This data frame contains a very reduced version of version 13 of the V-Dem dataset, including only the 7 main indexes that measure democracy directly (v2x_polyarchy, v2x_libdem, v2x_partipdem, v2x_delibdem, v2x_egaldem, v2x_api, and v2x_mpi) and their associated uncertainty measures. The full VDem dataset is available via the vdemdata package. To cite VDem, use M. Coppedge, J. Gerring, C. H. Knutsen, et al. V-Dem Codebook v13.
vdem_simpleAn object of class tbl_df (inherits from tbl, data.frame) with 27555 rows and 54 columns.
Variable descriptions taken from the V-Dem codebook directly.
Country name. Name of coded country. A V-Dem country is a political unit enjoying at least some degree of functional and/or formal sovereignty.
Country name abbreviation. Abbreviated country names.
V-Dem country ID. Unique country ID designated for each country.
Year. Four-digit designation of the year for which an observation is given that ranges from the start to the end of the coding period.
Historical Date. Variable designating the date for which observation is given. The date is coded in YYYY-MM-DD format. December 31 observation always refers to the situation at the end of the year. There can be observations on other dates signifying other events, i.e. elections or executive appointments.
V-Dem Project. Indication what project team has coded country in respective year.
Historical V-Dem Coding. Binary indication whether the country in question has been coded by the team of Historical V-Dem project.
Time-specific name of coded country. Many countries go by different names in different time-periods, for example due to name changes, changes in territory, colonization, occupation, or independence. This variable contains a brief description of the identity of each polity that comprises a country's history. This variable is based on the V-Dem Country Coding Units document.
Start of coding period. Year in which coding of the country in question starts. V-Dem country coding starts in 1789, or from when a country first enjoyed at least some degree of functional and/or formal sovereignty.
End of coding period. Either a maximum year of country coding period or the year when the country ceased to exist because it lost functional or formal sovereignty.
Contemporary start of coding period. Year in which the coding of Contemporary V-Dem project starts. Variables from "Contemporary" project can have different question formulation, variable type, or number of coders as opposed to the "Historical" one.
Historical End of Coding Period. Year in which the coding of Contemporary V-Dem project ends. Variables from the "Contemporary" project can have different question formulation, variable type, or number of coders as opposed to the "Historical" one.
Historical start of coding period. Year in which the coding of Historical V-Dem project starts. Variables from ``Historical'' project can have different question formulation, variable type, or number of coders as opposed to the "Contemporary" one.
Historical End of Coding Period. Year in which the coding of Historical V-Dem project ends. Variables from "Historical" project can have different question formulation, variable type, or number of coders as opposed to the "Contemporary" one.
Time periods when a country does not fulfill V-Dem's coding period criteria are not coded. The date that indicates the gap start is the last date coded before the gap. For more details about V-Dem country coding periods, please see the V-Dem Country Coding Units document.
The periods of when a country does not fulfill V-Dem's coding period criteria are not coded. The date that indicates the gap end is the first date coded after the gap. For more details about V-Demcountry coding periods, please see the V-Dem Country Coding Units document.
An index for each country and continuous non-gap, i.e. it is reasonable for interpolation to interpolate only within the same gap index. For more details about V-Dem country coding periods, please see the V-Dem Country Coding Units document.
COW Country Code. Correlates of War (COW) project country codes.
Each of the indexes described below comes with associated uncertainty
measures: _codehigh and _codelow (the interval where the V-Dem Bayesian
measurement model places 68% of the probability mass, or approximately one
standard deviation upper and lower bounds, possibly asymmetric) and _sd
(frequentist standard deviation).
Electoral democracy index. To what extent is the ideal of electoral democracy in its fullest sense achieved? The electoral principle of democracy seeks to embody the core value of making rulers responsive to citizens, achieved through electoral competition for the electorate's approval under circumstances when suffrage is extensive; political and civil society organizations can operate freely; elections are clean and not marred by fraud or systematic irregularities; and elections affect the composition of the chief executive of the country. In between elections, there is freedom of expression and an independent media capable of presenting alternative views on matters of political relevance. In the V-Dem conceptual scheme, electoral democracy is understood as an essential element of any other conception of representative democracy --- liberal, participatory, deliberative, egalitarian, or some other.
Liberal democracy index. To what extent is the ideal of liberal democracy achieved?
The liberal principle of democracy emphasizes the importance of protecting individual and minority rights against the tyranny of the state and the tyranny of the majority. The liberal model takes a ~negative~ view of political power insofar as it judges the quality of democracy by the limits placed on government. This is achieved by constitutionally protected civil liberties, strong rule of law, an independent judiciary, and effective checks and balances that, together, limit the exercise of executive power. To make this a measure of liberal democracy, the index also takes the level of electoral democracy into account.
Deliberative democracy index. To what extent is the ideal of deliberative democracy achieved?
