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Election in Brazil

Testing a Fragile Democracy

Economic malaise is pushing Brazilians towards outsider parties in the run-up to the October vote. But with no candidate promising to undertake much-needed economic reform, the country’s woes look set to continue.

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A soldier receiving roses from locals in the Thai 2006 coup. Photo: David Yttervik Seetiangtham via flickr.com, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/

Autocracies

Militaries Hold the Key to Power in a Dictator’s Endgame

Which factors shape the armed forces’ decision to boost or bust the rule of an incumbent autocrat in times of political turmoil? Political scientists at Heidelberg University analyzed non-violent mass mobilizations since 1946 and developed a game theory model that aims to explain the different military Responses.

read more

BTI

Transformation Index 2018

Restrictions on free speech, unfair elections and populist hunger for power – it is by no means just autocrats who have been tightening the screw of repression. Governments in democracies have also increasingly been trying to govern with a hard hand. And social division is deeper than it has been for a long time.

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Index

View all scores for the state of political and economic transformation as well as transformation management.

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Country reports

129 detailed reports provide the basis for the ratings.

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Atlas

Explore the data with an interactive tool that provides access to all quantitative and qualitative assessments since 2006.

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Rank Country Score
1 Czech Republic 9.52
1 Estonia 9.52
3 Taiwan 9.42
4 Lithuania 9.24
5 Uruguay 9.19
6 Slovenia 9.18
7 Chile 8.87
8 Latvia 8.68
9 Slovakia 8.59
10 Poland 8.58
11 South Korea 8.55
12 Costa Rica 8.49
13 Mauritius 8.25
14 Croatia 8.07
15 Romania 8.06
16 Botswana 7.89
17 Bulgaria 7.80
18 Hungary 7.43
19 Serbia 7.40
20 Montenegro 7.35
21 Jamaica 7.31
22 Brazil 7.29
23 Argentina 7.27
24 Singapore 7.15
25 Panama 7.11
26 India 6.96
26 South Africa 6.96
28 El Salvador 6.88
29 Peru 6.85
30 Albania 6.83
31 Macedonia 6.76
32 Ghana 6.75
33 Sri Lanka 6.61
34 Colombia 6.59
34 Mongolia 6.59
36 Ukraine 6.54
37 Namibia 6.50
38 Philippines 6.47
39 Bolivia 6.46
40 Dominican Republic 6.44
41 Benin 6.43
42 Georgia 6.42
43 Bosnia and Herzegovina 6.28
44 Tunisia 6.27
45 Bhutan 6.25
45 Indonesia 6.25
47 Paraguay 6.24
48 Mexico 6.23
49 Kosovo 6.21
50 Senegal 6.18
51 Turkey 6.17
52 United Arab Emirates 6.07
53 Malaysia 6.00
54 Moldova 5.96
55 Kyrgyzstan 5.90
56 Qatar 5.88
57 Kenya 5.80
58 Ecuador 5.72
59 Uganda 5.66
60 Kuwait 5.61
61 Armenia 5.58
61 Papua New Guinea 5.58
63 Liberia 5.56
64 Honduras 5.51
64 Tanzania 5.51
66 Malawi 5.49
67 Burkina Faso 5.45
67 Zambia 5.45
69 Côte d'Ivoire 5.38
70 Russia 5.31
71 Guinea 5.28
72 Jordan 5.22
73 Lesotho 5.19
74 Lebanon 5.15
74 Sierra Leone 5.15
76 Mali 5.14
76 Nicaragua 5.14
78 Niger 5.13
79 Bangladesh 5.11
80 Guatemala 5.08
81 China 5.02
82 Madagascar 5.01
83 Algeria 4.98
84 Togo 4.89
85 Rwanda 4.80
86 Belarus 4.72
87 Thailand 4.71
88 Kazakhstan 4.70
89 Bahrain 4.62
90 Morocco 4.61
91 Nigeria 4.60
92 Nepal 4.52
93 Oman 4.43
94 Vietnam 4.41
95 Mozambique 4.31
96 Egypt 4.28
97 Saudi Arabia 4.27
98 Cameroon 4.23
99 Mauritania 4.22
100 Azerbaijan 4.13
101 Cuba 4.02
102 Pakistan 4.01
103 Cambodia 4.00
