While it is commonly agreed on, that being able to measure democracy precisely has become increasingly important in political science, different approaches can be taken to measure democracy. This paper compares and evaluates Freedom House (FH) and Vanhanen’s approaches and applies those to the United Public of Tanzania from 1974 to the present. While both approaches agree that Tanzania cannot be classified as a democracy, Vanhanen determines the degree of democracy on the basis of elections and their outcomes and FH by looking at the implementation of preconditions of democracy.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Introduction
- Measuring Democracy: Freedom House versus Vanhanen
- Comparing FH and Vanhanen's Measures in Tanzania
- Conclusion
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This paper aims to analyze and compare the methodologies used by Freedom House (FH) and Vanhanen to measure democracy. It then applies these methods to the United Republic of Tanzania, examining the country's political landscape from 1974 to the present. While both approaches agree that Tanzania is not fully democratic, they differ in their approach to measuring democracy. The paper delves into the strengths and limitations of both approaches and evaluates their applicability to Tanzania.
- Comparison of democracy measurement approaches by FH and Vanhanen
- Analysis of Tanzania's political history and its impact on democracy measurements
- Evaluation of the applicability and limitations of both FH and Vanhanen's methodologies to the Tanzanian context
- Examination of Tanzania's specific challenges in achieving democracy
- Discussion of the role of elections, political rights, civil liberties, and other factors in assessing Tanzania's democratic status
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
The introduction provides an overview of the paper's objectives and the importance of measuring democracy in political science. It highlights the contrasting approaches of FH and Vanhanen and their application to Tanzania. The section "Measuring Democracy: Freedom House versus Vanhanen" details the methodologies employed by FH and Vanhanen. The paper then proceeds to analyze the specific case of Tanzania, comparing the classifications of FH and Vanhanen and explaining their discrepancies. The conclusion summarizes the findings and offers a critical evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of each approach in the context of Tanzania.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
This paper focuses on measuring democracy in Tanzania, using the methodologies of Freedom House and Vanhanen. Key themes include political rights, civil liberties, electoral competition, participation, one-party state, multi-party elections, and corruption. The paper examines Tanzania's political history, comparing its current state to previous periods, and analyzes the applicability of different democracy measurement approaches to the unique context of Tanzania.
- Quote paper
- Lea Kliem (Author), 2010, Measuring Democracy in Tanzania, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/192866
