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INTL 190: Democracy in the Developing World

INTL 190: Democracy in the Developing World. Spring 2012. THE STATE OF DEMOCRACY: OVERVIEW. Schedule and Assignments Synthesis: Diamond, Spirit of Democracy , Introduction and Part I Collier and Levitsky, “Democracy with Adjectives”

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INTL 190: Democracy in the Developing World

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  1. INTL 190:Democracy in the Developing World Spring 2012

  2. THE STATE OF DEMOCRACY: OVERVIEW • Schedule and Assignments • Synthesis: Diamond, Spirit of Democracy, Introduction and Part I • Collier and Levitsky, “Democracy with Adjectives” • Munck and Verkuilen, “Conceptualizing and Measuring Democracy” <maybe>

  3. “SPIRIT OF DEMOCRACY” • Purposeful action: “struggle, strategy, ingenuity, vision, courage, conviction, compromise, and choices by human actors… politics in the best sense of the word.” • “Increasingly, democratic values and aspirations are becoming universal…” • “a change of heart” • Question: “can the whole world become democratic?”

  4. POLITICAL REGIME TYPES • Electoral democracy = free and fair elections • Liberal democracy = democratic elections + “thick” dimensions (citizen rights) • Illiberal democracy = elections without all other attributes (citizen rights) • Pseudemocracy ̴ electoral authoritarian regimes • Note: authoritarianism ≠ totalitarianism

  5. QUERIES • Is democracy a luxury? Proposition: “the richer the country, the greater the chance that it would sustain democracy” • Is democracy a Western concept? • therefore not universal • “clash of civilizations” thesis • Islam the problem? [see p. 35] • “Asian values” thesis • Survey support for democracy [p. 33]

  6. THE DEMOCRATIC BOOM • “the greatest transformation in the way states are governed in the history of the world” [p. 6] • Waves (à la Huntington): • First 1828-1926, reversals 1922-42 • Second 1943-62, reversals 1958-75 • Third 1974-present? reversals 1999- • Key events: Philippines 1986, Eastern Europe 1989, North Africa 2011?

  7. FEATURES OF THE THIRD WAVE • 1. snowballing • 2. negotiated (“pacted”) • 3. role of civil society • 4. electoral process • 5. global phenomenon • Of 110 nondemocratic states in 1974, 63 (57%) underwent democratic transition • About 60% of all countries democratic

  8. REVERSALS • Pakistan (1999) • deterioration in rule of law • ethnic and religious polarization • economic failure, corruption • The curse of oil • resources for repression • corruption • socioeconomic inequality • escalation of internal conflict • no taxes, no representation • wealth an illusion

  9. WHAT DRIVES DEMOCRACY? • Internal factors • Authoritarian failures and divisions • Economic development + middle class • “psychic mobility” and democratic values • emergence of civil society • External factors • Diffusion and demonstration effects • Leverage and linkage • Sanctions and conditionality • Democracy assistance • Regional influence • Organization of American States • European Union (EU), Commonwealth of Nations • African Union, Arab League

  10. WHAT SUSTAINS DEMOCRACY? • Political culture • Civil society • Management of diversity • Accountability and rule of law • “… the lesson of India’s remarkable experience is that even modest but consistent economic development, combined with a decent functioning and gradual deepening of democratic institutions, can sustain a free political system just about anywhere” (p. 168).

  11. THOUGHTS ON CURRENT EVENTS • Acceptance of authoritarian rule: • Claims to legitimacy • Economic (or other) performance • Repression and fear • Protest against misrule: • Economic failure, international humiliation • Corruption and inequality • Exclusion of new elites • Support for democracy? Or for an alternative dictatorship?

  12. ANALYTICAL TOOLS Collier and Levitsky, “Democracy with Adjectives”

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