Democratisation and the Arab Spring
Democratisation refers to the process of a political system moving away from authoritarianism and towards democracy. It is the opposite of repression, which refers to a political system returning to its authoritarian roots. There is much debate over whether democratisation can be achieved in short order and over the past 25 years we have seen the first wave of truly democratic states emerge in Africa and South America, followed by a second wave of liberal democracies in Eastern Europe and Asia. Yet the fact that the Arab Spring and the growth of civil society organisations across many countries have shown that the necessary conditions for democratisation are still absent from the majority of Muslim Middle Eastern states, as well as most other countries around the world, underscores that we need to reconsider our expectations.
One of the reasons for this is that it is not at all clear what democratisation actually means, and what is the best way to achieve it. Some argue that democracy is a political culture, an attitude of tolerance to other points of view, and a belief that everyone has a right to free expression of their views, regardless of the nature of those views. This is a view that was advocated by Alexis de Tocqueville in his classic study of American democracy, Democracy in America. Others argue that it is simply a method of choosing a government, or a system of governing, or that it requires a broad based consensus on the exercise of power within a state. Still others point out that a successful democracy requires a certain level of economic development and that it is important to maintain a high level of education and public awareness in order to ensure the legitimacy of the government.
Finally, there are those who argue that the best route to a democracy is for the people themselves to create it. They point out that there are a number of examples where this has worked, such as the development of a strong and active trade union movement in Britain during the Industrial Revolution, or the creation of the ANC and National Party pact in post-apartheid South Africa. They further argue that a strong civil society is the key to a democratic state, and that it can be created through educational and cultural activities, as well as through grass roots movements like environmental groups or protest groups against wars, corporate exploitation and poverty.
There is, however, general agreement that a meaningful explanation of democratisation must move beyond mapping the initial conditions and sequences of events that constitute paths to a democratic state. It must also include an analysis of the causal processes that democratise societies and specify those conditions that inhibit the emergence of such mechanisms.
A range of studies have looked at the determinants of democratisation. Keller (2006), for example, uses data from OECD member nations and finds that secondary education enrolment is a strong determinant of democratisation. This is also a view that is supported by Acemoglu and Akyol (2005), who find that educational investment is the main driver of democratisation.
Democratisation refers to the process of a political system moving away from authoritarianism and towards democracy. It is the opposite of repression, which refers to a political system returning to its authoritarian roots. There is much debate over whether democratisation can be achieved in short order and over the past 25 years we have seen the first wave of truly democratic states emerge in Africa and South America, followed by a second wave of liberal democracies in Eastern Europe and Asia. Yet the fact that the Arab Spring and the growth of civil society organisations across many countries have shown that the necessary conditions for democratisation are still absent from the majority of Muslim Middle Eastern states, as well as most other countries around the world, underscores that we need to reconsider our expectations. One of the reasons for this is that it is not at all clear what democratisation actually means, and what is the best way to achieve it. Some argue that democracy is a political culture, an attitude of tolerance to other points of view, and a belief that everyone has a right to free expression of their views, regardless of the nature of those views. This is a view that was advocated by Alexis de Tocqueville in his classic study of American democracy, Democracy in America. Others argue that it is simply a method of choosing a government, or a system of governing, or that it requires a broad based consensus on the exercise of power within a state. Still others point out that a successful democracy requires a certain level of economic development and that it is important to maintain a high level of education and public awareness in order to ensure the legitimacy of the government. Finally, there are those who argue that the best route to a democracy is for the people themselves to create it. They point out that there are a number of examples where this has worked, such as the development of a strong and active trade union movement in Britain during the Industrial Revolution, or the creation of the ANC and National Party pact in post-apartheid South Africa. They further argue that a strong civil society is the key to a democratic state, and that it can be created through educational and cultural activities, as well as through grass roots movements like environmental groups or protest groups against wars, corporate exploitation and poverty. There is, however, general agreement that a meaningful explanation of democratisation must move beyond mapping the initial conditions and sequences of events that constitute paths to a democratic state. It must also include an analysis of the causal processes that democratise societies and specify those conditions that inhibit the emergence of such mechanisms. A range of studies have looked at the determinants of democratisation. Keller (2006), for example, uses data from OECD member nations and finds that secondary education enrolment is a strong determinant of democratisation. This is also a view that is supported by Acemoglu and Akyol (2005), who find that educational investment is the main driver of democratisation.