New Books in Political Science What Democracy Does… and Does Not Do
Nov 7, 2025
Maya Tudor, a Professor at the Blavatnik School of Government, dives into whether democracies truly deliver on their promises. She shares compelling cross-national data showcasing how democracies achieve better health, education, and lower civil conflict. However, she warns of mixed economic growth outcomes and inflated data in autocratic regimes. Tudor highlights the adaptability of democracies in addressing global challenges like climate change, arguing that while imperfect, they often provide better solutions than authoritarian models.
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Democracy's Tangible Record
- Democracies tend to deliver on core public goods like health, education, and security at the population level.
- Tudor synthesizes global studies to ask empirically what democracy actually achieves rather than relying on normative claims.
Lower Infant Mortality In Democracies
- Democracies show substantially lower infant mortality than autocracies, about 17 fewer deaths per thousand on average.
- This effect emerges from multiple cross-national studies covering many decades.
More Schooling, Not Always Better Learning
- Democracies produce more average years of schooling but evidence on learning quality is mixed and measurement is difficult.
- Tudor warns that more years in school do not necessarily equal better learning outcomes.