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INTL 204: Comparative Politics
Chapter 12: Regime Transitions
Overview
• Regime transition: Happens when one type of
political system changes into another: From
authoritarian to democratic; from democratic
to authoritarian, …
Types of Regime Transitions
• Liberalization
– When non-democratic system becomes more open
& less oppressive: expansion of individual rights
& freedoms
– Not democratization: Non-democratic systems can
liberalize, but may still remain undemocratic.
– No real contestation of power.. Leaders can do it to
get more legitimization, control, … but they can
withdraw it.. ultimate power does not change
hands.
• Democratization
– Establishment of democracy. Power shifts to
people and elected officials.
– Not all democratization stories have happy ending:
• Incomplete Democratization
– Democracy lasts short and slowly collapses.
Reversal.
– Seen mainly in economically less developed
countries
• Semi-Democracy:
• No reversal but no real democracy either
• Incomplete shift of power to people and elected officials
• But “semi-democracy” can also be a regime type itself.
• Illiberal democracy, managed democracy
Waves of Democratization
• Waves of democratization: a particular
period when number of democracies around
the world significantly increases (When non-
democracies are significantly greater in
number, reverse wave occurs…)
Waves of Democratization Wave/Reverse Wave Examples Period
First Wave US (all male suffrage), France, Western
democracies.. partly Latin American; Middle
East?
1820s-1920s
First Reverse Wave 1922: Mussolini comes to power; Nazi
Germany, Italy, Spain,…
1920s-1940s
Second Wave Decolonization, Post WWII; Europe, Africa &
Asia
1940s-1960s
Second Reverse Wave Military regimes of Africa, Latin America,… 1960s-mid 1970s
Third Wave Post-Communist Democratization Mid 1970s-1990s
Third Reverse Wave
???
Peru, Belarus, Niger, Gambia 1990s-2000s
Fourth Wave ??? 3.2
Wave?
Serbia, Georgia, Ukraine (Orange Rev.),
American-led Iraq, etc…
2000s-present
Fifth Wave?? 3.3? Arab Spring 2010-…
Stages of Democratization
1. Breakdown of non-democracy (Preparatory stage)
– Slow liberalization or abrupt collapse
– Can be top-down (elites) or from below (opposition-led)
2. Establishment of democracy (Decision stage)
– Elites establish institutional framework
– New constitution by referendum
3. Consolidation of democracy
– Democracy becomes the only game in town
– Democracy cannot easily be broken (unless dramatic crises or corruption occurs
Requirements of Consolidation • Repeated & Free & Fair elections
– Routine elections are the only game in town
• Peaceful transfer of power – Not only opposition, but also incumbent may loose elections
– Two-turnover test
• Surviving tests – Enduring military coups, economic crisis.
• Adherence to Rule of Law – Following constitution & accepting no one is above the law
• Legitimacy – Population accepts that political system can make binding rules
– Is the acceptance of large population enough?
• Long survival time – Lifespan of democracy
Democratic Breakdown, Scenario I
Crisis
Government fails to address pressing social problems
Breakdown
Government faces instability & diminishing legitimacy
Surrendering power to army / Neutralize Opposition
Democratic Breakdown, Scenario II
Crisis
Government fails to address pressing social problems
Reequilibration
Revising the democracy: incumbent accepts new policy directions
Think & Discuss
Could democracy possibly break down in the
UK? In the US? How?
Structural & Choice explanations of
Democratization
Internal External
Structure Internal Structure External
Structure
Choice Internal Choice External Choice
Internal Structure, 1
• Economic Structure
– Direct effects: Increasing econ. power spreads across population
– Indirect effects: Urbanization, education, sense of security
• Political Culture
– Belief in authority
– Valuing Security vs. liberty
– Attachment to national identity, to central government
Internal Structure, 2
• Identity Structure – Cross-cutting identities: More democratic?
– Complementary identities: Democratic participation may foster divisions…
– Are certain identities incompatible with democracy? Islam, fundamentalism, …
– How much can political culture be justified with religion?
