
• (.5 pts)
• (1 pts)

6) Expression

• Political protest, gathering, or nonviolent speech is banned or openly retaliated against by the state or stale-aligned groups. (0 pts)
• Political protest, gathering, or nonviolent speech is banned or openly retaliated against by the state or stale-aligned groups. (.5 pts)
• Nonviolent political expressions are protected consistently. (1 pts)

7) Recreation

• (0 pts)
• (.5 pts)
• (1 pts)

8) Relations

• The state or society attacks or punishes some or all non-abusive sexual relationships or enforces a caste system. (0 pts)
• The state bans or some types of (non-abusive) personal relationships or societal pressure without state enforcement pushes a caste system (.5 pts)
• Personal relationships are not under state authority at all, or are assured equal or near-equal status, and there is no legal or ingrained barrier to interfaith or interclass relationships. (1 pts)

9) Association

• State organizations or one or more major parties employ guilt by association or 'tag' citizens by undesired personal connections. (0 pts)
• Freedom of association is encoded but only partly respected or not guaranteed but rarely disrespected. (.5 pts)
• There is a clear and practiced freedom of association without legal taint. (1 pts)

10) Efficacy (how effectively does the gov't protect granted civil rights?)

• The government routinely fails to protect civil liberties from social retaliation or discrimination. (0 pts)
• The government struggles to protect or observe some civil liberties (.5 pts)
• The government is relatively efficient at protecting individual civil rights. (1 pts)

Perceived Freedom from Corruption Index

1)

• (0 pts)
• (.5 pts)
• (1 pts)

2)

• (0 pts)
• (.5 pts)
• (1 pts)

3)

• (0 pts)
• (.5 pts)
• (1 pts)

4)

• (0 pts)
• (.5 pts)
• (1 pts)

5)

• (0 pts)
• (.5 pts)
• (1 pts)

6)

• (0 pts)
• (.5 pts)
• (1 pts)

7)

• (0 pts)
• (.5 pts)
• (1 pts)

8)

• (0 pts)
• (.5 pts)
• (1 pts)

9)

• (0 pts)
• (.5 pts)
• (1 pts)

10)

• (0 pts)
• (.5 pts)
• (1 pts)

Democracy Index (2022) [Sent by Vith]

I - Electoral process and pluralism

1. Are elections for the national legislature and head of government free? Consider whether elections are competitive in that electors are free to vote and are offered a range of choices. 1: Essentially unrestricted conditions for the presentation of candidates (for example, no bans on major parties). 0.5: There are some restrictions on the electoral process. 0: A single-party system or major impediments exist (for example, bans on a major party or candidate).

2. Are elections for the national legislature and head of government fair? 1: No major irregularities in the voting process. 0.5: Significant irregularities occur (intimidation, fraud), but do not significantly affect the overall outcome. 0: Major irregularities occur and affect the outcome. Score 0 if score for question 1 is 0.

3. Are municipal elections both free and fair? 1: Are free and fair. 0.5: Are free, but not fair. 0: Are neither free nor fair.

4. Is there universal suffrage for all adults? Bar generally accepted exclusions (for example, non-nationals; criminals; members of armed forces in some countries). 1: Yes. 0: No.

5. Can citizens cast their vote free of significant threats to their security from state or non-state bodies? 1: Yes. 0: No.

6. Do laws provide for broadly equal campaigning opportunities? 1: Yes. 0.5: Formally, yes, but, in practice, opportunities are limited for some candidates. 0: No.

7. Is the process of financing political parties transparent and generally accepted? 1: Yes. 0.5: Not fully transparent. 0: No

8. Following elections, are the constitutional mechanisms for the orderly transfer of power from one government to another clear, established and accepted? 1: All three criteria are satisfied. 0.5: Two of the three criteria are satisfied. 0: Only one or none of the criteria is satisfied.

9. Are citizens free to form political parties that are independent of the government? 1. Yes. 0.5: There are some restrictions. 0: No.

10. Do opposition parties have a realistic prospect of achieving government? 1: Yes. 0.5: There is a dominant two-party system, in which other political forces never have any effective chance of taking part in national government. 0: No.

11. Is potential access to public office open to all citizens? 1: Yes. 0.5: Formally unrestricted, but, in practice, restricted for some groups, or for citizens from some parts of the country. 0: No.

12. Are citizens allowed to form political and civic organisations, free of state interference and surveillance? 1: Yes. 0.5: Officially free, but subject to some unofficial restrictions or interference. 0: No

II- Functioning of government

13. Do freely elected representatives determine government policy? 1: Yes. 0.5: Exercise some meaningful influence. 0: No.

14. Is the legislature the supreme political body, with a clear supremacy over other branches of government? 1: Yes. 0: No.