104 Burundi 3.97
105 Angola 3.94
106 Laos 3.85
107 Iraq 3.75
108 Uzbekistan 3.73
109 Haiti 3.50
110 Venezuela 3.47
111 Congo, Rep. 3.38
111 Myanmar 3.38
113 Ethiopia 3.33
113 Zimbabwe 3.33
115 Chad 3.31
115 Tajikistan 3.31
117 Central African Republic 3.28
118 Iran 3.15
119 Turkmenistan 3.14
120 Congo, DR 3.13
121 Afghanistan 2.95
122 Libya 2.60
123 Sudan 2.28
124 South Sudan 2.27
125 North Korea 2.16
126 Eritrea 1.84
127 Yemen 1.72
128 Syria 1.57
129 Somalia 1.34
Rank Country Score Trend
1 Uruguay 9.95
2 Estonia 9.75
3 Taiwan 9.55
4 Lithuania 9.45
5 Czech Republic 9.40
6 Slovenia 9.25
7 Chile 9.20
8 Costa Rica 9.05
9 Latvia 8.75
10 Slovakia 8.60
11 Poland 8.55
12 Mauritius 8.50
13 South Korea 8.45
14 Croatia 8.35
15 Jamaica 8.30
16 Botswana 8.20
17 Romania 8.15
18 Bulgaria 8.10
19 Argentina 8.00
20 Ghana 7.90
21 Benin 7.85
22 Serbia 7.70
23 Brazil 7.65
24 India 7.60
24 South Africa 7.60
26 Montenegro 7.55
27 Namibia 7.50
28 Mongolia 7.40
29 El Salvador 7.30
29 Panama 7.30
31 Bolivia 7.20
32 Hungary 7.15
33 Senegal 7.10
34 Albania 7.05
35 Dominican Republic 6.95
36 Ukraine 6.90
37 Georgia 6.80
38 Colombia 6.75
39 Peru 6.60
40 Bhutan 6.57
41 Liberia 6.55
41 Sri Lanka 6.55
43 Indonesia 6.50
43 Tunisia 6.50
45 Kosovo 6.45
45 Macedonia 6.45
45 Malawi 6.45
45 Paraguay 6.45
49 Burkina Faso 6.40
50 Niger 6.30
50 Papua New Guinea 6.30
50 Philippines 6.30
53 Kenya 6.25
54 Moldova 6.20
55 Kyrgyzstan 6.15
55 Sierra Leone 6.15
57 Bosnia and Herzegovina 6.10
57 Mexico 6.10
57 Tanzania 6.10
60 Guinea 6.05
61 Zambia 6.00
62 Mali 5.95
63 Ecuador 5.90
64 Côte d'Ivoire 5.80
64 Honduras 5.80
66 Lesotho 5.60
67 Turkey 5.55
68 Uganda 5.43
69 Singapore 5.42
70 Madagascar 5.35
70 Nigeria 5.35
72 Armenia 5.12
73 Togo 5.07
74 Guatemala 5.05
75 Nicaragua 4.92
76 Nepal 4.90
77 Lebanon 4.87
77 Malaysia 4.78
79 Algeria 4.75
80 Bangladesh 4.62
81 Russia 4.55
82 Kuwait 4.50
83 Mozambique 4.48
84 Jordan 4.37
85 Belarus 4.33
86 Mauritania 4.22
87 Angola 4.20
88 Haiti 4.10
89 United Arab Emirates 4.00
90 Cameroon 3.92
91 Rwanda 3.88
92 Zimbabwe 3.83
93 Burundi 3.80
93 Kazakhstan 3.80
93 Morocco 3.80
93 Venezuela 3.80
97 Qatar 3.73
98 Egypt 3.70
98 Pakistan 3.70
100 Central African Republic 3.60
100 Iraq 3.60
102 Cuba 3.58
103 Cambodia 3.57
104 Myanmar 3.50
105 Congo, DR 3.47
106 Chad 3.45
107 Azerbaijan 3.43
108 Vietnam 3.35
109 China 3.28
110 Congo, Rep. 3.25
110 Thailand 3.25
112 Bahrain 3.23
113 Uzbekistan 3.17
114 Afghanistan 3.02
114 Ethiopia 3.02
116 Oman 3.00
117 Tajikistan 2.98
119 Iran 2.92
118 Laos 2.92
120 Turkmenistan 2.85
121 South Sudan 2.62
122 North Korea 2.60
123 Libya 2.57
123 Saudi Arabia 2.57
125 Sudan 2.23
126 Eritrea 2.12
127 Yemen 1.80
128 Syria 1.75
129 Somalia 1.43
Rank Country Score Trend
1 Czech Republic 9.64
2 Estonia 9.29
3 Taiwan 9.29
4 Slovenia 9.11
5 Lithuania 9.04
6 Singapore 8.89
7 South Korea 8.64
8 Latvia 8.61
8 Poland 8.61
10 Slovakia 8.57
11 Chile 8.54
12 Uruguay 8.43
13 United Arab Emirates 8.14
14 Qatar 8.04
15 Mauritius 8.00
16 Romania 7.96
17 Costa Rica 7.93
18 Croatia 7.79
19 Hungary 7.71
20 Botswana 7.57
21 Bulgaria 7.50
22 Malaysia 7.21
23 Montenegro 7.14
24 Peru 7.11
24 Serbia 7.11
26 Macedonia 7.07
27 Brazil 6.93
27 Panama 6.93
29 Turkey 6.79
30 China 6.75
31 Kuwait 6.71
32 Sri Lanka 6.68
33 Philippines 6.64
34 Albania 6.61
35 Argentina 6.54
36 Bosnia and Herzegovina 6.46
36 El Salvador 6.46
38 Colombia 6.43
39 Mexico 6.36
40 India 6.32
40 Jamaica 6.32
40 South Africa 6.32
43 Thailand 6.18
43 Ukraine 6.18
45 Jordan 6.07
45 Russia 6.07
47 Armenia 6.04
47 Georgia 6.04
47 Paraguay 6.04
47 Tunisia 6.04
51 Bahrain 6.00
