Comparative Politics: Democratization
Democracy means different things to different people. Globally tow dimensions are mentioned most
often:
- Rule of law / liberalism
- Rule by the people / democracy
But there are many more possible dimensions
Hybrid regimes: transitions that are imposed from the outside, that have features of democracy but
also features of autocracy.
HC2
Why does democracy matter?
- Better human rights, less corruption, human development/health, quality of government,
trade, technology
- Better evidence: positive impact on social & economic policy education, environment,
growth etc.
- No effects found on: Inequality, inflation, public spending
Many different visions of democracy: Liberal democracy, deliberative democracy, radical democracy.
Each consisting of multiple dimensions: elections, rule of law, protection of rights and civil and
political liberties.
States are: an entity that successfully claims a monopoly on the legitimate use of force within a
specified territory. Ideally states:
- Guarantee a minimum level of security for citizens
- Implement policies and deliver basic public services
- Generate resources to maintain public services and state institutions
Regimes are: the rules governing the distribution of power and the relationships between the agents
of power
Governments are: the leadership that runs the state
The state is what one rules, regimes are how one rules, and government is the groups of individuals
who rule.
Minimalist versus expanding procedural definitions of democracy. Starting from democracy as rule-
of-the-people.
- Huntington: Minimalist / procedural definitions of democracy: Democracy is a political
system in which the most powerful collective decision makers are selected through fair,
honest, and periodic elections in which candidates freely compete for votes and in which
virtually all the adult population is eligible to vote.
- Two-turnover test of democracy, if elections resulted in peaceful alternation of power, twice
= rule of thumb to decide whether regimes made transition to democracy
- Schumpeter: The democratic method is that institutional arrangement for arriving at political
decisions in which individuals acquire the power to decide by means of a competitive
struggle for the peoples vote
But, democracy is more than just elections, se expanded procedural definitions of democracy:
Dahl: polyarchy consists of 7 elements:
,Electoral:
- Elected officials. Control over government decisions about policy is constitutionally vested in
elected officials
- Free and fair elections
- Inclusive suffrage
- Right to run for office
Non electoral:
- Freedom of expression
- Alternative information, alternative sources of information exist and are protected by law
- Associational autonomy: To achieve their various rights, including those listed earlier.
Expanded procedural definitions of democracy:
Schmitter and Karl add that in real existing democracies:
- Absence reserved power domains
- State sovereignty
O’donnell adds:
- Rule of law, all citizens including the incumbent are subject to the rule of law
Regime definitions minimalist or expanded, procedural or substantive:
- Regime definitions on the ladder of abstraction
- Regime definitions either dichotomous or continuous: Is democracy a matter of either/or?
Or is democracy a matter of degree?
3 phases in democratization:
- Democratic transition: implies the shift of a political regime from autocracy into democracy
- Democratic stabilization refers to the stabilization of the new regime, once a transition to
democracy happened
- Democratic deepening refers to processes of gradual improvement in the quality of
democracy once a democracy is stable
- The faces democratic transition, stabilization and deepening are in practice not always easy
to distinguish.
, Hc 3
- From autocracy to democracy: Democratic transition / autocratic breakdown
- Stability of the democracy regime: democratic consolidation
- From democracy to autocratic transition: Autocratic transition / democratic breakdown
- Stability of the autocratic regime: Autocratic consolidation
- From stable democracy to less stable democracy: Democratic recession / backsliding
What causes transitions to democracy?:
- Death of a dictator
- Losing a war
- Revolutions
- International pressures
- Poverty / hunger
What causes stabilization of democracy?:
- Better economy
- Governmental institutions
- Effective welfare state
Causes of democratizations:
- Long-term explanations:
Economic development
Social heterogeneity
Colonial & authoritarian past
Geography & resources
- Intermediate explanations:
Power-sharing vs power-concentrating institutions
Presidentialism
Electoral system
Institutional checks and balances
- Proximate explanations:
Political actors, incumbents and opposition
Media and civil society
Events: economic crisis, conflict
Difference between structural versus process explanations: Structural is long-term, strong and hard
to change. Process is more ongoing, changeable.
Difference between preconditionalists and universalists: Pre would say that there is a certain path
with certain stages that need time in order to shape the democracy. Certain set of conditions need
to be there first before being able to create democracy. Uni would say democracy can happen
anywhere with each its own path.
Difference between probabilistic and deterministic: Deterministic means that is certain stages are
met, democracy will always happen. Probabilistic means that if certain factors are present, the
chances of democracy are more likely to happen.
How do authoritarian regime types affect democratization?
- Military regimes
- Party regimes (SU, China)
- Personalist regimes (Dictatorship)