15. Is there an effective system of checks and balances on the exercise of government authority? 1: Yes. 0.5: Yes, but there are some serious flaws. 0: No.

16. Government is free of undue influence by the military or the security services. 1: Yes. 0.5: Influence is low, but the defence minister is not a civilian. If the current risk of a military coup is extremely low, but the country has a recent history of military rule or coups. 0: No.

17. Foreign powers and organisations do not determine important government functions or policies. 1: Yes. 0.5: Some features of a protectorate. 0: No (significant presence of foreign troops; important decisions taken by foreign power; country is a protectorate).

18. Do special economic, religious or other powerful domestic groups exercise significant political power, parallel to democratic institutions? 1: Yes. 0.5: Exercise some meaningful influence. 0: No.

19. Are sufficient mechanisms and institutions in place for ensuring government accountability to the electorate in between elections? 1: Yes. 0.5. Yes, but serious flaws exist. 0: No.

20. Does the government’s authority extend over the full territory of the country? 1: Yes. 0: No.

21. Is the functioning of government open and transparent, with sufficient public access to information? 1: Yes. 0.5: Yes, but serious flaws exist. 0: No.

22. How pervasive is corruption? 1: Corruption is not a major problem. 0.5: Corruption is a significant issue. 0: Pervasive corruption exists.

23. Is the civil service willing to and capable of implementing government policy? 1: Yes. 0.5. Yes, but serious flaws exist. 0: No.

24. Popular perceptions of the extent to which citizens have free choice and control over their lives. 1: High. 0.5: Moderate. 0: Low If available, from World Values Survey % of people who think that they have a great deal of choice/control. 1 if more than 70%. 0.5 if 50-70%. 0 if less than 50%.

25. Public confidence in government. 1: High. 0.5: Moderate. 0: Low. If available, from World Values Survey, Gallup polls, Eurobarometer, Latinobarometer % of people who have a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in government. 1 if more than 40%. 0.5 if 25-40%. 0 if less than 25%.

26. Public confidence in political parties. 1: High. 0.5: Moderate. 0: Low. If available, from World Values Survey % of people who have a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence. 1 if more than 40%. 0.5 if 25-40%. 0 if less than 25%.

III Political participation

27. Voter participation/turn-out for national elections. (Average turnout in parliamentary elections since 2000. Turnout as proportion of population of voting age.) 1 if above 70%. 0.5 if 50%-70%. 0 if below 50%. If voting is obligatory, score 0. Score 0 if scores for questions 1 or 2 is 0.

28. Do ethnic, religious and other minorities have a reasonable degree of autonomy and voice in the political process? 1: Yes. 0.5: Yes, but serious flaws exist. 0: No.

29. Women in parliament. % of members of parliament who are women. 1 if more than 20% of seats. 0.5 if 10-20%. 0 if less than 10%.

30. Extent of political participation. Membership of political parties and political non-governmental organisations. Score 1 if over 7% of population for either. Score 0.5 if 4-7%. Score 0 if under 4%. If participation is forced, score 0.

31. Citizens’ engagement with politics. 1: High. 0.5: Moderate. 0: Low. If available, from World Values Survey % of people who are very or somewhat interested in politics. 1 if over 60%. 0.5 if 40-60%. 0 if less than 40%.

32. The preparedness of population to take part in lawful demonstrations. 1: High. 0.5: Moderate. 0: Low. If available, from World Values Survey % of people who have taken part in or would consider attending lawful demonstrations. 1 if over 40%. 0.5 if 30-40%. 0 if less than 30%.

33. Adult literacy. 1 if over 90%. 0.5 if 70-90%. 0 if less than 70%.

34. Extent to which adult population shows an interest in and follows politics in the news. 1: High. 0.5: Moderate. 0: Low. If available, from World Values Survey % of population that follows politics in the news media (print, TV or radio) every day. 1 if over 50%. 0.5 if 30-50%. 0 if less than 30%

35. The authorities make a serious effort to promote political participation. 1: Yes. 0.5: Some attempts. 0: No. Consider the role of the education system, and other promotional efforts. Consider measures to facilitate voting by members of the diaspora. If participation is forced, score 0

IV Democratic political culture

36. Is there a sufficient degree of societal consensus and cohesion to underpin a stable, functioning democracy? 1: Yes. 0.5: Yes, but some serious doubts and risks. 0: No.

37. Perceptions of leadership; proportion of the population that desires a strong leader who bypasses parliament and elections. 1: Low. 0.5: Moderate. 0: High. If available, from World Values Survey % of people who think it would be good or fairly good to have a strong leader who does not bother with parliament and elections. 1 if less than 30%. 0.5 if 30-50%. 0 if more than 50%.

