Governance & Politics
What is Good Governance? (UNESCAP)
- A good overview of the the concept of "good governance" from the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.
Afrobarometer
- The Afrobarometer is an independent, nonpartisan research project that measures the social, political, and economic atmosphere in Africa. Afrobarometer surveys are conducted in more that a dozen African countries and are repeated on a regular cycle. Because the instrument asks a standard set of questions, countries can be systematically compared. Trends in public attitudes are tracked over time. Results are shared with decision makers, policy advocates, civic educators, journalists, researchers, donors and investors, as well as average Africans who wish to become more informed and active citizens.
Arab Democracy Barometer
- The Arab Democracy Barometer was established in 2005 by the Institute for Social Research of the University of Michigan in close collaboration with institutions and scholars in the Arab world. Like other regional Democracy Barometers, the objectives of the Arab Barometer are to produce scientifically reliable data on the politically-relevant attitudes of ordinary citizens, to disseminate and apply survey findings in order to contribute to political reform, and to strengthen institutional capacity for public opinion research.
Asian Barometer
- The Asian Barometer (ABS) is an applied research program on public opinion on political values, democracy, and governance around the region. The regional network encompasses research teams from 13 East Asian political systems (Japan, Mongolia, South Koreas, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia), and 5 South Asian countries (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal). Together, this regional survey network covers virtually all major political systems in the region, systems that have experienced different trajectories of regime evolution and are currently at different stages of political transition. The mission and task of each national research team are to administer survey instruments to compile the required micro-level data under a common research framework and research methodology to ensure that the data is reliable and comparable on the issues of citizens' attitudes and values toward politics, power, reform, and democracy in Asia.
Beyond Elections
- From Venezuela's Communal Councils, to Brazil's
Participatory Budgeting, from Constitutional Assemblies
to grassroots movements, recuperated factories to
cooperatives across the hemisphere. This documentary film
is a journey, which takes us across the Americas, to
attempt to answer one of the most important questions of
our time: What is Democracy? [The entire documentary is
available to watch online at this site. For more on the
film and filmakers see LINK.]
Corruption Perception Index
- The annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), first
released in 1995, is the best known of Transparency
International's tools. It has been widely credited with
putting TI and the issue of corruption on the
international policy agenda. The CPI ranks 180 countries
by their perceived levels of corruption, as determined by
expert assessments and opinion surveys.
Democratic Governance (UNDP)
- Through its programmes, UNDP brings people together within nations and around the world, fostering partnerships and sharing ways to promote participation, accountability and effectiveness at all levels. We aim to build effective and capable states that are accountable and transparent, inclusive and responsive — from elections to participation of women and the poor.
The
Democracy Web
- The American Federation of Teachers and Freedom House
have periodically worked together to distribute free
copies of the Map of Freedom to any history or social
studies teachers who request them. The demand has been
overwhelming. Many thousands of teachers have asked for
copies of the map, which they praise as a uniquely useful
teaching tool for courses on global politics. Democracy
Web was designed to take advantage of and expand upon
this resource. Freedom House and the Albert Shanker
Institute have developed Democracy Web's background and
resource materials to help teachers get much more use out
of the annual survey and map. The materials center on an
informational website and teachers' study guide for use
with secondary- and college-level students—those
who are just commencing their roles as citizens
Economist Intelligence Unit Index of
Democracy (PDF)
- The Economist has examined the state of democracy in
167 countries and attempted to quantify this with an
Economist Intelligence Unit Index of Democracy which
focuses on five general categories; electoral process and
pluralism, civil liberties, functioning of government,
political participation and political culture. (From Wikipedia)
Elections by Country - Wikipedia
- Up-to-date election results from countries around the
world.
IFES Election Guide
- Election Guide is provided by IFES (The International
Foundation for Electoral Systems), an international
nonprofit dedicated to the building of democratic
societies. Launched in 1998 through a generous grant from
USAID, ElectionGuide is the most comprehensive and timely
source of verified election information and results
available online.