• Institutional Arrangements of the New Democracy – When an old system breaks down, its institutions might live
– Designing the institutions of the new democracy: • Federal versus unitary system
• Presidential versus parliamentary
• Judiciary with constitutional review versus those without
• FTPT vs. PR electoral system
External Structural, 1
• International Polar System – Pole: Dominant state in the international system
– Polar system: different combinations of poles. Could be bipolar (Cold War), unipolar (current ???), triplar, multipolar (interwar)
– Unipolar: Dominant country does not tolerate rogue states. What if dominant country was undemocratic? Would there be democratic states?
• Imposition Through Conquest – British Colonies, US-led democratization in Iraq, Afghanistan,
etc…
• Global Economic Structure – Modernization vs. Dependency…
External Structural, 2
• International Organizations & Membership Rule – IGO: Intergovernmental Organizations.
• Official state memberships
• EU, UN
• Has leverages, more effective
• Conditionality: Standards of membership (ex: if you want to join, embrace democracy!)
– NGO: Non-governmental Organizations. • Made up by non-state actors, groups.
• Less leverage than IGOs
• Demonstration Effects (Contagion) – Impacts of democratization in the neighboring countries
– When a country first democratizes in an undemocratic region, others may follow this example
Internal Choice
• Leadership in Breakdown Stage
– Reformers(moderates): Non-democratic leaders might be surrounded by pro-liberalization elites
– Hardliners: Adhere to non-democracy. With hardliners, democratization is not really possible
– Opposition:
• Moderates: Cooperate with old government
• Radicals: Strongly oppose old government.
– Critical decision makers such as: Spanish King Juan Carlos in 1981
Leadership in Consolidation
• Pacts: – Negotiated agreement during democratization (E.g. Poland
1989, Venezuela’s 1958 Pact of Punto Fijo)
– Pacts generally cover the new institutional arrangements of the democracy to be established
– Bargaining between reformers of the old government and moderates of the new opposition
• Pacts are, in many ways, undemocratic. They involve a small group of individuals deciding both the institutional arrangements of a new democracy and key economic and social policies. Is it food to build a new democracy in such an undemocratic fashion? Why or why not?
• What does this say about possible democratic transition in Syria?
• What kind of policy should be supported to make democracy possible in Syria?
External Choice
• Leadership & decisions of outside elites
• Outside elites might want (+have stakes in) a country to democratize
• Examples:
– Ronald Reagan: Collapse of
European Communism
– Mikhail Gorbachev
– Pope John Paul II: Collapse of
Eastern European Communism
Triggering Events
• Triggering events do not cause democratization alone,
but affect the timing
• Economic crises (Ex: In 1990’s: Malaysia, Singapore)
• Death of an authoritarian leader (ex: Franco, Spain)
• Protests:
– Government suppresses: Legitimacy of government shrinks
– Government does not suppress: Opposition grows
Structural & Choice Explanations of
Democratic Breakdown • Economic breakdown
– Citizens can be frustrated of an economic breakdown upon economic development
• Incompatible political culture – Unfavorable public opinion about democracy
– Elites willing to abandon democracy
• Identity structure – Complementary identity Fragile democracy
• Military unwillingness of civil rule
• Electoral systems – Do not affect democratization directly.
– But foster party cooperation more solid democracy
Topic in Countries
• The United Kingdom – Gradual evolution from strong monarchy to
consolidated democracy over several hundred years
• Germany – Externally imposed democracy after WWII; today a
highly consolidated democracy
• India – Democratic system since its independence from the
British
Topic in Countries
• Mexico – Democratization mirrored economic and social
developments; large role of external factors
• Brazil – Top-down management of democratization; not yet
consolidated, but has survived numerous challenges
• Nigeria – Currently on 4th attempt at democratization; case
highlights importance of tackling corruption
Topic in Countries • Russia
– Functional democracy during 1990s, with creeping authoritarianism following the Putin’s win in the 2000 presidential election
• China
– No significant experience with democratization; economic liberalization may lead to political liberalization, but cannot predict when
• Iran
– Demographic shifts since the Revolution of 1979 favor democratization, although hard-liners have held on to their significant institutional power
Think and Discuss
What lesson can be learned from India to better understand democratization? Is this lesson applicable to other cases?
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