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Democratic Distance: Global Divergence and Spatial Spillovers in Political Values

Vivek Jadhav

Published 2025 in Applied Journal of Economics, Law & Governance

ABSTRACT

This study investigates whether democratic values, representation, rights, participation, and rule of law, are converging or diverging across countries over the period 1991 to 2022. Using panel data from 152 countries drawn from the Global State of Democracy Indices, we employ spatial econometric techniques, including Spatial Durbin and General Nesting Spatial Models, to assess both absolute and conditional σ-convergence. Our results reveal a global pattern of divergence across all four dimensions, with significant spatial dependence. Spatial spillover effects vary by dimension: representation and participation show robust positive externalities, while rights and rule of law display limited or negative spatial diffusion. A continent-level disaggregation uncovers substantial heterogeneity: Africa and South America exhibit positive regional convergence effects, whereas Europe, North America, and Asia show weak or even adverse spillovers. These findings suggest that democratic development is not uniformly diffused but shaped by complex spatial dynamics and regional political contexts. The study contributes to theories of democratic diffusion by reframing convergence as a spatial process of value alignment rather than institutional isomorphism.© The Author(s) 2025. Published by RITHA Publishing. This article is distributed under the terms of the license CC-BY 4.0., which permits any further distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited maintaining attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and URL DOI.

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