Concern about the health of democratic governments has been rising worldwide, and one of the key metrics researchers use to measure the robustness of a democracy is its ability to conduct free and fair elections.
With the United States in the midst of a polarized presidential election, we here at Science News have taken a close look at the science of studying democracies and what characteristics make them strong — or can destabilize them.
It turns out that how best to measure democracy is itself contentious. Some researchers argue it should be binary — there’s either a peaceful transfer of power from an incumbent who lost at the polls, or there’s not.