That a bad liberal democracy doesn’t exist shouldn’t surprise us, since if it was bad, we wouldn’t consider it liberal.
I’m not sure why that would be the case. I used the word liberal because sometimes all people mean by “democracy” is that there be voting—when what we’re talking about is copying the institutions of the West which includes more than just voting.
Does the Democracy Index even allow for the possibility of an “authoritarian democracy”?
What would that mean?. You’re welcome to review their process. In the case of Ethiopia: it’s basically a one party state where that one party controls all media and prior to elections arrested opposition leadership en masse, including members of parliament and charged them with treason. If this is the best data point for “liberal democracy is bad” I am unimpressed.
Which isn’t to say Ethiopia wouldn’t be better off with Fredrick the Great running things—but given the dearth of people with the ability to rule, rule effectively and then replace themselves, liberal democratic institutions seem like a solid option. I’m aware there are untried alternatives in the ideaspace but a)the fact that they have never been tried says something about the possibility of their ever happening and b)it’s a large risk to take when you have a large number of existing successful states which all have similar institutions.
I’m not sure why that would be the case. I used the word liberal because sometimes all people mean by “democracy” is that there be voting—when what we’re talking about is copying the institutions of the West which includes more than just voting.
What would that mean?. You’re welcome to review their process. In the case of Ethiopia: it’s basically a one party state where that one party controls all media and prior to elections arrested opposition leadership en masse, including members of parliament and charged them with treason. If this is the best data point for “liberal democracy is bad” I am unimpressed.
Which isn’t to say Ethiopia wouldn’t be better off with Fredrick the Great running things—but given the dearth of people with the ability to rule, rule effectively and then replace themselves, liberal democratic institutions seem like a solid option. I’m aware there are untried alternatives in the ideaspace but a)the fact that they have never been tried says something about the possibility of their ever happening and b)it’s a large risk to take when you have a large number of existing successful states which all have similar institutions.
Edit: Authoritarian democracy as in this?