Number of nations 1800-2003 scoring 8 or higher on Polity IV scale

The Polity data series is a data series in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

research. Along with the V-Dem Democracy Indices project and

The Economist Democracy Index The ''Democracy Index'' published by the Economist Group is an index measuring the quality of democracy across the world. This quantitative and comparative assessment is centrally concerned with democratic rights and democratic institutions. T ...

, Polity is among prominent datasets that measure democracy and autocracy. The Polity study was initiated in the late 1960s by

Ted Robert Gurr Ted Robert Gurr (February 21, 1936 – November 25, 2017) was an American author and professor of political science who most notably wrote about political conflict and instability. His widely translated book ''Why Men Rebel'' (1970) emphasized ...

and is now continued by Monty G. Marshall, one of Gurr's students. It was sponsored by the

Political Instability Task Force The Political Instability Task Force (PITF), formerly known as State Failure Task Force, is a U.S. government-sponsored research project to build a database on major domestic political conflicts leading to state failures. The study analyzed fa ...

(PITF) until February 2020. The PITF is funded by the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

. The data series has been criticized for its methodology, Americentrism, and connections to the CIA. Seva Gunitsky, an assistant professor at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, stated that the data series was appropriate "for research that examines constraints on governing elites, but not for studying the expansion of

suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

over the nineteenth century".

Scoring chart

Scores for 2018

Criticism

The 2002 paper "Conceptualizing and Measuring Democracy" claimed several problems with commonly used

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

rankings, including Polity, opining that the criteria used to determine "democracy" were misleadingly narrow. The Polity data series has been criticized by

Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) is a progressive left-leaning media critique organization based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1986 by Jeff Cohen and Martin A. Lee. FAIR monitors American news media for bias, inaccur ...

for its methodology and determination of what is and isn't a democracy. FAIR has criticized the data series for Americentrism with the United States being shown as the only democracy in the world in 1842, being given a nine out of ten during slavery, and a ten out of ten during the

Jim Crow era The Jim Crow laws were U.S. state, state and local laws introduced in the Southern United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that enforced Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, "Jim Crow (character), Ji ...

. The organization has also been critical of the data series for ignoring European

colonialism Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...

in Africa and Asia with those areas being labeled as no data before the 1960s. FAIR has also been critical of the data series' connection to the

Max Roser Max Roser (born 1983) is an economist and philosopher who focuses on large global problems such as poverty, disease, hunger, climate change, war, existential risks, and inequality. Roser is a professor at the University of Oxford, where he ...

, the founder of

Our World in Data Our World in Data (OWID) is a scientific online publication that focuses on large global problems such as poverty, disease, hunger, war, climate change, population growth, existential risks, and inequality. It is a project of the Global Cha ...

, stated that Polity IV was far from perfect and was concerned at the data series' connections with the Central Intelligence Agency. Seva Gunitsky, an assistant professor at the

, wrote in

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

where he stated that "Polity IV measures might be appropriate for research that examines constraints on governing elites, but not for studying the expansion of suffrage over the nineteenth century". Gunitsky was critical of the data series for ignoring

References

External links

Polity IV Project webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Polity Data Series Democracy International rankings Psephology

Scoring chart

Scores for 2018

Criticism

See also

References

External links