Indicators of Democracy
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The spread of democracy across the Global South has taken many different forms, but certain features are consistent: implementing a system of elections and an overarching mission of serving the will and well-being of a country's citizens. But how do we hold politicians accountable for such a mission? How are we to understand the efficacy of the policies they put forth? In Indicators of Democracy Diana Graizbord exposes the complex, often-hidden world of the institutions that are meant to ensure democratic accountability and transparency. Taking the case of Mexico's National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy (CONEVAL), Graizbord provides a deep theory of what happens when democratic aspirations intersect with technocratic ambitions. Analyzing what it takes to establish and sustain monitoring and evaluation as a form of official state expertise, Graizbord is able to put forward the contours of technodemocracy—a democratic political project that hinges on the power of experts to shape politics in unexpected but profound ways.
—Gil Eyal, Columbia University
"This is a wonderfully insightful and detailed analysis of how the line between methodology and politics is much murkier than is often asserted. Believing that only what can be measured can be improved may produce a new global data standard, but it also blinds us to inherent preferences and biases. A brilliant deep take into the black box of technocratic governance."
—Miguel A. Centeno, Princeton University
