The quality of democracies at the discretion of research. The Vanhanen index in the laboratory of the German Länder and the Swiss cantons

Based on annual measurements, the quality of democracy in the Swiss cantons and the German Länder in the period from 1990 to 2006 is assessed according to the Vanhanen index, which is solely based on statistical figures. The results are amazing at first glance: while the index invariably identifies the German Länder as democracies, it suggests that autocratic enclaves exist in Switzerland. Whereas the Swiss cantons are consociational democracies in which instruments of direct democracy are frequently used, the German Länder are majoritarian democracies, which mainly feature representative institutions. Comparing them reveals that the Vanhanen index is highly sensitive to how political scientists classify political systems and to which definitions they use. By shifting parameters slightly, researchers are able to turn democracies into autocracies and vice versa. The findings do not only enforce existing skepticism vis-à-vis the Vanhanen index but also suggest that other indices measuring democracy should be tested in the laboratory of sub-national comparison as well. This way, their explanatory power can be assessed more precisely. Reprinted by permission of the VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Germany