51 Indonesia 6.00
53 Kosovo 5.96
53 Saudi Arabia 5.96
53 Bhutan 5.93
53 Dominican Republic 5.93
57 Uganda 5.89
58 Oman 5.86
59 Mongolia 5.79
60 Bolivia 5.71
60 Moldova 5.71
60 Rwanda 5.71
63 Kyrgyzstan 5.64
64 Bangladesh 5.61
64 Ghana 5.61
64 Kazakhstan 5.61
67 Ecuador 5.54
68 Namibia 5.50
69 Vietnam 5.46
70 Lebanon 5.43
70 Morocco 5.43
72 Kenya 5.36
72 Nicaragua 5.36
74 Senegal 5.25
75 Algeria 5.21
75 Honduras 5.21
77 Belarus 5.11
77 Guatemala 5.11
79 Benin 5.00
80 Côte d'Ivoire 4.96
81 Tanzania 4.93
82 Zambia 4.89
83 Egypt 4.86
83 Papua New Guinea 4.86
85 Azerbaijan 4.82
86 Laos 4.79
86 Lesotho 4.79
88 Togo 4.71
89 Madagascar 4.68
90 Liberia 4.57
91 Cameroon 4.54
91 Malawi 4.54
93 Burkina Faso 4.50
93 Guinea 4.50
95 Cuba 4.46
96 Cambodia 4.43
97 Mali 4.32
97 Pakistan 4.32
99 Uzbekistan 4.29
100 Mauritania 4.21
101 Burundi 4.14
101 Mozambique 4.14
101 Nepal 4.14
101 Sierra Leone 4.14
105 Niger 3.96
106 Iraq 3.89
107 Nigeria 3.86
108 Angola 3.68
109 Ethiopia 3.64
109 Tajikistan 3.64
111 Congo, Rep. 3.50
112 Turkmenistan 3.43
113 Iran 3.39
114 Myanmar 3.25
115 Chad 3.18
116 Venezuela 3.14
117 Central African Republic 2.96
118 Afghanistan 2.89
118 Haiti 2.89
120 Zimbabwe 2.82
121 Congo, DR 2.79
122 Libya 2.64
123 Sudan 2.32
124 South Sudan 1.93
125 North Korea 1.71
126 Yemen 1.64
127 Eritrea 1.57
128 Syria 1.39
129 Somalia 1.25
Rank Country Score
1 Estonia 7.44
2 Uruguay 7.36
3 Chile 7.33
3 Taiwan 7.33
5 Lithuania 7.18
6 Botswana 7.09
7 Czech Republic 7.03
8 Latvia 7.00
9 Costa Rica 6.85
10 Slovenia 6.78
11 Senegal 6.70
11 Slovakia 6.70
13 Mauritius 6.64
14 El Salvador 6.57
15 South Korea 6.51
16 Bhutan 6.50
17 Montenegro 6.49
18 Poland 6.25
19 Ghana 6.18
20 Colombia 6.14
21 Croatia 6.07
22 Serbia 6.06
23 Paraguay 6.04
24 Albania 6.02
24 India 6.02
26 Argentina 6.00
27 Bulgaria 5.98
28 Mongolia 5.96
28 South Africa 5.96
30 Brazil 5.95
30 Singapore 5.95
32 Romania 5.89
33 Georgia 5.87
33 Niger 5.87
35 Benin 5.86
35 Jamaica 5.86
37 Liberia 5.84
38 Guinea 5.82
39 Peru 5.81
40 Panama 5.72
41 Bolivia 5.66
42 Malawi 5.61
43 Sri Lanka 5.60
44 Dominican Republic 5.57
45 United Arab Emirates 5.55
46 Côte d'Ivoire 5.54
47 Namibia 5.49
48 Indonesia 5.45
49 Ukraine 5.41
50 Qatar 5.40
51 Tunisia 5.33
52 Uganda 5.31
53 Macedonia 5.24
54 Burkina Faso 5.20
54 Malaysia 5.20
54 Rwanda 5.20
57 Kosovo 5.17
57 Mali 5.17
57 Mexico 5.17
60 Moldova 5.15
61 Madagascar 5.12
62 Togo 5.10
63 Tanzania 5.07
64 Zambia 5.06
65 Ecuador 4.99
66 Honduras 4.98
67 Sierra Leone 4.93
68 Kenya 4.92
69 Philippines 4.90
70 Jordan 4.84
71 China 4.79
72 Papua New Guinea 4.78
73 Kyrgyzstan 4.73
74 Turkey 4.72
75 Nigeria 4.59
76 Algeria 4.55
77 Guatemala 4.52
78 Vietnam 4.51
79 Hungary 4.44
80 Iraq 4.43
81 Kazakhstan 4.41
82 Kuwait 4.37
83 Morocco 4.28
84 Bangladesh 4.27
85 Armenia 4.25
85 Mozambique 4.25
87 Nicaragua 4.22
88 Central African Republic 4.10
89 Bosnia and Herzegovina 4.09
90 Mauritania 4.06
91 Afghanistan 4.02
92 Myanmar 3.97
93 Egypt 3.96
94 Cuba 3.93
95 Laos 3.89
95 Thailand 3.89
97 Azerbaijan 3.86
98 Saudi Arabia 3.80
99 Nepal 3.74
100 Ethiopia 3.65
101 Angola 3.60
101 Lebanon 3.60
103 Lesotho 3.59
104 Oman 3.54
105 Bahrain 3.52
105 Belarus 3.52
105 Russia 3.52
108 Pakistan 3.51
109 Cameroon 3.46
110 Haiti 3.39
111 Tajikistan 3.31
112 Burundi 3.29
113 Cambodia 3.23
114 Congo, Rep. 3.00
115 Iran 2.85
116 Chad 2.84
117 Uzbekistan 2.55
118 Turkmenistan 2.51
119 Congo, DR 2.47
120 Zimbabwe 2.37
121 South Sudan 2.30
122 Libya 2.29
123 Somalia 2.25
124 Sudan 1.97
125 Venezuela 1.86
126 Yemen 1.70
127 North Korea 1.30
128 Eritrea 1.13
128 Syria 1.13
 

