Democracy Index by country (2017)

The Kiwi's are just good at what they do and everyone loves them. I suspect the growing conflict between Australia and China specifically with regard to increasing concerns about Chinese influence would shift our position somewhat.

Could be, although economically Chinese influence in New Zealand is right behind Australian influence.
Then again they told the US to piss off in '85, which was more than we could do.
 
Bu bu but Norway and Sweden are socialist/communist they can't be more democratic and free than USA

-conservatives

Pretty obvious Murka is at best a flawed democracy considering all the built-in oligarchic mechanisms meant to subvert it, i.e. electoral college, super delegates, the senate, etc.
 
Unless your country has a protected and enshrined right to freedom of speech and an enshrined legal right to bear arms, America still wins in the "freedom meter".

The study was contrasting and comparing the Democratic processes of different countries. Access to democracy doesn't necessarily mean freedom. In many cases, democracy can end up becoming a tyranny of the majority.

Sane people don´t consider the right to bear arms a metric freedom. We are not such giant pussies or live in such shitholes we need guns to feel safe and free. That´s a US thing. I would certainly have a very long list of priorities before mah guunz. Financial freedom, social mobility etc.

Your freedom of speech is also not absolute. You have limitations like everyone else.

I'm not referring specifically to @Greoric with this comment but the thread provides me laugh after laugh when angry right wingers come in and get so upset that their vision of freedom is never reflected in these kinds of indexes. It's almost like being spoonfed freedom-patriotism over and over makes you quite ignorant to the rest of the world.

I don't really give these indexes a whole lot of credibility either but they sure make for a great joke with how upset people get.

This is so true.
 
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I would say the only ones in the full democracy list that surprise me are Luxemborg and Malta because I tend to forget they even exist.
Uruguay, because I guess I have some dated views on it.
And Mauritius, because I just now learned that was a country.
 
Canada is 6, even though our majority fedral government was elected with less thatn 40% of the vote .... similar in many provinces. Study's methods seem off.
The joys of the multi-party system.
 
About Uruguay, I'm not sure why you're shocked. Uruguay, Argentina, Chile and southern Brazil are basically a poor outpost of Europe.

Yes, but without the guidance of northern european countries you talk as if there werent many authoritarian sentiments on said countries.

Both right and left in Latin America are authoritarian.
 
The Democracy Index is an index compiled by the Uk-based company the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) that intends to measure the state of democracy in 167 countries, of which 166 are sovereign states and 165 are UN members.

The index was first produced in 2006, with updates for 2008, 2010 and the following years since then. The index is based on 60 indicators grouped in five different categories measuring pluralism, civil liberties and political culture. In addition to a numeric score and a ranking, the index categorises countries as one of four regime types: full democracies, flawed democracies, hybrid regimes and authoritarian regimes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index

Before any of you click the link of source. I would like to ask you to do a little test. Can you name 15 countries that are ranked inside the category of full democracy?(out of 19)

Furthermore, what country have you traveled to(transit is not valid) that is included in the category of authoritarian regimes?

I have been to Guinea-Bissau that has the rank of 157 out of 167. To sit here today and reflect the past, it is quite amusing to think about it.

Uruguay is a country I don´t know much about, but is by far the biggest surprise for me in this list.


My favorite ranking, I think this tells you a lot more about democracy

http://www.doingbusiness.org/rankings
 
Yes, but without the guidance of northern european countries you talk as if there werent many authoritarian sentiments on said countries.

Both right and left in Latin America are authoritarian.
Yes, especially because these authoritarians were supported by the US.
 
Yes, especially because these authoritarians were supported by the US.

Or the Soviet Union.

That doesnt changes the fact that conservatism in Latin America isnt defined by classical liberalism.
 
Uruguay, Argentina, Chile and southern Brazil are basically a poor outpost of Europe. It has nothing to do with the typical latin american country. Although Argentina has been on the decline, it was once one of the richest countries in the world, while Uruguay especially has been advancing.
Yes, but without the guidance of northern european countries you talk as if there werent many authoritarian sentiments on said countries.

Both right and left in Latin America are authoritarian.

Even Pepe Mujica is authoritarian?

Also, I thought Uruguay was fairly Mestizo and not bleached like Argentina.
 
Even Pepe Mujica is authoritarian?

Also, I thought Uruguay was fairly Mestizo and not bleached like Argentina.

Mujica certainly isnt an authoritarian, im talking about general terms.

Also i wouldnt simply put it as left vs right, because the left a lot of times is also socially conservative. In fact here in Mexico the leftist candidate coalition includes the "far right" socially conservative party.

And i think Uruguay is even more white than Argentina.

