SIZE, INSULARITY AND DEMOCRACY

In a recent book on ''Democracy and Development'' (1992) Axel Hadenius stumbles over the observation that island states are of special inter est: on a scale running from 0 to 10, the average level of democracy i s 7.1 for island states while for others it is 3.6. This, according to Hadenius, is due to the fact that island states are far more Protesta nt dominated than others. Contesting this view, three points are argue d in this article. First, the attempt to explain away the relationship between insularity and democracy by introducing Protestantism into th e explanatory design is questioned on grounds of methodology, the lead ing argument being that comparative analyses should not treat differen ces in factors like Protestantism as matters of degree. A second argum ent is about concept-stretching: the overall travel capacity of concep ts like Protestantism is questioned for the universe of small island s tates, where custom and the accommodation of traditional authority mus t be credited with filtrating functions. Secondly, theoretical reasons and empirical illustrations are introduced to suggest that one is wel l advised to consider small island states as a separate category, imbu ed with democracy and democratic procedures. Thirdly, due notice is ta ken of the fact that several small island states, such as Cape Verde, the Comoros, Sao Tome and Principe, the Seychelles and Western Samoa, have undergone transitions to democracy during the time span after Had enius's research (1988), the level of democracy for small island state s therefore being now even higher.