The dynamics of democratization : a comparative approach / Geoffrey Pridham.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pridham, Geoffrey, 1942-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Democratization--Europe.

Democratization.

Post-communism--Europe.

Post-communism.

Europe--Politics and government--1989-.

Europe.

Politics and government.

Physical Description:

viii, 330 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Continuum, 2000.

Summary:

A systematic comparison of three cases of democratization and regime transformation in Europe since 1945 (post-war Italy and West Germany; Southern Europe from the mid-1970s; and Eastern Europe in the 1990s), this book highlights diversities of historical context, political experience, democratic traditions, economic development, and cultural background.

Unlike the majority of literature on the subject, this book views the democratization process as a whole, not just as either democratic transition or subsequent regime consolidation. Economic, state-building, or other forms of transformation are included where relevant.

Contents:

1 Theory of regime change and interactive dynamics 1

1.1 Democratization studies and new challenges 1

1.2 Transitology and consolidology: a critical review 4

1.3 Defining democratization 16

1.4 Democratization: a model of interactive dynamics 24

2 Historical determinants of democratization 29

2.1 Bringing history back in 29

2.2 History and democratization theory 31

2.3 'Confining conditions': historical patterns and historical memory 34

2.4 Historical legacies and 'overcoming the past' 42

2.5 Political learning and anticipating democratic consolidation 53

2.6 Regime change and historical perspectives 57

3 Non-democratic regimes, deconsolidation and authoritarian breakdown 59

3.1 Focusing on authoritarian breakdown 59

3.2 Non-democratic regimes: their deterioration and liberalization 63

3.3 The emergence of 'preferable alternatives' and societal pressures under authoritarian rule 77

3.4 Authoritarian collapse and the shift to democratic transition 89

4 Formal regime change, the constitutional dimension and institutional design 93

4.1 Institutional design and democratization 93

4.2 Motivation in formal regime change: backwards institutionalization and transition dynamics 98

4.3 The constituent process and institutional design 107

4.4 The consequences of institutional choice: forwards institutionalization and the prospects for democratic consolidation 127

5 Actors, linkages and democratization 136

5.1 Theorizing about elite choice 136

5.2 Actor differentiation and elite autonomy 140

5.3 Political elites, party development and democratic consolidation 148

5.4 The military, non-political elites and regime change dynamics 164

5.5 Inter-elite relations and the democratization process 177

6 Economic transformation, policy performance and new regime consolidation 180

6.1 Approaching dual transformation 180

6.2 Policy performance, economic transformation and regime change 184

6.3 Economic policy consequences for regime consolidation 203

6.4 New democracies and dual transformation 217

7 Creating democratic traditions: top-down/bottom-up dynamics on the road to consolidation 220

7.1 Democratization and society 220

7.2 Top-down interactions: vertical dynamics in democratization 223

7.3 Civil society and the achievement of democratic consolidation 233

7.4 Fostering democratic traditions 247

8 Stateness, national identity and democratization 252

8.1 Focusing on the third transformation 252

8.2 The crisis of state authority and the challenge of nation-building 256

8.3 Ethnicity and the prospects for democratic consolidation 273

8.4 Democratization and the third tranformation 282

9 The international dimensions of democratization 285

9.1 Regime change and international factors 285

9.2 Theorizing about external causes of democratization 289

9.3 European integration and democratic consolidation: external influences and interactions with domestic politics 299

9.4 Consolidating new democracies in the international context 312.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0826450385

OCLC:

44413589