2005 John McMenemy Prize

Winner: Godson Dinneya and Asrat Tsegaye

Constructing a Cardinal Measure of Democratic Development in a Transitional Polity: The Nigerian Example, Canadian Journal of Political Science 37:2

Excerpt from jury report: The authors present a convincing critique of the major methods of measuring democratic development and suggest that focusing on the subject as a process rather than an outcome better captures its nuance and reality. The new measure is then tested in the case of Nigeria and this demonstrates its enhanced sensitivity to transition polities. This cogent paper constitutes an important contribution in the areas of democratization studies, comparative politics and political methodology.