38. Perceptions of military rule; proportion of the population that would prefer military rule. 1: Low. 0.5: Moderate. 0: High. If available, from World Values Survey % of people who think it would be very or fairly good to have military rule. 1 if less than 10%. 0.5 if 10-30%. 0 if more than 30%.

39. Perceptions of rule by experts or technocratic government; proportion of the population that would prefer rule by experts or technocrats. 1: Low. 0.5: Moderate. 0: High If available, from World Values Survey % of people who think it would be very or fairly good to have experts, not government, make decisions for the country. 1 if less than 50%. 0.5 if 50-70%. 0 if more than 70%.

40. Perception of democracy and public order; proportion of the population that believes that democracies are not good at maintaining public order. 1: Low. 0.5: Moderate. 0: High. If available, from World Values Survey % of people who disagree with the view that democracies are not good at maintaining order. 1 if more than 70%. 0.5 if 50-70%. 0 if less than 50%. Alternatively, % of people who think that punishing criminals is an essential characteristic of democracy. 1 if more than 80%. 0.5 if 60-80%. 0 if less than 60%.

41. Perception of democracy and the economic system; proportion of the population that believes that democracy benefits economic performance. If available, from World Values Survey % of people who disagree with the view that the economic system is badly run in democracies. 1 if more than 80%. 0.5 if 60-80%. 0 if less than 60%.

42. Degree of popular support for democracy. 1: High. 0.5: Moderate. 0: Low. If available, from World Values Survey % of people who agree or strongly agree that democracy is better than any other form of government. 1 if more than 90%. 0.5 if 75-90%. 0 if less than 75%.

43. There is a strong tradition of the separation of Church and State. 1: Yes. 0.5: Some residual influence of Church on State. 0: No.

V Civil liberties

44. Is there a free electronic media? 1: Yes. 0.5: Pluralistic, but state-controlled media are heavily favoured. One or two private owners dominate the media. 0: No.

45. Is there a free print media? 1: Yes. 0.5: Pluralistic, but state-controlled media are heavily favoured. There is high degree of concentration of private ownership of national newspapers. 0: No.

46. Is there freedom of expression and protest (bar only generally accepted restrictions, such as banning advocacy of violence)? 1: Yes. 0.5: Holders of minority viewpoints are subject to some official harassment. Libel laws heavily restrict scope for free expression. 0: No.

47. Is media coverage robust? Is there open and free discussion of public issues, with a reasonable diversity of opinions? 1: Yes. 0.5: There is formal freedom, but a high degree of conformity of opinion, including through self- censorship or discouragement of minority or marginal views. 0: No.

48. Are there political restrictions on access to the Internet? 1: No. 0.5: Some moderate restrictions. 0: Yes.

49. Are citizens free to form professional organisations and trade unions? 1: Yes. 0.5: Officially free, but subject to some restrictions. 0: No.

50. Do institutions provide citizens with the opportunity to petition government to redress grievances? 1: Yes. 0.5: Some opportunities. 0: No.

51. The use of torture by the state. 1: Torture is not used. 0: Torture is used.

52. The degree to which the judiciary is independent of government influence. Consider the views of international legal and judicial watchdogs. Have the courts ever issued an important judgement against the government, or a senior government official? 1: High. 0.5: Moderate. 0: Low.

53. The degree of religious tolerance and freedom of religious expression. Are all religions permitted to operate freely, or are some restricted? Is the right to worship permitted both publicly and privately? Do some religious groups feel intimidated by others, even if the law requires equality and protection? 1: High. 0.5: Moderate. 0: Low.

54. The degree to which citizens are treated equally under the law. Consider whether favoured groups or individuals are spared prosecution under the law. 1: High. 0.5: Moderate. 0: Low.

55. Do citizens enjoy basic security? 1: Yes. 0.5: Crime is so pervasive as to endanger security for large segments. 0: No.

56. Extent to which private property rights are protected and private business is free from undue government influence 1: High. 0.5: Moderate. 0: Low.

57. Extent to which citizens enjoy personal freedoms. Consider gender equality, right to travel, choice of work and study. 1: High. 0.5: Moderate. 0: Low.

58. Popular perceptions on protection of human rights; proportion of the population that think that basic human rights are well-protected. 1: High. 0.5: Moderate. 0: Low. If available, from World Values Survey: % of people who think that human rights are respected in their country. 1 if more than 70%. 0.5 if 50-70%. 0 if less than 50%.

59. There is no significant discrimination on the basis of people’s race, colour or religious beliefs. 1: Yes. 0.5: Yes, but some significant exceptions. 0: No.

60. Extent to which the government invokes new risks and threats as an excuse for curbing civil liberties. 1: Low. 0.5: Moderate. 0: High.