Polity Score Analysis
Polity score analysis uses the Polity dataset to measure and compare the regime characteristics of states on a continuum from full autocracy to full democracy. Maintained by the Center for Systemic Peace (Marshall and Gurr), Polity codes institutional features — how chief executives are recruited, the constraints on their authority, and the openness of political competition — into separate democracy and autocracy indices that combine into a single polity score from −10 to +10. It is one of the most widely used measures of regime type in comparative politics and international relations.
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Sources
- Marshall, M. G., & Gurr, T. R. (2020). Polity5: Political Regime Characteristics and Transitions, 1800–2018 (Dataset Users' Manual). Vienna, VA: Center for Systemic Peace. link ↗
How to cite this page
ScholarGate. (2026, June 22). Polity Regime-Type Measurement and Analysis. ScholarGate. https://scholargate.app/en/international-relations/polity-score-analysis
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