What are democracy indicators?

Democracy indicators monitor the state and development of Finnish democracy.
They cover the following topics:

• election and party democracy;
• participatory democracy and social capital;
• NGO participation;
• citizens' views on citizenship and their own opportunities to influence;
• attitudes towards political institutions and actors;
• criteria of informed citizenship.

Which data are democracy indicators based on?

To produce comprehensive and reliable democracy indicators, a variety of data- and register-related measures are required. These include an established system of collecting results of election opinion polls and questionnaires aimed at NGOs, political parties and educational institutions.

What are democracy indicators needed for?

There is plenty of demand for information about democracy. Civic discussion calls for clear and reliable information that creates a firm enough basis for the formulation of opinions and decisions made by citizens in the context of their own active role in society. Political and government decision-makers need information that is relevant to society's development and in concrete problem-solving situations.

Democracy issues include key elements that cannot be properly illuminated without measurable indicators. Many questions typical of democracy discussions are formulated in quantitative terms. Which development trends can we observe in people’s attitudes towards democracy? What is the rate of those participating in “non-traditional” political activities among the population? How representative among the public is the often-detected negative attitude towards politics? Which factors explain the drop in election turnouts?

Finland is not highly ranked internationally in comparisons of the availability of wide-ranging empirical data on politics and society. Most developed western countries have access to data that has been collected and developed for considerably longer and more systematically than in Finland.  For example, election research – which is vital for the monitoring of democracy development - in still mostly in its infancy in Finland when compared with other Nordic countries.

How is the data utilised?

Creation of indicators and collection of data on the basis of them is not an end in itself. Work related to democracy indicators can only be regarded a success when they have been utilised to produce data that is relevant to research, decision-making and civic discussion.

Data is collected on key issues related to both democracy research and to practical problems with democracy, ensuring that long-term monitoring of Finnish democracy is served as appropriately as possible.

Fundamental democracy indicators will be published as easily understandable and concise tables and graphs on democracy.fi. In addition to summaries intended for the public and media, a main academic report and briefer publications in journals will be created on each topic.

Who will create the democracy indicators?

The research work will be carried out by academic researchers. Each set of research data will be compiled by an independent research institution that is well-established in collecting data on the topic and has been selected on the basis of appropriate competitive tendering.

The main data to be collected in connection with parliamentary elections will meet the highest academic standards. It will include collection of data agreed under the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems project (see www.cses.org ) and national elements that will be agreed separately.

International cooperation networks and international comparability are vital tools for research into Finnish democracy.

Who will finance the democracy indicators?

The basic data will be financed by the Ministry of Justice.
Updated on 6 November 2006.