The Everyday Democracy Index

What are the most democratic countries in Europe?

How would we find out? This pamphlet sets out to answer these questions through a new approach to comparing the democratic health of nations: the Everyday Democracy Index (EDI). The EDI attempts to measure the lived

experience of democracy in 25 European countries.

It takes as its starting point the idea that this experience is only partially defined by what happens in the traditional arenas of elections and formal politics. The pamphlet demonstrates that how effectively countries empower individuals in more everyday spheres like families,communities, workplaces and public services makes a big difference to the health of their formal democracy. It also shows that the strength of Everyday Democracy is very closely related to levels of life satisfaction, social trust,

and social and gender equality.