democracy! or democracy?

Coppedge, Alvarez, and Maldonado’s article raises a few noteworthy points.

The inherent complexity of democracy, as a multifaceted concept, means that it must be simplified before measurement and analysis can take place.

Dahl’s two theoretical dimensions of democracy best fit this task and account for three-quarters of the variation captured by indicators.

While I agree with the necessity to create a minimal definition, I find it problematic that such a definition is used for all measurements. The obvious problem with this measurement, from my perspective, is that it assumes that the 25 percent that is not accounted for is less important than the rest. Perhaps, I am misunderstanding the article completely, but, in many relatively new democracies with less-stability, weaker infrastructure in place, or ethnic minority issues, the 25 percent or third/fourth dimensions could be far more influential in determining a degradated or dichotomous outcome than one might expect.