The protective and developmental varieties of liberal democracy: A difference in kind or degree?

• Main Author: JOSHI, Devin K.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2013
• Subjects: degree of democracy; democracy; democratization; liberal democracy; measuring democracy; social democracy; Sweden; United States; Political Science
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/1982; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/soss_research/article/3239/viewcontent/ProtectiveDevelopmentalVarietiesLiberalDemocracy_av.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Liberal democratic governments may differ in both their kind and degree of democracy. However, the literature too often conflates this distinction, hindering our ability to understand what kinds of governing structures are more democratic. To clarify this issue, the article examines two prominent contemporary models of democracy: developmental liberal democracy (DLD) and protective liberal democracy (PLD). While the former takes a 'thicker' approach to governance than the latter, conventional wisdom holds that these systems differ only in kind rather than degree. The article tests this assumption through an empirical comparison of electoral, legislative, and information-regulating institutions in two representative cases: Sweden and the United States. The empirical findings lead us to the conclusion that developmental liberal democracies represent not only a different kind, but also a deeper degree of democracy than protective liberal democracies. The implications for democracy promotion appear substantial.