POLS 373 Foundations of Comparative Politics
What Makes a Democracy?
February 27-March 1, 2007Professor Timothy Lim
California State University, Los Angeles
What Makes a Democracy?
February 27-March 1, 2007Professor Timothy Lim
California State University, Los Angeles
2
An Alternative Perspective
Rationalists do not agree that “inert, invisible structures make democracies.” To put it very simply, believe that …
people make democracypeople make democracy
People may be political elites or “the people,” as in mass movements
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Different Processes, Different Actors: Rationality
Some Basic Differences and Assumptions
Rationalists don’t consider capitalism to be the key process in democratization
Rationalists don’t necessarily discount the role of subordinate classes, but they tend to put greater emphasis on the interests and actions of the elite (more on this shortly)
Rationalists don’t like to focus on underlying (economic) structures: they believe that democracy is possible in virtually any economic context
What Makes a Democracy?
Competing Explanations
What Makes a Democracy?
Competing Explanations
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Different Processes, Different Actors: Rationality
Some Basic Differences and Assumptions among Rationalists
Rationalists don’t agree on which people matter most
Some rationalists argue that only the elite matter, that they are the key agents in democracy
Others argue that “the people” (and not just the working class) are the key agents of political change
What Makes a Democracy?
Competing Explanations
What Makes a Democracy?
Competing Explanations
5
Different Processes, Different Actors: Rationality
Some Basic Differences and Assumptions among Rationalists
Rationalists don’t agree on the basic process of democratization
Some rationalists argue that democratization is a product of negotiations among the elite, also known as ____________: in this view democracy is a cooperative and very deliberate project
Other rationalists argue that democratization is a non-cooperative project, that is, it is a product of coercion, whereby authoritarian leaders are, in essence, forced to leave office under threat of violence
What Makes a Democracy?
Competing Explanations
What Makes a Democracy?
Competing Explanations
pacting
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Different Processes, Different Actors: Rationality
Implications of Cooperative and Non-Cooperative ExplanationsCooperative Explanations: Epitomized by Samuel Huntington’s observation on an ironic feature of contemporary democratization …
Non-Cooperatiove Explanations: Suggests that democracy is product of people who want it and are willing to risk their lives to “get it”: from a rational choice perspective, the push for democracy changes the strategic environment for political leaders; when mass-movements are strong enough, leaders can see the writing on the wall, they know they have no choice but to leave
What Makes a Democracy?
Competing Explanations
What Makes a Democracy?
Competing Explanations
Democracy without democratsWhat does this statement mean?
From a rationalist perspective, how does this statement make sense?
What does this statement mean? From a rationalist perspective, how does this statement make sense?
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Different Processes, Different Actors: Rationality
Empirical Issues
Both cooperative (elite-centered) and non-cooperative approaches (mass-based) have empirical support …
Latin American cases
Supports Elite-Centered Mass-Based approach?
Post-Communist cases (Eastern Europe)
Supports Elite-Centered Mass-Based approach?
What Makes a Democracy?
Competing Explanations
What Makes a Democracy?
Competing Explanations
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Different Processes, Different Actors: Rationality
So where does this leave us?
Can the rational choice approach provide a theoretically coherent and empirically comprehensive explanation of democratic transition?
What Makes a Democracy?
Competing Explanations
What Makes a Democracy?
Competing Explanations
The answer is a definite …maybe
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Differing Authoritarianisms: An Alternative Rational Choice Perspective
A little comparative checking will tell us that not all authoritarian regimes are alike …
Some are dominated by military leaders, who may have taken power through a coup d'état
Some are dominated by “personalist” or charismatic leaders: single individuals who dominate the political process
Some are dominated by a highly cohesive, tightly disciplined party structure--so-called single party regimes
What Makes a Democracy?
Competing Explanations
What Makes a Democracy?
Competing Explanations
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Differing Authoritarianisms: An Alternative Rational Choice Perspective
For a long time, many scholars took these differences for granted; they did not assign any particular causal significance to the different varieties of authoritarianism
One scholar, however, asked the question …
What Makes a Democracy?
Competing Explanations
What Makes a Democracy?
Competing Explanations
Can different types of authoritarianism lead to
different outcomes? In other words, is “authoritarian type” an independent variable?
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The Rationality of AuthoritarianismBegins with the premise that different types of authoritarian leaders have different preferences or interests …
Military leaders are less concerned with political power and more concerned with the survival and efficacy of the __________________ itself and with the preservation of ________________________.
Personalist leaders have an overriding interest in staying in power: the “perks” of political power are many, while the costs of losing power are extremely high and almost certain (e.g., imprisonment, death, or, at best, exile)
Single-party leaders also have an overriding interest in holding on to political power, but, unlike personalist regimes, their “power base” is more stable and enduring than in personalist regimes
What Makes a Democracy?
Competing Explanations
What Makes a Democracy?
Competing Explanations
militarynational security
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The Rationality of Authoritarianism
Basic Argument: Different types of regimes arise for different reasons, but, once created, they tend to exhibit similar characteristics regardless of political, social or cultural context
______________ regimes are the most likely to breakdown because the leaders are not interested in political power per se
Moreover, if any internal splits threaten the cohesion and power of the military, their preference is to “save the military” rather than to hold on to political power
Key Implication: Military authoritarian regimes not only tend to have the shortest life spans, but the transition to democracy is generally negotiated and “cooperative”
What Makes a Democracy?
Competing Explanations
What Makes a Democracy?
Competing Explanations
Military
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The Rationality of Authoritarianism
Basic Argument: Different types of regimes arise for different reasons, but, once created, they tend to exhibit similar characteristics regardless of political, social or cultural context
__________________ and ________________ regimes are more resistant to breakdown because the political leaders have more to lose: leaders will fight tooth-and-nail to hold on to power
This means that transitions are almost always _____________________
In addition, the impetus for a transition to democracy, especially in single-party regimes, will generally come from the outside, that is, __________________ “shocks” are usually needed to spark a change
What Makes a Democracy?
Competing Explanations
What Makes a Democracy?
Competing Explanations
Personalist
Single party
non-cooperative
exogenous