Abstract: | Comparative measures of aspects of government in different countries are a rapidly growing industry. This paper offers a broad‐ranging critique of the state of the art. The two central questions are (a) How do currently available international measures of governance gain attention from non‐expert audiences, and (b), How understandable are they likely to be to these audiences?’ Findings from a range of relevant literature are brought to bear on three prominent sets of international measures, and conclusions are drawn. |