Team-Uruguay-pose.jpg
 
Mujica certainly isnt an authoritarian, im talking about general terms.

I don't know too terribly much about South American politics, but I always liked what I heard from and about him. Also just has a pleasant look about him. Like a nice old grandpa.

Also i wouldnt simply put it as left vs right, because the left a lot of times is also socially conservative. In fact here in Mexico the leftist candidate coalition includes the "far right" socially conservative party.

And i think Uruguay is even more white than Argentina.

Team-Uruguay-pose.jpg

Hmm, my google images have a little more chocolate in the milk.
0f19b02a017bfc4f3e121005016d8fb1.jpg

FBL-COPAM201_c1826466_1666_507.jpg
 
I don't know too terribly much about South American politics, but I always liked what I heard from and about him. Also just has a pleasant look about him. Like a nice old grandpa.



Hmm, my google images have a little more chocolate in the milk.
0f19b02a017bfc4f3e121005016d8fb1.jpg

FBL-COPAM201_c1826466_1666_507.jpg

Dont know about the picture on the top (could simply be tanned kids) but the bottom one. The green-black shirts are mexicans, the blue-white shirts are Uruguayans.

I know because these are football national team jerseys.
 
Even Pepe Mujica is authoritarian?

Also, I thought Uruguay was fairly Mestizo and not bleached like Argentina.
Genetically, yes. X native chromosome with Y european chromosome. But they consider themselves to be white mostly. There is a term, castizo, that means you're over 75% white, and it's classified in the modern census as white. There isn't a mestizo identity like in Mexico. I was talking more about culture anyway, the southern cone is heavily european influenced.
 
Yes, but without the guidance of northern european countries you talk as if there werent many authoritarian sentiments on said countries.

Both right and left in Latin America are authoritarian.

Yeah, that was my first thinking. After reading some more, I´m glad to see Chile and Uruguay having a positive feedback from their efforts in the economic development. Maybe my mind is clouded by the fact that through the years I have met many people from Chile (we have a large community in Sweden) and they fled cause of authoritarian rule. And the story goes on country by country in South and latin America.

And I don´t know where I heard it before or if it is any truth behind it. Is Brazil one of the most capitalist countries in the world? Few ultra rich owns most of the land?

@Rod1. How come you are so well versed in the English language?

Edit. How do I tag a member the correct way?
 
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Mujica certainly isnt an authoritarian, im talking about general terms.

Also i wouldnt simply put it as left vs right, because the left a lot of times is also socially conservative. In fact here in Mexico the leftist candidate coalition includes the "far right" socially conservative party.

And i think Uruguay is even more white than Argentina.

Team-Uruguay-pose.jpg

It's strange to me that Uruguay is ranked about the same as Malaysia in economic development, yet everything I see and read from there comes across with an air of vintage style which makes me think of Cuba.
Compared to Malaysia which has embraced modernism as much as possible (faux tudor monstrosities not withstanding).
 
Thailand only a hybrid regime? lol

The country was taken over by a military coup and they dissolved the constitution. It is a full blown authoritarian regime over here boys.
 
Thailand only a hybrid regime? lol

The country was taken over by a military coup and they dissolved the constitution. It is a full blown authoritarian regime over here boys.

I have been to my partial home country Gambia, which is classified as a hybrid regime. It ranks only three spots from the authoritarian regimes. I think Gambia will be ranked more positively next year, now that Yahya Jammeh is gone after almost 25 years in power.

Yeah, I'm really struggling to understand how they are classifying "hybrid regime." For instance, Iran is listed as "authoritarian" (seemingly more so than China or Russia) despite it seeming to epitomize a hybrid regime, with a democratically elected head of government and democratically elected local officials, all subservient to an unelected Ayatollah. Also, Venezuela being in "authoritarian" is strange too since they had internationally reviewed and approved elections leading up to the most recent one and still retain the structural color of a representative democracy.

EDIT: Their definition of "hybrid regime" is basically an ultra-corrupt democratic system, too corrupt for "flawed democracy," which is really misleading and not at all precise. The terminology seems to imply structural fusion of democratic and nondemocratic government.
 
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Thailand only a hybrid regime? lol

The country was taken over by a military coup and they dissolved the constitution. It is a full blown authoritarian regime over here boys.

Yeah, agreed. It´s amazing how they somehow dampen this un-democratic way of rule to co-exist with western tourist money. It´s like the smiling people and the food are to much of a factor that we forget to actually raise a voice or 2 to adress the ultra corrupt rule that is Thailand. Something Burma could learn something from.

Oeshon. How are you doing? Long time no see. Where in Thailand are you staying? Do you have a woman in your life now?
 
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