8
The Political Returns of Democratic Governance
definition of democratic governance—a system in which citizens
participate in government planning and decision-making, while those
in office respond to citizen needs with accountability and transparency.
Contrast the emphasis between citizen and the state with the following
definition of democratic governance that anchors the Mainwaring and
Scully study mentioned earlier: “Democratic governance refers to the
capacity of democratic governments to implement policies that enforce
citizen well-being and rights.”
6
The latter is perfectly credible but
inverts the relationship between citizen and government.
Governance Programming
The literature points to a packet of drivers or dimensions that frame
democratic governance. This is generally confirmed by the practitioners
in the field. This initial measure includes the degree to which the
practice of governance is democratic, both nationally and presumably
at the local level. Three additional dimensions are part of this packet
of drivers: Rule of law, crime/security, economic growth/jobs. Another
three measurements arguably constitute prevalent issue-measurements
of democratic governance: Education, poverty, corruption.
1.
Level of democratic practice
2.
Rule of law
3.
Crime/security (of community and of the individual citizen)
4.
Economic growth/jobs (unemployment)
5.
Education
6.
Poverty
7.
Corruption
These generally conform also to survey research. Latin America is
relatively rich in such data, notably Latinobarometro and the Latin
American Public Opinion Project out of Vanderbilt University. There
is also more select survey data that can be extrapolated from IRI’s
governance programming. One virtue of this programming is that
it focuses primarily on
local
governance. It is anchored by data that
captures citizen and community interests as well as begins to outline
