DAT lecture notes and summary of the readings
Lecture notes
Lecture 1
Introduction
Patterns of democracy
- Three waves
WWI ending
Decolonization
Fall of communism
- Recent
- Mostly in western world
Why bother with democracy?
- Amartya Sen - Democracy as a universal value
Most people see value (not everyone wants it)
The value of democracy
o Intrinsic: on itself useful
o Instrumental: provides benefits (accountability)
o Constructive: understanding our wants and needs (positive
feedback)
Against economic or cultural preconditions for democracy
Substantive view
- Adam Przeworski – Why bother with elections?
More minimalist competitive elections “as a mechanism by
which we decide who will govern us and how.”
When repeated, voters can express dissatisfaction with how they
are governed.
More cautious about the benefits
Procedural view on democracy Doesn’t want to confuse
democracy with outcomes of democracy
- E.g. India
Democracy continuing to function in midst of social cleavages
and large-scale violence how?
Democracy as an independent variable (an outcome)
- Democracy as outcomes (DV) vs democracy as cause (IV)
- Independent variable: democracy economic performance, climate
change, peace
- Democracy growth
The Lee Hypothesis
o Democratic leaders are more short-term oriented (because
of elections) and are responsible to large group of people
, o Autocratic leader that’s economic oriented is less short-
term oriented and responsible to smaller group of people
(better Singapore)
Democracies often more growth, but not a large difference
o Singapore lot of growth, but also countries like North Korea
o Less similarities among non-democratic countries
- Democracy climate change
Weak negative effect
- Democracy peace
Strongest evidence
Higher number of democracies, less political violence
Democracies are much less likely to experience severe violence
Could be “baked into” definition
Lecture 2
What is democracy?
Democracy, then and new
- Etymology
Democracy as rule by the people
- But who, what, how, when and where?
- Early theoretical treatments
Plato, The Republic
o Government as realm of experts (ship of state)
o Democracy as mob rule
Aristotle, The Politics
o Regime classification
Number of rulers (one, few, many)
Good and bad forms
Seen as susceptible to class warfare, unstable and dangerous
Same to Montesquieu, Locke, etc.
- Early experiments
Athenian democracy
o Suffrage for free, adult males
o Free speech, political equality, direct participation
Early ‘democracy’: council governance, village governance
Very different
o Election by lot, and/or direct decision-making, limited in
processes and size
- Shift in mid-19th century
French and American Revolutions
Democracy as representative government
Rapid expansion
Ony white men with property
- Connection with liberalism (Parekh)
Emphasis on individual
Capitalism as democratization of economic system
- Resistance to expansion of democracy, including from liberals
, Proportioneel kiessysteem omdat arbeiders grootste deel van de
samenleving zijn en bij majoritan system verliest elite macht
Conceptions of democracy
1. Substantive vs. Procedural conceptions
Substantive or maximalist view
o Classifies regimes by the outcomes they produce
o However:
Too many attributes no empirical referents
For some questions limited analytical use
Procedural or minimalist view
o Classifies regimes according to institutions and procedures
o However:
Too few attributes all cases become instances
Procedural definitions more common
2. Electoral vs. liberal conceptions
Electoral democracy (Dahl’s polyarchy)
o Contestation
Classifies regimes by procedures of democratic
competition
However: are competitive elections enough?
o Inclusion
Classifies regimes based on who participates in the
democratic process
However: inclusion little variation?
Liberal democracy
o Adds democracy as limited government
Maintain a system of rights based on principle of
maximum liberty
However: imports liberalism
Electoral conception most common
3. Other conceptual debates
Dichotomous vs. continuous
o Democracy as a qualitative difference
Beyond electoral vs. liberal democracy
o Varieties of Democracy project
o Electoral, liberal, majoritarian, participatory, deliberative,
and egalitarian conceptions
National vs. subnational regime type
o Examples:
US states
Indian states
From concepts to measurements:
building democracy indices
, Measuring electoral democracy (V-Dem)
- Institutional and procedural prerequisites
I. Electoral democracy index
1. Elected officials
2. Free, fair and frequent elections
3. Freedom of expression (including press freedom)
4. Freedom of association
5. Inclusive citizenship
II. Liberal component index
1. Equality before the law and protection of civil liberties
2. Judicial constraints on the executive
3. Legislative constraints on the executive
- Liberal component index is subset of electoral democracy not
every electoral democracy is a liberal democracy (Mexico, Poland,
Nigeria, Mongolia)
Debates on measurement
- Divergence in findings
Most disagreement for “mixed” or hybrid regimes
- Objective vs. subjective measures
E.g. dichotomous DD measures vs. multidimensional V-Dem index
Disagreement on presence and extent of global democratic
backsliding objective measures show less democratic
backsliding
“Democratizing” democracy
- Bikhu Parekh – The Cultural Particularity of Liberal
Democracy
Liberal democracy
o Liberalism as the dominant element
o Constructs individual as central unit
o Democratic government as limited government
Parekh’s critique of liberal democracy
o Universal aspirations of a culturally particular form
o Imposes liberal ideology on democracy
Other critiques
o State formation radically different in postcolonial states
o Late-stage capitalism and current crisis of democracy
Are other combinations of liberalism and democracy possible?
o Importance of community
Lecture 3
What is autocracy?
