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India ranked 38th in Index of Democracy; US
21st
Tuesday April 30, 2013 10:52:30 AM,
Arun Kumar, IANS
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Washington: Even as
it acknowledges India as the world's most populous democracy, the
Economist magazine's Index of Democracy 2012 ranks India 38th
among 165 nations with an overall score of 7.52.
India also gets high scores for electoral process and pluralism
(9.58) and Civil liberties (9.41).
The top three positions go to Norway (9.93) Sweden (9.73) and
Iceland 9.65, while the United States is ranked 21st with an
overall score of 8.11 in the fifth edition of the Index prepared
by the London weekly focusing on international politics and
business.
Noting the wide disparities in democratic development across Asia,
the report says "although parts of the region - from North Korea
and Laos, to Vietnam and China - are still entrenched
authoritarian regimes, the past couple of decades have seen the
spread of democracy in the region overall."
Over the past decade, some 20 Asian countries have held elections,
and many have undergone peaceful transitions in government.
"Despite its problems, India remains the world's most populous
democracy," the report said noting. "Yet even in the democratic
countries, there are often significant problems in the functioning
of political systems."
"The US and the UK remain at the bottom end of the full democracy
category," the report said. "The US democracy has been adversely
affected by a deepening of the polarisation of the political scene
and political brinkmanship and paralysis. The UK is beset by a
deep institutional crisis."
"The unprecedented rise of movements for democratic change across
the Arab world led many to expect a new wave of democratization,"
it said. "But it has become apparent that democracy in the region
remains a highly uncertain prospect."
Popular confidence in political institutions continues to decline
in many European countries, it said noting in Eastern Europe
democracy declined in 10 countries in 2012.
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)
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