Chapter 3: Democratic Change and Persistence §

(F) Day of the week: Thursday Class: IS307 Created Time: April 8, 2021 12:08 PM Database: Class Notes Database Date: April 8, 2021 12:08 PM Days Till Date: Passed Last Edited Time: July 29, 2021 9:29 PM Type: Reading Notes, Study Group

1. What are contributing factors in democratic change and persistence? §

The contributing factors in democratic change and persistence are theories that talk about the democratization:

• Modernization theory: argues that economic and technological developments are closely linked and result in fundamental changes in every area of society (e.g. industrialization, urbanization, social and geographical mobility, and education), including the ways that people think about themselves and the social, economic and political world around them.
  • The theory stresses the interactions between social, economic and political factors, rather than the primacy of economic development.
• Cultural theories: they stress the fact that expectations and demands of citizens are crucial for democracy.
  • In their view, democracy can only survive when citizens are characterized by a mixture of political and social orientations.
• Institutional theories: it argues that citizens do not develop their attitudes and behaviors in a vacuum or by sitting down and working them out for themselves. The theories emphasize the relevance of these institutional arrangements for democracy and especially for democratic transformation and consolidation. The theories are based on the idea that people make certain choices and develop certain attitudes and values.

2. What are undermining factors in democratic consolidation? §

the two main important factors that undermine the democratic consolidation, namely, the political elites, and the ordinary citizens.

Political Struggle

• After democratic is established or restored, those political elites, whether the new or old, still want to consolidate the power. Therefore, the power struggle would be inevitably occurred.
• if the system of the whole state is corrupted for their self-interest
  • If the old elite won, the democratization would be scrapped, and likely to return to the old way.
  • If the new elite won, the democratization would still survive, but survive just on the paper as the new elite mostly would more or less seek for their regime survival.
    • some sorts of democratic norms like freedom of press will be under controlled
    • the lack of political will of leader toward consolidating democracy

Ordinary Citizens

In a new democratic state, the major population would face two main challenges: limited access to quality education and poverty.

• These two challenges would weaken the political participation from the ordinary citizen as they mostly care about their financial daily life more. The lack of political participation undermine democracy
• there are high risk of triumphant from populism as well as highly obedient to the authoritarian which become the influential nature for citizens’ decision making for casting the vote on the extent to which the voting system commitment is about to appear.

3. Three Phases of Transition of Democracy §

transitions towards democracy during the three waves of democratization:

• The first wave covers the second half of the 19 and the first part of the 20 century. In this period, many western nation-states were transformed into mass democracies, however, the general form of democracy is unclear and likewise, besides the processes of economic development and nation-building, many other historical factors also require to explain the variation of democratization in different countries. The first wave ends following the fascist reversal in Italy in the 1920s.
• The second wave of democratization starts following the end of world war II. Many newly founded started to implement the democratic rule, although not all of them succeeded. Anyways, democratization in this period rely on political and economic opportunity, and along with the legacies from colonial rule. This wave ebbed following the transition to authoritarian rule in some countries.
• The third wave of democratization began in the mid-1970s and faded away at the end of the 20 century. In this wave, some of the non-democratic states were democratized due to various factors. For instance, democratization in Asia and Latin America, caused by mass movements opposing ruling cliques and autocrats. Also, the disintegration of the Soviet Union also contributes to the democratization in Central and Eastern Europe.

4. Explain the four phases of democratization §

1. Initial phase: Opposition towards the ruling elite and undemocratic arrangements are mobilized; demands for more liberty are broadly accepted and generally seen as the main goal of political reform.
2. Emerging phase: The old undemocratic arrangements no longer function and new ones are set up; liberty is still the main common concern; a new constitution is declared and general elections are introduced for the first time; return to the old system is no longer easily feasible.
3. Advanced phase: In this phase attention is shifting from providing liberty in to achieving the new democracy. In the new democracy they put emphasis on the demand of the citizen and especially equal rights and opportunities. In this phase the combination of economic development and social public service important in satisfying the expectation of the Citizen as well as interest group.
4. Phase of consolidation: The phase of consolidation is the phase of democratization that institution arrangement and the system is able to meet the demand an expectation of large part of the population regardless of the material and poor economic conditions. Citizen maintain their support for democracy because there a balance between liberty and equality.

5. Modernization Theory §

• Modernization theory argue that economic and technological developments are closely linked and result in fundamental changes in every area of society
  • including the ways that people think about themselves and social, economic and political world around them.
• Modernization theory stress the interactions between social, economic and political factors, rather than primacy of economic development.
• In this case modernization may be both a cause and consequence of economic development.

6. Cultural Theory §

• In Cultural Theory , a democracy will survive with a mixture of pragmatism and commitment which means it depends on citizen commitment to
  • involve in expressing their ideas whenever they wish
  • that ideas will be heard by government.

Cultural theorist accept the basic ideas of modernisation theory but since modernisation is too broad to provide the exact explanation of democratisation,

• cultural theorist try to specify the exact mechanism and avoid the European bias.
• This theory is credited to Gabriel Almond and Sidney who stressed the importance of citizens’ opinions, expectation and demands in the social and political aspects.

7. Institutional Theory §

Institutional theories believe that citizens respond to the possibilities, opportunities and restrictions created and strongly conditioned by the institutional framework of government and politics.

• If the civil rights of freedom of assembly and association are protected, then citizens can form groups and political parties.
• If courts are independent of government and the rule of law is applied, citizens will be more likely to form peaceful opposition parties and to develop a sense of allegiance to the state.
• If government and its institutions are free of corruption, then citizens are more likely to engage with civic affairs, to participate in political life and to trust each other and their elected representatives.

Institutional theories emphasise the relevance of these institutional arrangements for democracy and especially for democratic transformation and consolidation.