Democracy is about the power of people to govern themselves. It is about the ability to make laws and policies, to select leaders, and to be held accountable by a legal system that is transparent, free from corruption and respects human rights. It is also about the way society and its institutions promote trustworthiness and compromise, and respect for one another.
The word democracy comes from two Greek words: demos, meaning “people”; and kratos, meaning power or rule. It is a form of government where citizens can choose their political leaders through free and fair elections. Democracy can be contrasted with other forms of government, such as dictatorships, where one person or group has complete control and can do whatever they want.
Democracies guard against all-powerful central governments and often decentralize government, understanding that they must be accessible, available and easily understood by the people. They support freedom of speech and religion, and guarantee equal protection under the law. They encourage the development of civil society, and engage the public in regular free and fair elections. They understand that they must protect human rights and enable people to organize and participate in the political, economic and cultural life of their communities.
Measuring democracy requires attention to the complexity and opportunity of its many dimensions. ECPR’s Global State of Democracy Indices – which combine 13 extant democracy data sources (most notably the Varieties of Democracy dataset) – provide a rough estimate of the extent to which societies are democratic and, in particular, how the quality of their democracy is changing over time.