Methodology

Status tells us where a country is. Direction tells us where it is going.

Velocity tells us how quickly it is getting there.

Methodology version 1.0-dev / 2026 edition

Scope

The index assesses democratic institutions and institutional movement. It does not score ideology, party popularity or political taste.

Judicial independence, media freedom, electoral integrity, civic space and human rights, and checks and balances.

External datasets and primary sources are evidence inputs. Final status, direction and velocity remain RETHINKK research assessments.

Resilient democracy, institutional erosion, autocratic and not assessed are presentation states. Grey means not assessed in the current edition.

Direction is stored separately from status: improving, stable or deteriorating.

Velocity describes the speed of movement: rapid, normal or limited. It is combined with direction only for display.

Confidence reflects evidence quality and assessment certainty. It does not reflect democratic quality.

Historic editions remain immutable. Material corrections require a visible revision date and revision note.

Scores support the assessment. They do not automatically calculate status unless a future methodology explicitly defines that rule.