Leaders

4 www.digitaldaya.com The Polity Spectrum of Governance The Polity approach to analysis employs a unique methodology, examining “concomitant qualities of democratic and autocratic authority” in institutional governments,assigning a quantifiable score based on a 21-point scale that ranges from hereditary monarchies, which are scored at -10, to consolidated and stable democracies which are given a score of +10. The organization makes no value judgments in its scoring model. It is simply a means by which change can be measured, evaluated and assessed and data collated.It should be considered an index – a measurement used to compare the status quo over time. As governments evolve,as new regimes gain or lose power,their scores change,providing a measureable means of tracking change in the way countries govern their people. The Changing Role of Government The data set collated by the most recent publication of Polity covers 163 countries currently recognized by the United Nations and spans the time frame from 1800 through 2008.The results aren’t surprising, given the changing role of both government and technology. For example, the United States – perhaps the leading “democratic” country today – is in fact NOT a true democracy. It is a representative democracy.Voters elect local and state officials who represent the people in elective bodies. At the federal level, voters choose representatives to the Electoral College,the agency that officially selects the President of the United States. This form of representative democracy was designed over 200 years ago at a time when communications were much slower than they are today. A direct democracy, one in which the people voted on individual laws and mandates,was simply not technologically possible. And even in this digital age,the U.S.presidential election of 2000 was considered controversial – even suspect.Many U.S. citizens believe the 2000 election of President George W. Bush was manipulated by the famous recounts that took place in the state of Florida, which happened to be governed by Mr. Bush’s brother, Jeb Bush. Indeed, they still believe that Al Gore actually won the 2000 election. However, As governments evolve,as new regimes gain or lose power,their scores change, providing a measureable means of tracking change in the way countries govern their people.