Democratisation
Democratisation is the process by which societies move from authoritarianism to democratic political regimes. It is a complex and multifaceted process which is influenced by many factors, including social, economic and international influences. It has never been a linear, smooth or free from hazards process, and there are examples of both successful and failed democratisation.
A number of theories on Democratisation have been put forward, most of which are built around the idea that societies need to go through various stages before achieving a fully functional democracy. These include civil society (such as media and non-governmental organisations), political party systems, elections that are free and fair, government accountability, and the rule of law which ensures that all citizens are treated fairly and have access to justice.
These processes can be difficult to achieve in many places because of entrenched traditions and ideologies, which often oppose any form of Democratisation. For example, the Shah of Iran (Mohammed Reza) who embraced civil society and political reforms in an attempt to make his country more pro-western ran into strong opposition from the Shi’ite Islamic establishment of Iranian society.
Some Democratisation theories believe that democracy can be imposed from outside, and this is often argued to have been the case with the rapid democratisation of Japan and Germany in the aftermath of World War II. However, such cases are not typical and the success of foreign democratisation depends on the subjected societies being willing to accept and work with the new system and for the imposition of democracy to be accompanied by a process of consolidation.
This involves the gradual maturing of democratic institutions and societal norms, which allows citizens to understand and accept the new democratic political system as not threatening but complementing their traditional cultural identity and beliefs in what constitutes the ‘common good’. Without this level of social maturity, any democratisation process that is imposed from outside will likely produce only a manipulable procedural democracy at best.
There are a number of challenges that can arise during Democratisation, which can hinder the process and sometimes cause it to reverse, such as corruption, political instability, polarisation and economic inequalities. The most common challenge, however, is that the democratisation process can be hindered by external influence from neighbouring authoritarian states or global economic crises.
Developing an understanding of these different theories can help you to cultivate a broad perspective on Democratisation and to understand why some nations have successfully transitioned to democracy whilst others haven’t. It can also help you prepare for getting involved in democratic dialogue and decision-making.
Read our Democratisation articles for more insights into the complexities of this dynamic process, or explore thousands of Study Sets from experts on Coursera.
Democratisation is the process by which societies move from authoritarianism to democratic political regimes. It is a complex and multifaceted process which is influenced by many factors, including social, economic and international influences. It has never been a linear, smooth or free from hazards process, and there are examples of both successful and failed democratisation. A number of theories on Democratisation have been put forward, most of which are built around the idea that societies need to go through various stages before achieving a fully functional democracy. These include civil society (such as media and non-governmental organisations), political party systems, elections that are free and fair, government accountability, and the rule of law which ensures that all citizens are treated fairly and have access to justice. These processes can be difficult to achieve in many places because of entrenched traditions and ideologies, which often oppose any form of Democratisation. For example, the Shah of Iran (Mohammed Reza) who embraced civil society and political reforms in an attempt to make his country more pro-western ran into strong opposition from the Shi’ite Islamic establishment of Iranian society. Some Democratisation theories believe that democracy can be imposed from outside, and this is often argued to have been the case with the rapid democratisation of Japan and Germany in the aftermath of World War II. However, such cases are not typical and the success of foreign democratisation depends on the subjected societies being willing to accept and work with the new system and for the imposition of democracy to be accompanied by a process of consolidation. This involves the gradual maturing of democratic institutions and societal norms, which allows citizens to understand and accept the new democratic political system as not threatening but complementing their traditional cultural identity and beliefs in what constitutes the ‘common good’. Without this level of social maturity, any democratisation process that is imposed from outside will likely produce only a manipulable procedural democracy at best. There are a number of challenges that can arise during Democratisation, which can hinder the process and sometimes cause it to reverse, such as corruption, political instability, polarisation and economic inequalities. The most common challenge, however, is that the democratisation process can be hindered by external influence from neighbouring authoritarian states or global economic crises. Developing an understanding of these different theories can help you to cultivate a broad perspective on Democratisation and to understand why some nations have successfully transitioned to democracy whilst others haven’t. It can also help you prepare for getting involved in democratic dialogue and decision-making. Read our Democratisation articles for more insights into the complexities of this dynamic process, or explore thousands of Study Sets from experts on Coursera.