London: India is one of the 54 countries that have flawed democracies, according to a new democracy index devised by the Economist Intelligence Unit, a division of the leading newsmagazine The Economist.
In a detailed analysis of the 'World in 2007', the magazine has devised the index that examines 60 indicators across five broad categories: free elections, civil liberties, functioning government, political participation and political culture.
As per the index, India is listed among the 54 'flawed democracies' that include countries such as Brazil, Israel, Poland, Romania and Estonia. The list of 'authoritarian regimes' includes Pakistan.
Twenty-eight countries including the US, Britain, Norway, Denmark and Portugal are listed as 'full democracies'. Sweden is described as a 'near-perfect' democracy.
According to the index methodology, India scored 9.58 out of ten for its electoral process and pluralism and 8.21 out of ten for functioning of government. Its score for political participation was 5.56 out of 10 and 5.63 out of 10 for political culture. It got 9.41 out of ten for civil liberties.
There have been reversals before - a wave of democratisation after 1945 ended with more than 20 countries sliding back into authoritarianism. We are not witnessing that sort of regression, but in 2007 the threat of backsliding outweighs the likelihood of further gains.
Nevertheless, it would be wrong to be too pessimistic. Democracy as a value retains strong universal appeal. Creating democracy by external intervention has not gone smoothly. But trends such as globalisation, increasing education and expanding middle classes favour its organic development. These underlying forces suggest that any retreat from democracy will be temporary.
(With inputs from The Economist)
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