Institutions that place effective constraints on executive power are especially important. Yet this article analyses new data on young democracies and argues that political institutions are crucial for democratic consolidation. In explaining why democracies fail, experts have tended to focus on economic performance. Kapstein, E., and Converse, N., 2008, ‘Why Democracies Fail’, Journal of Democracy, Volume 19, Number 4, October 2008 While some have argued that existing donor approaches to democracy promotion have neglected local concerns, others argue that the most serious problem with democracy promotion has been a failure to defend core liberal norms. Building democratic institutions alone does not guarantee the spread of democratic politics – the consolidation or ‘deepening’ of democratic norms and principles in every area of governance and society is a more complex and long-term process of change. There is broad consensus that in order for democratisation processes to be sustainable, they need to come from within. What factors determine the quality and strength of democratic politics, and what can make democracies susceptible to failure? It highlights seven areas of progress and setbacks: 1) increasingly illegitimate, but ongoing military intervention 2) regular elections and occasional transfers of power, but realities of democratic rollback and hybrid regimes 3) democratic institutionalisation, but ongoing presidentialism and endemic corruption 4) the institutionalisation of political parties, but widespread ethnic voting and the rise of an exclusionary (and often violent) politics of belonging 5) increasingly dense civil societies, but local realities of incivility, violence and insecurity 6) new political freedoms and economic growth, but extensive political controls and uneven development and 7) the donor community’s mixed commitment to, and at times perverse impact on, democracy promotion.Īccess full text: available online Democratic consolidation and democracy promotion This special issue of Democratization examines the (lack of) progress made in democratisation processes in Africa from 1990 to 2010. and Crawford, G., eds., 2011, ‘Democratization in Africa 1990-2010: an assessment’, Democratization, vol.18, no. It identifies possible mechanisms in democratisation and specifies likely conditions affecting their emergence. How is the process of democratisation best defined? What are the necessary conditions for successful democratisation? This study from Columbia University attempts to specify the various conditions and processes that promoted or blocked democratisation in different parts of Europe between 1650 and the present. Tilly, C., 2000, ‘Processes and Mechanisms of Democratization’, Sociological Theory, vol. A more useful alternative is gradualism, which aims to build democracy slowly, taking into account the risks and complications of democratisation. This article from the Journal of Democracy argues that sequencing is a problematic idea rooted in scepticism about democracy, which helps to postpone democratisation indefinitely. Should the rule of law and a well-functioning state be prerequisites for democratisation? Democratic sequencing suggests that they should. But there is considerable ongoing debate about whether and how structural factors – economic, social, and institutional conditions and legacies – impact on the prospects for democratisation and on the sustainability of democratic political systems.Ĭarothers, T., 2007, ‘How Democracies Emerge: The Sequencing Fallacy’, Journal of Democracy, vol. The so-called ‘third wave’ of democratisation during the early 1990s demonstrated that the emergence of democracy is not contingent on a certain level of economic development. How are processes of democratisation influenced by economic development, history, state capacity and civil society? Why do some democratisation processes succeed where others fail? Can these processes be effectively supported by external agencies? Democratic consolidation and democracy promotion.For further reading, please see the links in the useful websites section. How can processes of democratisation be supported in different development contexts? And how can democracy be pro-poor? A large body of literature on democracy addresses these and many other questions. This page addresses two specific issues for development practitioners. Either way, a central question is how citizens exercise control and scrutiny over political institutions. Whilst some understand it in procedural terms – as electoral competition and decision-making – others view it more broadly in terms of civil and political rights and the distribution of power within society. Democracy is a highly contested concept, both in terms of its definition and its relationship to development.
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