Plan for Today: Structural Preconditions for Democracy

1. Plan for Today:Structural Preconditions for Democracy • Finish debating universality of democracy. • Introduce distinction between structural and strategic factors. • Become familiar with evidence on relationship between democracy and economic factors.

2. Argument that liberal democracy demands “social homogeneity” of rights • PRO: Need different rights that apply to different citizen groups depending on religion or ethnicity of citizens involved. • CON: • Liberal democracy typically includes minority rights to protect various communities. (e.g. Canada) • India exactly this kind of society, but sustains democracy.

3. “Bread over democracy” argument • PRO: Authoritarian governments can provide economic goods (including food) more efficiently than democratic governments. • CON: • Poor people benefit from ability to voice complaints and protest (Sen). • Very little evidence that poor people reject democracy once instituted (Sen). • Scant evidence that authoritarian regimes provide economic goods better than democracies.

4. Structural Factors/ Preconditions Favouring Democracy

5. Three possible roles of structural factors in transitions • Necessary preconditions or prerequisites. • Sufficient preconditions. • Facilitating or discouraging factors (weaker role).

6. Structural factors = broad underlying conditions in an environment

7. Strategic interactions =choices of people, interacting with one another, to produce outcomes

8. Types of Structural Preconditions Economic factors • Wealth or income per capita

9. Probability of democratic regime by per capita income (Przeworski & Limongi)

10. Wealth and Democracy(1989 World Bank Data)

11. Question about Causal Direction seems more likely Wealth  Democracy? OR Democracy  Wealth?

12. Economic Development • Broad-based industrial development may  democratization because: • Leads to complex economy that becomes harder for authoritarian regimes to control. • Brings about shifts in class dynamics & changes in social values.

13. Role of Economic Development More highly educated public Civic culture attitudes – trust, satisfaction, competence Higher economic development Support for democratization Larger middle class (From Huntington, p. 69)

14. Role of Economic Development – my modification More highly educated public More political efficacy, sense of worth, unwilling to be servile Higher economic development Support for democratization Larger middle class

15. Economic Development • Broad-based industrial development may  democratization because: • Leads to complex economy that becomes harder for authoritarian regimes to control. • Brings about shifts in class dynamics & changes in social values. • Opens societies to external influences.

16. Types of Structural Preconditions Economic factors • Class structure

17. Class Structure • A certain balance of relations among classes is necessary. • Esp. middle class/ bourgeoisie (Aristotle, Moore). • Argued middle class “moderate” for various reasons – sheer numbers or position “in middle”. • Bourgeoisie crucial due to autonomous income. • Powerful landowning class can hinder.