Failed States Index
- Whether it is an unexpected food crisis or a
devastating hurricane, the world’s weakest states
are the most exposed when crisis strikes. In the fourth
annual Failed States Index, FOREIGN POLICY and The Fund
for Peace rank the countries where state collapse may be
just one disaster away.
Failed and Fragile
States
- As part of a broader effort to enable
more effective international engagement in failed and
fragile states, a team from Carleton University's Country
Indicators for Foreign Policy project (CIFP -
www.carleton.ca/cifp) has been working with the Canadian
government in a multi-year initiative that has three
objectives. First, we have developed a number of
wide-ranging tools that encompass, among other things,
the monitoring, forecasting, and evaluation of failed and
fragile states, as well as the assessment of supporting
policies intended to address the development, security,
and economic challenges they represent. The following
diagram outlines the full extent of the CIFP analytical
framework - known as the CIFP Net Assessment (CNA) -
identifying the various modules involved in the analysis.
Freedom in the World
- Freedom in the World, the annual survey of global
political rights and civil liberties by Freedom House.
The most cited of such comparative rankings.
International IDEA (The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance)
- The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) is an intergovernmental organization that supports sustainable democracy worldwide. International IDEA’s mission is to support sustainable democratic change by providing comparative knowledge, and assisting in democratic reform, and influencing policies and politics.
Inter-Parliamentary Union
- The IPU is the international organization of Parliaments (Article 1 of the Statutes of the Inter-Parliamentary Union). It was established in 1889. The Union is the focal point for world-wide parliamentary dialogue and works for peace and co-operation among peoples and for the firm establishment of representative democracy. The site contain data concerning elections and membership of national parliaments (including by gender).
Latinobarómetro
- Latinobarómetro is an annual public opinion survey that involves some 19,000 interviews in 18 Latin American countries, representing more than 400 million inhabitants. Latinobarómetro Corporation is a non-profit NGO based in Santiago, Chile, and is solely responsible for the production and publication of the data.Latinobarómetro Corporation researches the development of democracy and economies as well as societies, using indicators of opinion, attitudes, behaviour and values. Its results are used by social and political actors, international organizations, governments and the media.
Polity IV Project: Political Regime
Characteristics and Transitions, 1800-2007
- The Polity IV Project continues the Polity research
tradition of coding the authority characteristics of
states in the world system for purposes of comparative,
quantitative analysis. The Polity IV Project carries data
collection and analysis through 2007 and is under the
direction of Monty G. Marshall at the Center for Systemic
Peace and George Mason University.
Stanford Comparative Democracy Project
- This project attempts to overcome the traditional
division between academic disciplines and area studies to
understand the process of democratization. Sponsored by
the Institute for International Studies of Stanford
University.
UNDP Democratic Governance Programme
- More countries than ever before are working to build
democratic governance. Their challenge is to develop
institutions and processes that are more responsive to
the needs of ordinary citizens, including the poor. UNDP
brings people together within nations and around the
world, building partnerships and sharing ways to promote
participation, accountability and effectiveness at all
levels. We help countries strengthen their electoral and
legislative systems, improve access to justice and public
administration, and develop a greater capacity to deliver
basic services to those most in need.
UNDP Oslo Governance Centre
- UNDP established the Oslo Governance Centre in Oslo,
Norway in 2002 as part of its global policy network for
democratic governance, at a time when it had become
clearer than ever that the fundamental issues of
democratic governance are critical for meeting the
Millennium Development Goals adopted at the Millennium
Summit in 2000.
World Audit
- The World Audit report reviews the state of public
corruption; current practice in human rights; political
rights; free speech; and the overall state of the rule of
law in 150 nations (all those exceeding one million
population). By reference to these, we compile the world
democracy table with its subsidiary statistical tables.
World Bank Governance and Anti-Corruption
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