Elections Without Democracy: The Menu of Manipulation
Journal of Democracy, 2002 · paper · Political science
Argues that regimes holding elections while violating democratic norms are authoritarian, not deficient democracies. Proposes a fourfold typology including electoral authoritarianism and describes how such regimes try to gain legitimacy from elections while keeping control.
Checked: PDF from web.archive.org, fetched 5 Oct 2026. Page numbers are those of that PDF.
1 finding
Substance Text on p. 48 gives "52.2 percent in North Africa and the Middle East" for the share of countries hosting EA regimes; Table 2 prints 52.6 for that cell, which is what the counts (10 of 19) give.
- p. 14 Section 'Electoral Authoritarianism in the World', paragraph beginning 'Beneath broad global trends'
52.2 percent in North Africa and the Middle East
- p. 13 Table 2, Within Regions (%), row N. Africa & Middle East, column Electoral Authoritarianism
52.6
Judge's note: Page 14 image shows "87.5 percent in Central Asia, 54.2 percent in sub-Saharan Africa, and 52.2 percent in North Africa and the Middle East". Page 13 image, Table 2 Within Regions, Electoral Authoritarianism column shows 87.5, 54.2 and 52.6, with absolute figures 10 of 19. The other two figures in the sentence match the table. The sentence names the same quantity as the table cell, and no other population or denominator is given in the text or the table source note. The text figure is the one that disagrees with the counts.
Second check: another model agreed
Report a problem with this finding
5 minor (typos and the like; most checked by the judge only)
Typo Probable missing "to": "Perhaps the best way to get a handle on the problem is take a fresh look at the normative presuppositions" (expected "is to take").
- p. 3 First paragraph, line 7
is take a fresh look at the normative presuppositions
- p. 3 first paragraph
is take a fresh look
Judge's note: Crop of page 3 shows the wording as quoted, so it is not an extraction artefact. A bare infinitive after "is" is tolerated in informal American English, so either form could be defended; in this register it reads as a dropped word. Cosmetic.
Second check: none (judge only)
Report a problem with this finding
Typo Missing space: "following the1974 Revolution of the Carnations" should read "the 1974".
- p. 11 Paragraph beginning 'Students of new democracies', line 5
following the1974 Revolution of the Carnations
- p. 11 paragraph on tutelary powers
following the1974 Revolution
Judge's note: Crop of page 11 shows "the1974" set with no space mid-line, while the neighbouring words are normally spaced. Not an extraction artefact.
Second check: none (judge only)
Report a problem with this finding
Typo Ungrammatical: "the careful classification of regimes by 2001 provided by Larry Diamond (on pp. 21–35 of this issue) permits to establish the current incidence"; "permits" lacks an object ("permits us to establish").
- p. 12 Section 'Electoral Authoritarianism in the World', first paragraph
permits to
- p. 12 Electoral Authoritarianism in the World, first paragraph
permits to establish the current incidence of electoral authoritarianism
Judge's note: Crop of page 12 shows the wording as quoted. "Permit" needs an object or a gerund in English. Meaning is unaffected.
Second check: none (judge only)
Report a problem with this finding
Typo Table 2 (World, Closed Authoritarianism, within regions) and the text on p. 48 print "16.5" ("the latter 16.5 percent of all countries in our basket"); 25 of 151 is 16.56%, which rounds to 16.6, and the printed World row adds to 99.9 beside a printed 100.
- p. 13 Table 2, Within Regions (%), row World, column Closed Authoritarianism
16.5
- p. 14 Paragraph beginning 'What does the broad regional distribution'
latter 16.5 percent of all countries in our basket
- p. 14 Regional distribution paragraph
the latter 16.5 percent of all countries
- p. 14 text 'Overall, electoral autocracies'
16.5 percent of all countries
Judge's note: Read Table 2 on the page 13 image (25 of 151; World row 23.8, 21.2, 38.4, 16.5, 100) and the sentence on the page 14 image. The paper states no rounding rule. It is not a rounding tie (16.556), and truncation is not applied consistently: 11/19 = 57.89 is printed 57.9, 5/36 = 13.89 is printed 13.9 and 11/32 = 34.375 is printed 34.4. The difference is 0.1 point and changes nothing in the argument.
Second check: none (judge only)
Report a problem with this finding
Typo Table 2, Across Regions, Liberal Democracy column prints "30.5" (Eastern Europe, 11 of 36) and "5.5" (South, SE & East Asia, 2 of 36); the counts give 30.56% and 5.56%, which round to 30.6 and 5.6, and the printed column adds to 99.9 beside a printed 100.
- p. 13 Table 2, Across Regions (%), row Eastern Europe, column Liberal Democracy
30.5
- p. 13 Table 2, Across Regions (%), Liberal Democracy column, South, SE & East Asia row
5.5
Judge's note: Read the column on the page 13 image: 30.5, 47.2, 2.8, 13.9, 5.5, World 100; counts 11, 17, 1, 5, 2 of 36. Neither value is a rounding tie. The same column rounds up elsewhere (5/36 = 13.89 printed 13.9, 1/36 = 2.78 printed 2.8), so truncation is not the table's rule. The text's 77.8 percent for Eastern Europe plus Latin America follows from the counts (28/36), whereas the printed cells add to 77.7. Cosmetic, 0.1 point each.
Second check: none (judge only)