Democratisation
Democratisation is the process by which political systems become more democratic. It is an important area of study in political science, with many scholars writing about why and how countries democratise. It is also a topic of intense debate, with a wide range of theories about the causes of democratisation. Some of the most popular ideas are that democratisation is an inherently good thing, that people everywhere want democracy and will fight for it; others suggest that it is a reaction to the failures of other forms of government such as autocracy and fascism. Other writers argue that it is a reaction to war, or to economic hardship, or to the need for security in an unstable world. The idea that a country must be prepared for democracy before it can be achieved is another popular belief. It is often thought that democratisation should not take place in societies where there is religious intolerance, ethnic conflict or severe poverty.
The spread of democracy throughout the twentieth century has stimulated a great deal of research into the subject. The field of democratisation studies includes a variety of sub-fields, such as transitional justice, civil society and the quality of governance. It has also been the focus of much debate about whether there are specific “big” causes that explain why some countries democratise while others do not; this debate has taken on a particularly heated tone in recent years as the authors of various theories have sought to discredit each other.
Theories of democratisation are divided into two main categories: those that seek to understand the overall process, and those that try to identify specific individual determinants of a country’s democratisation. In the latter category are such ideas as the need for a certain degree of economic prosperity, the link between war and democratisation, or the role that elites play in determining the pace of the transition to democracy. The work of scholars such as Dankwart A. Rustow,[152] Guillermo O’Donnell and Philippe C. Schmitter has helped to give rise to a new area of study called “transitology”,[153] which focuses on the specific strategic interactions between political actors during democratisation.
Democratisation is often a difficult process. In the past, attempts to impose democracy have frequently failed, although some examples such as Japan and Germany in the immediate post-World War II period have been cited as successes of outside imposition. It is widely accepted that a country must go through a number of stages before it can be considered truly democratic; these include civil society changes, procedural democracy and the development of substantive democracy. It is also commonly recognised that democratisation must be a domestic, rather than an international, process; it cannot be imposed from the outside. Attempts to do so may be successful for short periods, but they tend to backfire and revert to traditional authoritarianism. This is sometimes referred to as the ‘democratic paradox’. In the long run, successful democratisation depends on the stability of the state in which it occurs, as well as the success of its institutions and a general climate of tolerance, trust and cooperation.
Democratisation is the process by which political systems become more democratic. It is an important area of study in political science, with many scholars writing about why and how countries democratise. It is also a topic of intense debate, with a wide range of theories about the causes of democratisation. Some of the most popular ideas are that democratisation is an inherently good thing, that people everywhere want democracy and will fight for it; others suggest that it is a reaction to the failures of other forms of government such as autocracy and fascism. Other writers argue that it is a reaction to war, or to economic hardship, or to the need for security in an unstable world. The idea that a country must be prepared for democracy before it can be achieved is another popular belief. It is often thought that democratisation should not take place in societies where there is religious intolerance, ethnic conflict or severe poverty. The spread of democracy throughout the twentieth century has stimulated a great deal of research into the subject. The field of democratisation studies includes a variety of sub-fields, such as transitional justice, civil society and the quality of governance. It has also been the focus of much debate about whether there are specific “big” causes that explain why some countries democratise while others do not; this debate has taken on a particularly heated tone in recent years as the authors of various theories have sought to discredit each other. Theories of democratisation are divided into two main categories: those that seek to understand the overall process, and those that try to identify specific individual determinants of a country’s democratisation. In the latter category are such ideas as the need for a certain degree of economic prosperity, the link between war and democratisation, or the role that elites play in determining the pace of the transition to democracy. The work of scholars such as Dankwart A. Rustow,[152] Guillermo O’Donnell and Philippe C. Schmitter has helped to give rise to a new area of study called “transitology”,[153] which focuses on the specific strategic interactions between political actors during democratisation. Democratisation is often a difficult process. In the past, attempts to impose democracy have frequently failed, although some examples such as Japan and Germany in the immediate post-World War II period have been cited as successes of outside imposition. It is widely accepted that a country must go through a number of stages before it can be considered truly democratic; these include civil society changes, procedural democracy and the development of substantive democracy. It is also commonly recognised that democratisation must be a domestic, rather than an international, process; it cannot be imposed from the outside. Attempts to do so may be successful for short periods, but they tend to backfire and revert to traditional authoritarianism. This is sometimes referred to as the ‘democratic paradox’. In the long run, successful democratisation depends on the stability of the state in which it occurs, as well as the success of its institutions and a general climate of tolerance, trust and cooperation.