-Blogpost: The inspectors of democracy (openDemocracy, 26 Aug 2010)

The project and the idea of expanding democracy across the globe are at a delicate point as the first decade of the 21st century nears its end. Much of the momentum of the post-cold-war period that sustained them through the 1990s and beyond appears to have stalled under the pressures of the "war on terror", authoritarian resurgence, and institutional failures. As a result, many scholars and experts have started to worry that the notion of democracy support is in crisis and needs to be rethought or at least revised (see, for example, Larry Diamond, "The Democratic Rollback", Foreign Affairs, March-April 2008).

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In this transitional period, where celebration looks passé and cynicism premature, it is ever more important to base analyses of the state of democracy and freedom on evidence and as far as possible to discard ideological filters and blinkers. Many of those who take the global temperature according to country-by-country "ranks" or "indices" profess to do just this, and claim a certain quasi-scientific credibility for their work. This contribution to openDemocracy/International IDEA's debate on democracy support examines the work of these "inspectors of democracy".