Ps 212 Geddes 1999

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT DEMOCRATIZATION AFTER 20 YEARS?

Geddes (1999)

Politics

The process by which the actions of government are determined

Virtually every country is unique

What is democracy?

Joseph Schumpeter (1950)“institutional arrangement for arriving at political decisions in which the individuals acquire the power to decide by means of a competitive struggle for the people’s vote”

What is Democracy

Dictionary.com:“a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system”

Who can Vote?

Lebanon – Compulsory for men; optional for women (must have elementary education)

Bhutan – one vote per house

Leichtenstein – women’s suffrage in 1984

Saudi Arabia – local elections only, women cannot vote or run for office

Qatar – Women originally rejected the right to vote, but now can

What is Democracy?

Voting is only one of many characteristics of a democracy

What is Democracy?

What is Democracy?

Certain basic principles are necessary in any modern definition of democracy. Free and fair elections Majority rule Freedom of expression Freedom of assembly and the right to protest Much more emphasis on liberal norms, pluralism

Broad participation, equality, human rights

Huntington (1991): 3rd Wave of Democratization

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Democracy in the World

Why does it matter?

Trends…maybe

1. Wealthy countries are more democratic2. Poor economic performance increases

breakdown3. “there is no transition whose beginning is

not the consequence…of important divisions within the authoritarian regime itself”

4. “Elite Pacts” are good for democracy5. Strong “outgoing” elites are better off later

Why the inconsistency?

“Authoritarian” regimes come in MANY forms Personalist Military Single-Party “Amalgams”

Let’s add “Multi-Party”

The stepping stone to Democracy

Limited Multiparty

Not true democracies, but possess many features of them “Anocracies” Electoral Democracy Electoral Authoritarian Pseudo-democracy Illiberal democracy Semi-democracy Etc Etc

Why does regime type matter for democratization?

Hadenius & Teorell (2007)

Hadenius & Teorell (2007)