Lecture 14 - Feb. 18th, 2019
Regime Change & Democratization contd.
, Lecture Notes
Regime Change and Democratization
- Why and under what circumstances do countries become democratic?
Time and Pace of Democratization
- 1918: end of WWI, 29 democracies
- 1962: 36 democracies “reverse wave” caused by poverty, instability, superpower
destabilization, shrank this number
- 2007: 123 democracies ← this number may grow or shrink depending on the
definition of democracy used.
Third Wave of Democracy
- Term coined by S. Huntington
- Began with fall of Salazar regime in Portugal (1974)
- Accelerated throughout the 1980s and after the Cold War (esp. Latin America)
A baseline definition of democracy is holding free and fair elections every 4-6 years. A
country is generally not seen as a democracy until 2 of these elections have occured.
Regime Change
- As compared to revolution, regime change involves negotiations and compromise
between two sides.
- Neither side gets everything it wants
- Much of the old regime usually remains in place
- Security forces (army, police) are especially hard to remove
- As they have access to weaponry, etc. Often exert a particular authoritarian
existence even after a country has transitioned to democracy.
Defining Democracy
- “Democracy is a system in which parties lose elections” (Adam Przeworski) ←
comparative political scientist
- “The fallacy of electoralism”: Elections are necessary - the sine qua non of a
democratic system
- But elections by themselves are not sufficient - democracies need to guarantee
human rights and ensure accountability.
Regime Change & Democratization contd.
, Lecture Notes
Regime Change and Democratization
- Why and under what circumstances do countries become democratic?
Time and Pace of Democratization
- 1918: end of WWI, 29 democracies
- 1962: 36 democracies “reverse wave” caused by poverty, instability, superpower
destabilization, shrank this number
- 2007: 123 democracies ← this number may grow or shrink depending on the
definition of democracy used.
Third Wave of Democracy
- Term coined by S. Huntington
- Began with fall of Salazar regime in Portugal (1974)
- Accelerated throughout the 1980s and after the Cold War (esp. Latin America)
A baseline definition of democracy is holding free and fair elections every 4-6 years. A
country is generally not seen as a democracy until 2 of these elections have occured.
Regime Change
- As compared to revolution, regime change involves negotiations and compromise
between two sides.
- Neither side gets everything it wants
- Much of the old regime usually remains in place
- Security forces (army, police) are especially hard to remove
- As they have access to weaponry, etc. Often exert a particular authoritarian
existence even after a country has transitioned to democracy.
Defining Democracy
- “Democracy is a system in which parties lose elections” (Adam Przeworski) ←
comparative political scientist
- “The fallacy of electoralism”: Elections are necessary - the sine qua non of a
democratic system
- But elections by themselves are not sufficient - democracies need to guarantee
human rights and ensure accountability.