BTI Blog

to our blog

October 01, 2018 / Eduardo Mello

Election in Brazil: Testing a Fragile Democracy

Economic malaise is pushing Brazilians towards outsider parties in the run-up to the October vote. But with no candidate promising to undertake much-needed economic reform, the country’s woes look set to continue. Brazil has rarely had it so bad. As the 2000s boom in commodity prices waned, the country’s gross domestic product plummeted. Unemployment reached […] read more

September 14, 2018 / Aurel Croissant

Militaries Hold the Key to Power in a Dictator’s Endgame

Which factors shape the armed forces’ decision to boost or bust the rule of an incumbent autocrat in times of political turmoil? Political scientists at Heidelberg University analyzed non-violent mass mobilizations since 1946 and developed a game theory model that aims to explain the different military responses. Autocrats live dangerously. Although their average tenure is […] read more

August 31, 2018 / Cora Jungbluth

Indonesia as a Pillar in the EU’s “Pivot to Asia”

The EU’s external relations are in turmoil. In the West, the United States has shaken the once reliable and stable transatlantic partnership to the ground. In the East, China is rising as a strong and self-confident power with political and economic interests that are not always in line with those of the EU. In these […] read more

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Understanding Transformation

A glance at three dynamic cases of democratic reform, socioeconomic development and successful political steering from the perspective of the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s Transformation Index (BTI). read more