The most common form of governance throughout human history, until the
1990s
Lecture notes
Lecture 1
Introduction
Patterns of democracy
- Three waves
WWI ending
Decolonization
Fall of communism
- Recent
- Mostly in western world
Why bother with democracy?
- Amartya Sen - Democracy as a universal value
Most people see value (not everyone wants it)
The value of democracy
o Intrinsic: on itself useful
o Instrumental: provides benefits (accountability)
o Constructive: understanding our wants and needs (positive
feedback)
Against economic or cultural preconditions for democracy
Substantive view
- Adam Przeworski – Why bother with elections?
More minimalist competitive elections “as a mechanism by
which we decide who will govern us and how.”
When repeated, voters can express dissatisfaction with how they
are governed.
More cautious about the benefits
Procedural view on democracy Doesn’t want to confuse
democracy with outcomes of democracy
- E.g. India
Democracy continuing to function in midst of social cleavages
and large-scale violence how?
Democracy as an independent variable (an outcome)
- Democracy as outcomes (DV) vs democracy as cause (IV)
- Independent variable: democracy economic performance, climate
change, peace
- Democracy growth
The Lee Hypothesis
o Democratic leaders are more short-term oriented (because
of elections) and are responsible to large group of people
, o Autocratic leader that’s economic oriented is less short-
term oriented and responsible to smaller group of people
(better Singapore)
Democracies often more growth, but not a large difference
o Singapore lot of growth, but also countries like North Korea
o Less similarities among non-democratic countries
- Democracy climate change
Weak negative effect
- Democracy peace
Strongest evidence
Higher number of democracies, less political violence
Democracies are much less likely to experience severe violence
Could be “baked into” definition
Lecture 2
What is democracy?
Democracy, then and new
- Etymology
Democracy as rule by the people
- But who, what, how, when and where?
- Early theoretical treatments
Plato, The Republic
o Government as realm of experts (ship of state)
o Democracy as mob rule
Aristotle, The Politics
o Regime classification
Number of rulers (one, few, many)
Good and bad forms
Seen as susceptible to class warfare, unstable and dangerous
Same to Montesquieu, Locke, etc.
- Early experiments
Athenian democracy
o Suffrage for free, adult males
o Free speech, political equality, direct participation
Early ‘democracy’: council governance, village governance
Very different
o Election by lot, and/or direct decision-making, limited in
processes and size
- Shift in mid-19th century
French and American Revolutions
Democracy as representative government
Rapid expansion
Ony white men with property
- Connection with liberalism (Parekh)
Emphasis on individual
Capitalism as democratization of economic system
- Resistance to expansion of democracy, including from liberals
, Proportioneel kiessysteem omdat arbeiders grootste deel van de
samenleving zijn en bij majoritan system verliest elite macht
Conceptions of democracy
1. Substantive vs. Procedural conceptions
Substantive or maximalist view
o Classifies regimes by the outcomes they produce
o However:
Too many attributes no empirical referents
For some questions limited analytical use
Procedural or minimalist view
o Classifies regimes according to institutions and procedures
o However:
Too few attributes all cases become instances
Procedural definitions more common
2. Electoral vs. liberal conceptions
Electoral democracy (Dahl’s polyarchy)
o Contestation
Classifies regimes by procedures of democratic
competition
However: are competitive elections enough?
o Inclusion
Classifies regimes based on who participates in the
democratic process
However: inclusion little variation?
Liberal democracy
o Adds democracy as limited government
Maintain a system of rights based on principle of
maximum liberty
However: imports liberalism
Electoral conception most common
3. Other conceptual debates
Dichotomous vs. continuous
o Democracy as a qualitative difference
Beyond electoral vs. liberal democracy
o Varieties of Democracy project
o Electoral, liberal, majoritarian, participatory, deliberative,
and egalitarian conceptions
National vs. subnational regime type
o Examples:
US states
Indian states
From concepts to measurements:
building democracy indices
, Measuring electoral democracy (V-Dem)
- Institutional and procedural prerequisites
I. Electoral democracy index
1. Elected officials
2. Free, fair and frequent elections
3. Freedom of expression (including press freedom)
4. Freedom of association
5. Inclusive citizenship
II. Liberal component index
1. Equality before the law and protection of civil liberties
2. Judicial constraints on the executive
3. Legislative constraints on the executive
- Liberal component index is subset of electoral democracy not
every electoral democracy is a liberal democracy (Mexico, Poland,
Nigeria, Mongolia)
Debates on measurement
- Divergence in findings
Most disagreement for “mixed” or hybrid regimes
- Objective vs. subjective measures
E.g. dichotomous DD measures vs. multidimensional V-Dem index
Disagreement on presence and extent of global democratic
backsliding objective measures show less democratic
backsliding
“Democratizing” democracy
- Bikhu Parekh – The Cultural Particularity of Liberal
Democracy
Liberal democracy
o Liberalism as the dominant element
o Constructs individual as central unit
o Democratic government as limited government
Parekh’s critique of liberal democracy
o Universal aspirations of a culturally particular form
o Imposes liberal ideology on democracy
Other critiques
o State formation radically different in postcolonial states
o Late-stage capitalism and current crisis of democracy
Are other combinations of liberalism and democracy possible?
o Importance of community
Lecture 3
What is autocracy?
The most common form of governance throughout human history, until the
1990s
