Understanding Democratic Transitions

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Understanding Democratic Transitions
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Outline

• 1- Understanding democratic transitions
• 2- Typology of transitions
• 3- Prerequisites and conditions

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Democratic Transitions

• 1- Conceptual issues
• 2- Explaining transition
• 3- Problems of transition

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1- Conceptual Issues

• Transition ? transition from authoritarian rule
• regime ? formal informal structure of
  governmental roles processes

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• ? distinguish b/w regime Govt 3 Q
• 1- methods of inauguration?
• 2- formal informal representative mechanisms?
• 3- patterns of coercion?

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• Authoritarian ? a system with significant
  procedural proscriptions on political
  contestation or inclusiveness
• Democracy ? an essentially contested concept
• Robert Dhal ? polyarchy

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• Liberalisation ?
• easing of repression
• restoration of civil liberties ? part of a
  process
• ? liberalisation precedes democratisation

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• Democratisation ? creation of institutions
  procedures that allow for all 3 aspects of Dahls
  polyarchy
• Huntington (The Third Wave)
• Democratisation ? alternation of power

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2- Explaining Transition

• Complex term variety of meanings
• 1- erosion of authoritarianism
• 2- conditions for democratic transitions
• 3- process of democratic regime change
• 4- consolidation of new democracies
• 5-consolidation of established democracies

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• Concern ? two decades of inquiry
• Two issues
• 1- difficulties of dealing with democratic rule
• 2- the nature causes of its breakdown
• ? context of inquiry

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• I. Mid-1960s-early 1970s breakdown of democratic
  rule in developing nations (e.g. Argentina,
  Brazil, Chile, Uruguay)
• Scholarly attention ? international constraints
  obstructing democracy (e.g. dependency)
  internal external forms of political economic
  domination

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• II. Early to late 1970s
• renewed interest in democratisation (e.g.
  Portugal, Spain, Greece)

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• III. Late 1980s-early 1990s
• a) democratising trends in long-authoritarian
  regimes (El Salvador, S/Korea, Guatemala
• b) breakdown of communism (E. Europe)

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3- Problems of Transition

• 1- defining chronological parameters of T
• Three Questions
• Does it have its roots within the process of
  transformation of an authoritarian R?
• Does it begin after the fall of such R?
• How do you account for reverses?

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• 2- Difficulty of defining its end point
• Two Questions
• When democratic procedures, rights and rules of
  the game have been clearly defined and accepted
  by elites and citizens?
• Is it complete with the first alternation of
  power?

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Typology of Transitions
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Prerequisites Conditions

• Diverse explanations
• Example Lipset Hypothesis
• Some Social Requisites of Democracy Economic
  Development Political Legitimacy, American
  Political Science Review 53 (1959), pp. 69-105.

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• Dhal agrees ? economic development expands the
  range of people with capacities to get involved
  politically
• A modern dynamic pluralist society disperses
  power, influence, authority and control away from
  any single centre toward a variety of
  individuals, groups, associations and
  organisations

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• R. Dhal, Democracy and its Critics (New Haven
  Yale University Press, 1989), p. 252.

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• Lipset ? High level of economic development is a
  precondition for building and maintaining
  democracy
• Inquiry focus pinpoint causes
• International system, class structure, economic
  performance, political institutions

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• New Writings on democracy ? pay attention to the
  warning of Dankwart Rustow ?
• Draws attention to correlation not cause
• Stresses that there is no single road to
  democracy history, context
• Transitions to Democracy, Comparative Politics
  2 (1970)

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Tutorial

• 1- Divide in two or three groups
• 2- List what you consider to be essential
  prerequisites for democratic transition
• 3- Think about culture external variables
• 4- Apply these requisites to the Middle East in
  your next tutorial