The deliberative principle of democracy focuses on the process by which decisions are reached in a polity. A deliberative process is one in which public reasoning focused on the common good motivates political decisions—as contrasted with emotional appeals, solidary attachments, parochial interests, or coercion. According to this principle, democracy requires more than an aggregation of existing preferences. There should also be respectful dialogue at all levels—from preference formation to final decision—among informed and competent participants who are open to persuasion. To make it a measure of not only the deliberative principle but also of democracy, the index also takes the level of electoral democracy into account.
Participatory democracy index. To what extent is the ideal of participatory democracy achieved?
The participatory principle of democracy emphasizes active participation by citizens in all political processes, electoral and non-electoral. It is motivated by uneasiness about a bedrock practice of electoral democracy: delegating authority to representatives. Thus, direct rule by citizens is preferred, wherever practicable. This model of democracy thus takes suffrage for granted, emphasizing engagement in civil society organizations, direct democracy, and subnational elected bodies. To make it a measure of participatory democracy, the index also takes the level of electoral democracy into account.
Multiplicative polyarchy index. To what extent is the electoral principle of democracy achieved?
The electoral principle of democracy seeks to achieve responsiveness and accountability between leaders and citizens through the mechanism of competitive elections. This is presumed to be achieved when suffrage is extensive; political and civil society organizations can operate freely; elections are clean and not marred by fraud or systematic irregularities; and the chief executive of a country is selected directly or indirectly through elections.
Egalitarian democracy index. To what extent is the ideal of egalitarian democracy achieved?
The egalitarian principle of democracy holds that material and immaterial inequalities inhibit the exercise of formal rights and liberties, and diminish the ability of citizens from all social groups to participate. Egalitarian democracy is achieved when 1) rights and freedoms of individuals are protected equally across all social groups; and 2) resources are distributed equally across all social groups; 3) groups and individuals enjoy equal access to power. To make it a measure of egalitarian democracy, the index also takes the level of electoral democracy into account.
Additive polyarchy index. To what extent is the electoral principle of democracy achieved?
electoral principle of democracy seeks to achieve responsiveness and accountability between leaders and citizens through the mechanism of competitive elections. This is presumed to be achieved when suffrage is extensive; political and civil society organizations can operate freely; elections are clean and not marred by fraud or systematic irregularities; and the chief executive of a country is selected directly or indirectly through elections.
The name of the country in the Gleditsch-Ward system of states, or the official name of the entity (for non-sovereign entities and states not in the Gleditsch and Ward system of states) or else a common name for disputed cases that do not have an official name (e.g., Western Sahara, Hyderabad). The Gleditsch and Ward scheme sometimes indicates the common name of the country and (in parentheses) the name of an earlier incarnation of the state: thus, they have Germany (Prussia), Russia (Soviet Union), Madagascar (Malagasy), etc. For details, see Gleditsch, Kristian S. & Michael D. Ward. 1999. "Interstate System Membership: A Revised List of the Independent States since 1816." International Interactions 25: 393-413. The list can be found at http://privatewww.essex.ac.uk/~ksg/statelist.html.
Gleditsch and Ward's numeric country code, from the Gleditsch and Ward list of independent states.
The Correlates of War numeric country code, 2016 version. This differs from Gleditsch and Ward's numeric country code in a few cases. See http://www.correlatesofwar.org/data-sets/state-system-membership for the full list.
Whether the state is "in system" (that is, is
independent and sovereign), according to Gleditsch and Ward, for this
particular date. Matches at the end of the year; so, for example South
Vietnam 1975 is FALSE because, according to Gleditsch and Ward, the
country ended on April 1975 (being absorbed by North Vietnam). It is also
TRUE for dates beyond 2012 for countries that did not end by then, depsite
the fact that the Gleditsch and Ward list has not been updated since.
M. Coppedge, J. Gerring, C. H. Knutsen, et al. V-Dem Codebook v13.
D. Pemstein, K. L. Marquardt, E. Tzelgov, et al. The V-Dem Measurement Model: Latent Variable Analysis for Cross-National and Cross-Temporal Expert-Coded Data. Tech. rep. 21. Varieties of Democracy Institute, University of Gothenburg, 2022. https://www.v-dem.net/media/filer_public/25/cb/25cb3f3f-290d-46e1-8eaf-ff2d2c13f4a9/v-dem_working_paper_21.pdf.
Other democracy:
LIED,
PIPE,
REIGN,
anckar,
anrr,
arat_pmm,
blm,
bmr,
bnr,
bollen_pmm,
bti,
doorenspleet,
download_fh_electoral(),
download_fh_full(),
download_fh(),
download_wgi_voice_and_accountability(),
eiu,
extended_uds,
fh_pmm,
gwf_all,
hadenius_pmm,
kailitz,
magaloni,
mainwaring,
munck_pmm,
pacl_update,
pacl,
peps,
pitf,
polityIV,
polity_pmm,
polyarchy_dimensions,
polyarchy,
prc_gasiorowski,
svmdi,
svolik_regime,
uds_2014,
ulfelder,
utip,
vanhanen,
wahman_teorell_hadenius
Other continuous democracy indexes:
arat_pmm,
bollen_pmm,
bti,
download_wgi_voice_and_accountability(),
eiu,
hadenius_pmm,
munck_pmm,
svmdi,
vanhanen