Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
acceptedVersion
Publication Date
3-2013
Abstract
Liberal democratic governments may differ in both their kind and degree of democracy. However, the literature too often conflates this distinction, hindering our ability to understand what kinds of governing structures are more democratic. To clarify this issue, the article examines two prominent contemporary models of democracy: developmental liberal democracy (DLD) and protective liberal democracy (PLD). While the former takes a 'thicker' approach to governance than the latter, conventional wisdom holds that these systems differ only in kind rather than degree. The article tests this assumption through an empirical comparison of electoral, legislative, and information-regulating institutions in two representative cases: Sweden and the United States. The empirical findings lead us to the conclusion that developmental liberal democracies represent not only a different kind, but also a deeper degree of democracy than protective liberal democracies. The implications for democracy promotion appear substantial.
Keywords
degree of democracy, democracy, democratization, liberal democracy, measuring democracy, social democracy, Sweden, United States
Discipline
Political Science
Research Areas
Political Science
Publication
Democratization
Volume
20
Issue
2
First Page
187
Last Page
214
ISSN
1351-0347
Identifier
10.1080/13510347.2011.634581
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Citation
JOSHI, Devin K..(2013). The protective and developmental varieties of liberal democracy: A difference in kind or degree?. Democratization, 20(2), 187-214.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/1982
Copyright Owner and License
Authors
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1080/13510347.2011.634581