The prototype of democratic politics that underlies this analysis reflects Schumpeter's
(1942) focus on filling governmental offices by elections. Democracy is a political regime
in which rulers are selected through free and contested elections. Operationally, democracy
is a regime in which incumbents lose elections and leave office if they do. Hence, my
definition of democracy is Schumpeterian or “electoralist.” Dictatorships are treated as a
residual category, “non-democracies.”