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Does Democracy Enhance or Reduce Lethal Violence? Examining the Role of the Rule of Law

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study builds on prior cross-national criminological literature by using disaggregated measures of democracy, notably rule of law, to examine the influence key components of democracy have on homicide rates. To assess this relationship, the current study uses two measures of rule of law: (a) a measurement of an independent judiciary; (b) a measurement of “Law and Order Tradition” from the International Country Risk Guide (ICRG). Findings indicate that the measures of rule of law have a significant negative effect on homicide rates.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)219-239
Number of pages21
JournalHomicide Studies
Volume21
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 1 2017

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2017, © 2017 SAGE Publications.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  1. SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Keywords

  • comparative criminology
  • democracy
  • homicide
  • international homicide trends
  • rule of law
  • transitional democracy

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pathology and Forensic Medicine
  • Psychology (miscellaneous)
  • Law

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