Democracy and democratization Comparative Perspectives Fall 2020 Marek Rybář How to understand democracy •democracy is an “essentially contested concept”, i.e. a term with many definitions; •debates about how to define democracy are an important part of scholarly discussion of how democratic regimes functions •most theoreticians agree that political rights (elections) a basic freedoms are integral parts of democracy • What is democracy? •procedural (minimalist) definitions: •how the regime is organized and •what processes ensure citizen representation, accountability of elected representatives, and regime legitimacy •typical examples are definitions of J. Schumpeter a A. Przeworski • Schumpeter: a minimalist definition •free competition for votes •a mechanism used to select and deselect political leaders/rulers •"The democratic method is that institutional arrangement for arriving at political decisions in which individuals acquire the power to decide by means of a competitive struggle for the people's vote“ Minimalist exclusions •No social or economic aspects are included •No measure of accountability, responsibility, responsiveness or representation •No measure of freedom, liberties or human rights •No measure of participation e.g. universal franchise •No reference to civil‐military relations •What are ‘competitive’ elections? Dahl: Polyarchy •For Dahl, modern democratic states can be understood in practice as ‘polyarchies’ •These can be identified by the presence of certain key political institutions: •1) elected officials; •2) free and fair elections; •3) inclusive suffrage; •4) the right to run for office; •5) freedom of expression; •6) alternative information; and •7) associational autonomy Pros and Cons? •Broader concept than simply elections •Expands range of civil liberties and political rights •Common basis for standard empirical measures (Freedom House and Polity IV) •Yet focuses only on negative freedoms – seeks to protect citizens from the power of the state •What of positive freedoms and social equality, cultural and economic rights? Substantive definitions of democracy •reflect the depth and quality of democracy •democracy is not just about procedures, it is also about outputs •regimes can deepen the degree of their democracy •participation, social inclusion, the role of civil society, racial, gender and other types of equality, institutional performance, absence of corruption, poverty and social inequality Differences between democracies Lijphart (1984, 1999) Huntington: waves of democratization •three waves of democratization followed by anti-democratic reversals •1. 1826-1926 (followed by a fascist reversal), •2. 1945-1960s/70s •3. 1974-1989 (followed by a wave of authoritarian reversal, around 2000) • Dimensions of democracy •one dimension concerns the role of the people (demos): freedom of association, free and fair elections, freedom of expression, government derived from the people •second dimension concerns constitutional limits on the executive, checks and balances •liberal democracies perform well on both dimensions •illiberal democracies organize democratic elections (formal guarantees in place) •however, they have problems to guarantee constitutional limits on the executive power and generally perform poorly on the second dimension Huntington’s Waves of Democracy--first wave 1828-1926 •Before WWI: U.S., Britain and settler colonies, France, Scandinavia, Italy, Argentina •Then after WWI, post-Imperial Europe: •Weimar Germany, Poland, Austria, Baltics, Czechoslovakia, plus Spain, Chile Suffrage for majority of adult males First reverse wave 1922-42 •Fascism, Soviet expansion Second Wave 1943-62 •Fall of fascism •Germany, Italy, Austria, Japan •and many others--Korea, several in Latin America, India, Nigeria Second reverse wave 1958-1973 •tensions of cold war, failures of new democracies, one-party model, rise of “bureaucratic authoritarianism” •Greece, Turkey, Philippines, Korea, Indonesia, India, Africa, Latin America Third Wave--1974- •Last non-Communist European non-democracies fall--Spain, Portugal, Greece •Latin American non-democracies transition out •Asia--Taiwan, Korea, Philippines, India, etc. •Fall of Communism •South Africa, Nigeria Third reverse wave? •Brazil, Burundi, Russia, Hungary, Serbia, Turkey, Poland •who is left? •___________________ •China and some of Asia •Most of Africa •Most Muslim nations O’Donnell: Delegative democracy •Latin American, strongly majoritarian systems •free elections •after winning the executive office, few effective constraints •similar characteristics apply to other third-wave democracies: •in many countries, democratization effectively means free elections • • Transformation of democracies over time •1. incorporation: •gradual incorporation of adult population into demos •limits on universal suffrage gradually lifted (sex, gender, property, education and race – the latter removed in South Africa only in 1994) • Incorporation •FRA, GER, SWI male universal suffrage since 1848, USA 1870 •women’s right to vote spread slowly: - New Zealand1883, Australia 1902, Finland 1907, Switzerland 1971 •age: typically from 25 to 21 and 18, in some countries 16 • Transformation of democracies over time •2. representation: the right to form political organizations (parties) and gain parliamentary representation •in many countries effectively the same as introduction of PR electoral systems •PR typically introduced because the disenfranchised groups of voters/parties became stronger over time •Finland 1907, the Netherlands 1917, Germany 1918 Transformation of democracies over time •3. success of the organized opposition •situations in which all important democratic parties are accepted as legitimate governing alternatives •the Socialists in government: never in USA, Canada and Luxemburg •first Socialist breakthrough in Australia in 1904 •Socialists in Europe gained power in the interwar period (Austria, Germany, Great Britain, Finland, Norway) New transformations? •citizens are dissatisfied with some of the aspects of how democracies function •civic participation is in decline •turnout in elections declines, weakening of the identification of voters with their parties, decreasing levels of party membership •voters less interested in politics = ”nonpolitical"/expert solutions to public policy problems increases • New transformations? •independent agencies, regulátory bodies, central banks or external actors like the European Union •status of politicians and functioning of democratic institutions became the subjects of political competition •voters (referenda, participatory decision-making) or non-partisan institutions (regulatory bodies, agencies, the EU etc.) given more say •elections and parties are becoming less important than ever before • • How democracies emerge? Modernization •Lipset, Huntington, Przeworski: •modernization plays a key role in transition to, or consolidation of, democracy •Epstein et al (2006): besides democracies and non-democratic regimes, hybrid forms need to be taken into account •GDP per capita increases the likelihood of transition from authoritarian regime, however, a partial democracy/hybrid regime may emerge on its stead How democracies emerge? Dynamic models •D. Rustow: a dynamic model of transition •no social requisites, no democratic political culture required •the power equilibrium between competing groups of elites fighting for power and resources •if the balance of powers last for a long time, they may agree on a peaceful way to resolve their conflicts, i.e. elections •elite consensus on the rules of the game is crucial Consequences of democracies: Halperin et al 2010 Low income democracies and autocracies Other indicators 1/2 Other indicators 2/2 WHY? Accountability institutions matter