The “electoral principle of democracy index”
By: V-Dem Staff
May 12, 2015
The graph below shows some similarities in the development of the electoral democracy index for Fiji, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. At the beginning of the 20th century all countries were just above the minimum score. A similar increasing trend is evident in all four countries starting in the 1950s. This indicates that developments in this area, started in all these countries after the decolonization of Oceania that began at the end of World War II. Following a period of upward trajectory in the 1970s, progress slows down and we see almost no upward or downward trend in the graph. Fiji, the exception to this trend, experienced severe drops that coincide with the three coups d’état that have befallen the country in recent years.
