In the last decade, the political institutions and practices under which
economic decisions are made have received increasing attention in the
analysis of the responsibility for economic underperformance. This
attention has in turn led to a questioning of the issues of
conceptualization and measurement of the variables involved. While
economic variables are easily conceptualized and measured, political
institutional factors present some difficulty. Although the aim of a
democratic system is to assure the rights and freedoms for the citizens
of a polity, for those polities in transition, the processes that drive
societies towards or away from higher rights and freedoms for their
citizens are more important. This paper attempts to cover the following
topics: first, to construct measurable variables of democratization that
can be used to determine the level of democratic development in a
transition polity; and second, to apply these variables to determine the
level and patterns of democratization in Nigeria. Section two highlights
significant past research which has measured the levels of democracy
across different countries. In section three Nigeriaxi' s political history
is summarized to show a polity in continuing political transition.
Section four identifies relevant dimensions of democratization in a
transition polity. Section five applies the dimensions to derive indices
to measure the level of democratization in Nigeria. In section six the
pattern of the democratization process in Nigeria is established.
Section seven justifies the measures for transition polities and
suggests the use to which they may be put.