Understanding Spheres
DSTAIR separates the essential elements of government and society into nine "spheres". The premise is that each sphere can be described in terms of a finite set of especially important institutional arrangements, and that when the "quality" of several of these arrangements suffers, the legitimacy of the sphere as a whole is adversely affected.
Constitution
The basic laws and principles of the state, which determine the powers and duties of the government and its various branches and guarantee rights to people in it. In addition to the rules within the Constitution itself, this sphere addresses the institutions that create, maintain and modify it.
Legislature
A branch of government whose persons have the authority to create laws for the state. Ideally, the Legislature is elected by some consensual method, appropriately reflects the citizenry that it represents and produces quality legislation that is subject to some level of review by the Courts and the Executive.
Executive
A branch of government, led by the head of state, which is charged with carrying out and enforcing the laws of the state, as well as various other powers which may include diplomatic representation, commanding the armed forces, signing treaties and appointing and managing members of the public administration.
Public Administration
Entails all non-political public employees charged with delivering public services. This includes police, fire, rescue, unemployment insurance administration, retirement insurance administration, national hospital systems, permit issuers, tax collectors, and so on.
Courts
The rules and practices responsible for delivering justice according to the Constitution and legislation. Addresses the legitimacy and impartiality of judges, juries, public defenders, district attorney and overall fairness and efficiency of the application of justice.
Political Parties
A group of persons organised to promote and support certain principles and candidates for public office. Addresses financing of campaigns, influence of parties over the political system, and commitment to fair competition.
Civil Society
Non-governmental organisations and associations manifesting citizens' interests. Measures the effectiveness of the citizenry in mobilizing and communicating its demands to the government between elections.
Economy
The rules and practices relating to the system of production and distribution of goods and services in the country.
Media
Outlets (newspapers, TV, etc.) on which the citizenry depends for accurate information. Addresses reliability, comprehensiveness, and independence.
Analysis Process
1. Select a Country
From the Step 1: "Analysis Setup" page, you can assign a title and a country to your first analysis. The flexibility of DSTAIR allows you to analyse one or many countries across one or many spheres. To analyse multiple countries or spheres, use this page to add scenarios to your portfolio.
2. Questionnaire
After selecting a country, you will be confronted with a set of questions addressing the legitimacy of each of the nine spheres. Initially, all questions are rated "N/A". As you assign ratings, they are incorporated into the score.
- Metarules (quality of creating institutions)
- Rules of Operation (strengths of organizing institutions)
- Exogenous Factors (outside forces e.g., crime, war)
3. Legitimacy Score
Rated questions are incorporated into the DSTAIR model and output as "legitimacy" scores for each sphere. These values are shown above the tabs for each sphere. Calculations are refreshed whenever you switch screens or click "save".
4. Anti-Corruption Tools
A set of 28 anti-corruption tools are compared against the scores. Each tool requires that legitimacy scores in the nine spheres be greater than pre-specified threshold levels to be "triggered".
"If all the answers in a sphere are N/A, DSTAIR will remove that sphere from consideration as a trigger for tools."