Democratisation
The process by which a state or society becomes more democratic, with greater rights and freedoms for its citizens. This usually involves developing a vibrant civil society and creating political institutions that can protect individual liberties, as well as moving towards market economics. Democratisation is also often associated with achieving sustainable peace and reconciliation after years of intractable conflict.
Despite claims that the number of democracies worldwide has quadrupled since 1970 and that democracy is the only possible political set-up, there is still widespread doubt about what exactly constitutes a democratic regime and how it should be judged. Most ‘new’ democracies fall short in different ways of the essentials of liberal democracy, even the most advanced ‘old’ democracies do not meet all the criteria for being regarded as democratic and many are at various stages of becoming what is often described as minimalist or procedural democracy.
What is clear is that a democratic process cannot be imposed by outsiders and successful examples of this (such as the case of Japan in the immediate post-World War II period or Germany after 1945) have been extremely rare. Even in such cases, they depended on the subject nation having a sufficiently favourable level of social and cultural development to make it possible for a majority to grasp and adopt democratic ideas, values and practices as not threatening but complementing traditional referents of their cultural identity and beliefs about what might constitute ‘the common good’.
In addition, most experts agree that a key prerequisite for successful democratisation is the generation of favourable conditions for civic and political activism at local levels. This is to ensure that a sufficient number of citizens are aware of the issues that affect them and that they can mobilise in support of specific policies or actions at the national or international level if need be.
This is why it is important that a strong civil society should be nurtured and supported, as it is here that people can start to address the specific problems that they face on a daily basis, such as environmental degradation, corporate exploitation or the threat of war. This can be done through membership of community groups, such as a local green group, or by participating in other protest groups, such as those campaigning against war, globalisation or child labour. It is also much easier to take part in such activities at a local level than it is at a national or international level, where it may be hard for individuals to feel that they have a direct impact on the issue. In fact, it has been argued that the most effective way for young people to become engaged in politics is to begin at a local level by joining a youth political party. This can then lead to participation in more general and perhaps more policy-focused organisations such as a trade union or a political party. This approach would also be more compatible with the needs of young people to live in a democratic society that requires them to develop a high degree of personal responsibility and civic awareness.
The process by which a state or society becomes more democratic, with greater rights and freedoms for its citizens. This usually involves developing a vibrant civil society and creating political institutions that can protect individual liberties, as well as moving towards market economics. Democratisation is also often associated with achieving sustainable peace and reconciliation after years of intractable conflict. Despite claims that the number of democracies worldwide has quadrupled since 1970 and that democracy is the only possible political set-up, there is still widespread doubt about what exactly constitutes a democratic regime and how it should be judged. Most ‘new’ democracies fall short in different ways of the essentials of liberal democracy, even the most advanced ‘old’ democracies do not meet all the criteria for being regarded as democratic and many are at various stages of becoming what is often described as minimalist or procedural democracy. What is clear is that a democratic process cannot be imposed by outsiders and successful examples of this (such as the case of Japan in the immediate post-World War II period or Germany after 1945) have been extremely rare. Even in such cases, they depended on the subject nation having a sufficiently favourable level of social and cultural development to make it possible for a majority to grasp and adopt democratic ideas, values and practices as not threatening but complementing traditional referents of their cultural identity and beliefs about what might constitute ‘the common good’. In addition, most experts agree that a key prerequisite for successful democratisation is the generation of favourable conditions for civic and political activism at local levels. This is to ensure that a sufficient number of citizens are aware of the issues that affect them and that they can mobilise in support of specific policies or actions at the national or international level if need be. This is why it is important that a strong civil society should be nurtured and supported, as it is here that people can start to address the specific problems that they face on a daily basis, such as environmental degradation, corporate exploitation or the threat of war. This can be done through membership of community groups, such as a local green group, or by participating in other protest groups, such as those campaigning against war, globalisation or child labour. It is also much easier to take part in such activities at a local level than it is at a national or international level, where it may be hard for individuals to feel that they have a direct impact on the issue. In fact, it has been argued that the most effective way for young people to become engaged in politics is to begin at a local level by joining a youth political party. This can then lead to participation in more general and perhaps more policy-focused organisations such as a trade union or a political party. This approach would also be more compatible with the needs of young people to live in a democratic society that requires them to develop a high degree of personal responsibility and civic awareness.