This dissertation asks the question: How do democracies improve in quality? Building on previous scholarship, the author offers a theoretical framework that traces democratic quality through equality of outcomes. The quality of democracy may be conceptualized as a virtuous cycle where the procedural aspects of democracy motivate politicians to expand equality. This broadening of substantive opportunities outcomes, in turn, deepens democracy by developing individual-level political participation. The theoretical framework is applied to the context of public services with the expectation that quality democracies with high government capacity more broadly distribute basic public services and that this pattern of provision cultivates political participation. The first empirical analysis tests if the quality of democracy and government capacity are associated with reduced service inequalities for a sample of 75 countries. It is found that while equalities of education and sanitation services are significantly related to democratic quality, healthcare is not, nor is government capacity shown to play a significant role. To further explore this, the Mexican states are analyzed for the years 2000 to 2004; the results show that capacity in terms of tax collection efforts is associated with lower inequalities in education services in states with high electoral competition. The second empirical analysis turns to the local level of government - where services are delivered. Using original data from interviews and government records of four Mexican municipalities, the author examines the aspects of democracy and government capacity that are correlated with lower inequalities of public services. The findings highlight that intense electoral competition and institutionalized channels of citizen input as well as capacity in terms of sound collection of municipal taxes and innovations in municipal funding are characteristics of governments with broader distribution of basic public services. The third empirical analysis tests if public services are related to individual-level political participation. Employing survey data from Latin America and Africa, the author finds that “good” public service evaluations are associated with greater likelihoods of voting in high quality democracies - those with intense electoral competition - but limited government capacity. This offers evidence that in a developing context, public services enable political participation.

This thesis explores the potential impacts of electoral governance on the democratic quality of elections in Nigeria. It concentrates on the debates over the role electoral administration in securing the credibility of elections in emerging democracies, using Nigeria as an example. The thesis argues that the explanation of democratic quality of elections is best approached through comparative case studies, relying on detailed accounts of election observers, interview respondents and the perceptions of the electorate. Drawing insights from the literature on democratisation, the thesis offers a straightforward conceptual and methodological model for gauging the democratic quality of elections, emphasising the relevance of electoral governance in Nigeria. It is a comparative study of the conduct of the 2007 and the 2011 elections that shared various social and institutional variables but differ in significant ways. The case comparison illustrates how the institutional dynamics of election management influence elections quality, explaining the various interconnections between the democratic quality of elections and electoral governance in Nigeria. It provides a contextual explanation of key political terms like participation, competition and perceived legitimacy. The failures and achievements recorded in the 2007 and 2011 general elections respectively depend on effective electoral governance. The restructuring of the autonomy of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and improvement of the electoral cycles recorded in the 2011 elections plus the active contribution of the electoral courts and tribunals set the stage for an increasingly fair political engagements of contestants. It has enhanced the quality of individual voter pariticipation in the 2011 elections. These case-based findings substantiate, empirically, various assumptions in the literature, particularly those explicit in the work of Mozaffar & Schedler (2002) and Elklit & Reynolds, (2002; 2005).

Demokratijos konsolidacija yra sudėtinė demokratizacijos proceso dalis, apibūdinanti naujai susikūrusios valstybės demokratijos būseną, išreiškiant ją per kokybės kriterijus, tokius kaip pilietinės visuomenės ar partinės sistemos būsena. Tuomet yra užduodamas klausimas - ar naujai susikūrusi demokratinė santvarka išsilaikys, ar neatlaikiusi įvairiausių spaudimų, grįš į autoritarinį režimą. Taip pat yra svarbus susikūrusios demokratijos kokybės klausimas. Aprašomuoju, lyginamuoju bei mokslinės analizės metodais buvo aprašytas demokratijos konsolidacijos teorinis aspektas bei susisteminti kriterijai, kuriais remiantis tolimesniuose skyriuose buvo atliekama kiekybinė bei kokybinė šių kriterijų analizė, paminint ir veiksnius bei prielaidas, kodėl būtent šie kriterijai buvo taikomi Lietuvos atvejui. Darbo objektas yra demokratijos konsolidacija Lietuvoje - jos istorija bei kokybės analizė. Darbo tikslui pasiekti buvo naudojami pripažintų autorių demokratizacijos kriterijai, pagal kuriuos buvo atlikta Lietuvos atvejo analizė. Darbo tikslas buvo išsiaiškinti, kokiame demokratijos konsolidacijos etape yra Lietuva ir ar šį procesą galima vadinti užbaigtu. Demokratizacijos procesas yra glaudžiai susijęs su daugeliu ekonominių, politinių bei visuomeninių sferų, tokių kai pilietinė visuomenė, ekonominė bei politinė kultūra bei domėjimasis politika apskritai. Todėl neabejotina, kad demokratijos konsolidacijos klausimas Lietuvoje yra labai svarbus. Sėkmingas demokratijos veikimas yra... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The consolidation of democracy is a term that describes the status of newly created democracies, when the mode of transition is the issue of whether the newly created democracy will sustain his democratic order or collapse after won’t sustaining it’ s challenges In this study will also been emphasized the quality of democracy. This study will describe the consolidation of democracy in new democracies, history of these countries, with emphasis on the case of Lithuania. The work will be written with all the descriptive-exploratory research work required for the criteria, using empirical studies and theoretical research. Work item is the consolidation of democracy in Lithuania and it‘s history, which is defined as the transition from authoritarian to democratic regimes. Another important element of the study is the quality of democracy in Lithuania and their parameters which is far from the level of a stable Western democracies. Democratization process is related to many social, economic and political public spheres, such as the status of civil society, economic and political culture, and interest in politics in general. Therefore, there is no doubt that the consolidation of democracy in question is relevant. The smooth functioning of the democratic values of democracy and the desire to match the quality criteria of the old countries of the European Union compels us to review the existing problems and find solutions to the challenge. Work will begin with the theoretical... [to full text]

In this research, I analyze the effects of candidate nomination rules and campaign financing rules on elite recruitment into the national legislatures of Germany and the United States. This dissertation is both theory-driven and constitutes exploratory research, too. While the effects of electoral rules are frequently studied in political science, the emphasis is thereby on electoral rules that are set post-election. My focus, in contrast, is on electoral rules that have an effect prior to the election. Furthermore, my dissertation is comparative by design. The research question is twofold. Do electoral rules have an effect on elite recruitment, and does it matter? To answer these question, I create a large-N original data set, in which I code the behavior and recruitment paths and patterns of members of the American House of Representatives and the German Bundestag. Furthermore, I include interviews with members of the said two national legislatures. Both the statistical analyses and the interviews provide affirmative evidence for my working hypothesis that differences in electoral rules lead to a different type of elite recruitment. To that end, I use the active-politician concept, through which I dichotomously distinguish the economic behavior of politicians. Thanks to the exploratory nature of my research, I also discover the phenomenon of differential valence of local and state political office for entrance into national office in comparative perspective. By statistically identifying this hitherto unknown paradox, as well as evidencing the effects of electoral rules, I show that besides ideology and culture, institutional rules are key in shaping the ruling elite. The way institutional rules are set up, in particular electoral rules, does not only affect how the electorate will vote and how seats will be distributed, but it will also affect what type of people will end up in elected office.