Why Democratisation is So Important and How it Can Be Achieved
The explosive spread of democracy since the mid-20th century has transformed the international political landscape. It is now widely accepted that democracies are more stable and better able to meet the needs of their citizens than authoritarian regimes. Democratisation is also associated with many other positive outcomes, including economic growth and security. The question, then, is why democratisation is so important and how it can be achieved.
The answer, according to many scholars, is that a democratic political culture is necessary for a country to democratize. These democratic cultural values include tolerance of diversity, a belief that other people are basically trustworthy, a respect for freedom and equality, and a willingness to compromise. Moreover, these values are strengthened by the practice of participation in civic life, such as voting and serving on a jury. The emergence of these values can be facilitated by the development of civil society institutions, such as civic organizations and non-governmental organizations, that facilitate and encourage participation by members of the public.
This is a process that takes time. The political cultures that gave rise to the democracies of Western Europe and North America took generations to develop. In addition, the emergence of a democratic political culture depends on the evolution of a middle class that is interested in and capable of pressing for reforms. Such pressures were critical to the democratization of Britain, France, Germany, and Italy and of Latin America, South Korea, and Taiwan.
Some academics have argued that the emergence of these middle classes is the key to democratization, even in societies with very long histories of authoritarian rule. The basic idea is that a growing middle class creates pressure for democratic change because it combines the interests of both rich and poor groups. In the extreme cases, both rich and poor want to use their power to impose their own views on each other; but in the middle, they have an interest in balancing these opposing positions in order to ensure stability and prosperity for all.
In this view, a democratic transition begins when middle-class elites press for changes to strengthen the electoral system and allow more political opposition to emerge. These changes lead to procedural democracy and, eventually, substantive democracy. The underlying logic of this model is that, once these steps are accomplished, the risk of instability and the possibility of reversion to authoritarianism are significantly reduced.
This model has several shortcomings, however. It fails to address the role of external factors in democratization and it ignores the importance of a wide range of civil-society activities that can contribute to democratization, such as volunteering (see photo). Despite these limitations, scholars continue to study the relationship between education and democratization. They have found that, once a country achieves a certain level of education, individuals are more likely to vote and participate in civic life. Furthermore, studies of volunteerism have found that those with more education voluntarily give twice as much of their time and money at every income level to civic institutions than do those with only a high school education or less.
The explosive spread of democracy since the mid-20th century has transformed the international political landscape. It is now widely accepted that democracies are more stable and better able to meet the needs of their citizens than authoritarian regimes. Democratisation is also associated with many other positive outcomes, including economic growth and security. The question, then, is why democratisation is so important and how it can be achieved. The answer, according to many scholars, is that a democratic political culture is necessary for a country to democratize. These democratic cultural values include tolerance of diversity, a belief that other people are basically trustworthy, a respect for freedom and equality, and a willingness to compromise. Moreover, these values are strengthened by the practice of participation in civic life, such as voting and serving on a jury. The emergence of these values can be facilitated by the development of civil society institutions, such as civic organizations and non-governmental organizations, that facilitate and encourage participation by members of the public. This is a process that takes time. The political cultures that gave rise to the democracies of Western Europe and North America took generations to develop. In addition, the emergence of a democratic political culture depends on the evolution of a middle class that is interested in and capable of pressing for reforms. Such pressures were critical to the democratization of Britain, France, Germany, and Italy and of Latin America, South Korea, and Taiwan. Some academics have argued that the emergence of these middle classes is the key to democratization, even in societies with very long histories of authoritarian rule. The basic idea is that a growing middle class creates pressure for democratic change because it combines the interests of both rich and poor groups. In the extreme cases, both rich and poor want to use their power to impose their own views on each other; but in the middle, they have an interest in balancing these opposing positions in order to ensure stability and prosperity for all. In this view, a democratic transition begins when middle-class elites press for changes to strengthen the electoral system and allow more political opposition to emerge. These changes lead to procedural democracy and, eventually, substantive democracy. The underlying logic of this model is that, once these steps are accomplished, the risk of instability and the possibility of reversion to authoritarianism are significantly reduced. This model has several shortcomings, however. It fails to address the role of external factors in democratization and it ignores the importance of a wide range of civil-society activities that can contribute to democratization, such as volunteering (see photo). Despite these limitations, scholars continue to study the relationship between education and democratization. They have found that, once a country achieves a certain level of education, individuals are more likely to vote and participate in civic life. Furthermore, studies of volunteerism have found that those with more education voluntarily give twice as much of their time and money at every income level to civic institutions than do those with only a high school education or less.