Understanding the Process of Democracy
Democratisation is the process by which political systems move from authoritarianism to democracy. Among the many theories of democratisation, some stress structural causes (e.g., Acemoglu and Robinson 2006; Albertus 2008). Others highlight the role of political elites. Still other scholars emphasize the importance of particular kinds of elections (e.g., parliamentary and presidential). And some argue that the process is driven by war, as illustrated by the postwar transitions of Portugal, Greece and Spain.
Despite such variations, there are some common features. The main one is the scale of democratisation, which has increased dramatically since World War II. The number of countries that qualify as democracies has grown fivefold to 120 out of 193 today. This is a remarkable increase. In 1950, there were only about 20 democratic states in the world.
The democratisation process is a complicated and unpredictable one. It is hard to identify necessary and sufficient conditions for a state to become democratic. But it is also clear that there are many paths to democratisation. Some of them are slow and conflictual, extending over centuries (e.g., Great Britain). Others are much faster, triggered by external shocks or internal events (e.g., the revolutions of 1974 in Latin America and Eastern Europe). Some countries inherited democratic institutions from Britain as a result of colonialism, while others became democracies after foreign intervention following the end of World War II.
Regardless of the path, a democracy requires certain fundamental characteristics. These include broad citizen participation and equality of citizenship rights, binding consultations with citizens and protection of individuals from arbitrary state action. Moreover, a democracy must be based on the rule of law and public accountability. In practice, a democracy cannot be fully realised without significant levels of state capacity and social capital.
Achieving these goals requires a series of phases that begin with pro-democratic civil society changes and move through procedural democracy to substantive democracy. Moreover, it is essential that these phases be completed in sequence. Otherwise, a country may never become a democratic regime.
It is also important to understand the mechanisms that promote democratisation. This includes identification of recurrent democratic mechanisms, specification of conditions that affect their emergence and evaluation of the evidence on their effectiveness. It also entails identifying the effects of specific variables, such as education, on contributing behaviours that support a democratic process.
For example, research has shown that citizens with more education contribute significantly more time and money to civic organisations than those with less education. This is why they participate more often in elections and other democratic processes. Such contributions must be weighed in the overall democratisation equation, along with those of other variables such as economic development and social integration. Failure to take these factors into account can lead to a distorted interpretation of the effects of education on democratisation. For this reason, some authors have argued that it is inappropriate to use aggregate measures of educational achievement as indicators of a democracy.
Democratisation is the process by which political systems move from authoritarianism to democracy. Among the many theories of democratisation, some stress structural causes (e.g., Acemoglu and Robinson 2006; Albertus 2008). Others highlight the role of political elites. Still other scholars emphasize the importance of particular kinds of elections (e.g., parliamentary and presidential). And some argue that the process is driven by war, as illustrated by the postwar transitions of Portugal, Greece and Spain. Despite such variations, there are some common features. The main one is the scale of democratisation, which has increased dramatically since World War II. The number of countries that qualify as democracies has grown fivefold to 120 out of 193 today. This is a remarkable increase. In 1950, there were only about 20 democratic states in the world. The democratisation process is a complicated and unpredictable one. It is hard to identify necessary and sufficient conditions for a state to become democratic. But it is also clear that there are many paths to democratisation. Some of them are slow and conflictual, extending over centuries (e.g., Great Britain). Others are much faster, triggered by external shocks or internal events (e.g., the revolutions of 1974 in Latin America and Eastern Europe). Some countries inherited democratic institutions from Britain as a result of colonialism, while others became democracies after foreign intervention following the end of World War II. Regardless of the path, a democracy requires certain fundamental characteristics. These include broad citizen participation and equality of citizenship rights, binding consultations with citizens and protection of individuals from arbitrary state action. Moreover, a democracy must be based on the rule of law and public accountability. In practice, a democracy cannot be fully realised without significant levels of state capacity and social capital. Achieving these goals requires a series of phases that begin with pro-democratic civil society changes and move through procedural democracy to substantive democracy. Moreover, it is essential that these phases be completed in sequence. Otherwise, a country may never become a democratic regime. It is also important to understand the mechanisms that promote democratisation. This includes identification of recurrent democratic mechanisms, specification of conditions that affect their emergence and evaluation of the evidence on their effectiveness. It also entails identifying the effects of specific variables, such as education, on contributing behaviours that support a democratic process. For example, research has shown that citizens with more education contribute significantly more time and money to civic organisations than those with less education. This is why they participate more often in elections and other democratic processes. Such contributions must be weighed in the overall democratisation equation, along with those of other variables such as economic development and social integration. Failure to take these factors into account can lead to a distorted interpretation of the effects of education on democratisation. For this reason, some authors have argued that it is inappropriate to use aggregate measures of educational achievement as indicators of a democracy.