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Abstract: The paper begins by exploring the conceptual links between freedom, rights and democracy, and the institutional arrangements necessary to guarantee civil and political rights and fundamental freedoms in a democracy. It then sets out a procedure for assessing the quality of a country's democracy in four successive steps: defining the appropriate democratic 'goods'; identifying standards of best practice as a benchmark for the attainment of each of these 'goods'; analyzing the typical modes of subversion which may prevent their attainment; and exploring possible agencies of protection against these subversions. After applying each of these steps to the subject of civil and political rights, the paper concludes with a reservation about the limits of purely institutional indicators.

Democracy & human rights are connected absolutely. Individuals must have freedom of expression, association, assembly, & movement to be effective members of a democracy. Democracy presents a minimum but insufficient requirement for providing economic & social rights. Finally, the cultural right to express difference can be protected in democracy only through systems that limit the power of simple winner-take-all majorities. Democracy cannot be reduced to governmental institutions; it is an ongoing project of popular rule & collective decision making. A review of current research focusing on the UK, demonstrates that many northern countries with democratic institutions are failing to live up to the promise of democracy. 9 References. E. Munson