Democracy and democratisation

Question 1

What is democracy?

Answer 1

“government of the people, by the people, for the people” - Lincoln

Question 2

What is procedural democracy

Answer 2

no concerns with anything substantive, other than the holistic opportunity for people to vote a government out of office

Question 3

What is a “polyarchy”

Answer 3

‘rule by many’, form of government where power is invested in multiple people

Question 4

What are key conditions of a “polyarchy”

Answer 4

• freedom of association
• freedom of expression and information
• universal suffrage
• free and fair elections
• right to stand as candidates

Question 5

What do the conditions of a “polyarchy” ensure

Answer 5

• the inclusion of different voices in deciding what happens
• competition for power

Question 6

What is substantive democracy

Answer 6

the belief that a country is either democratic or non-democratic

Question 7

What conditions do Przeworski et al 2000 use to define a democracy

Answer 7

• chief executive is elected
• more than one party competing in elections
• legislature is elected
• alternation in power under identical electoral rules has taken place (EG: general election 2024 tory to labour)

Question 8

What conditions does Larry Diamond 1999 use to define democracy

Answer 8

• free and fair elections
• active participation of people
• protection of human rights
• rule of law, in which the laws and procedures apply equally to all citizen

Question 9

What is a polity score

Answer 9

measures that record key qualities of executive recruitment, constraints on executive authority and political competition

Question 10

what is the polity score for a democracy

Answer 10

+6 to +10

Question 11

What is the polity score for an Anocracy

Answer 11

-5 to +5

Question 12

What is the polity score for an autocracy

Answer 12

-10 to -6

Question 13

What is expert codes, with reference to V-Dem

Answer 13

four fold differentiation, where countries are placed

Question 14

What are the four measurements put forward by V-Dem

Answer 14

• Closed autocracy
• Electoral autocracy
• Electoral democracy
• Liberal democracy

Question 15

What is a closed autocracy

Answer 15

absence of fundamental democratic components such as freedom of expression - no multiparty elections for the executive

Question 16

What is an electoral autocracy

Answer 16

insufficient levels of fundamental requisites such as freedom of expression and free and fair elections - multiparty elections for the executive exist

Question 17

what is an electoral democracy

Answer 17

multiparty elections for the executive are free and fair with satisfactory degrees of suffrage, expression etc

Question 18

What is a liberal democracy

Answer 18

where the requirements of electoral democracy are met, judicial and legislative constraints on the executive along with the protection of civil liberties and equality before the law

Question 19

What are the stages of democratisation

Answer 19

• liberalisation
• transition
• consolidation (acceptance)
• deepening

Question 19

What are three key theoretical explanations of democracy

Answer 19

• Economic
• Cultural
• Bargaining

Question 20

What does Lipset (1959) say about Economic theory

Answer 20

“democracy is related to the state of economic development. the more well-to-do a nation, the greater the chances that it will sustain democracy”

Question 21

What do economic theorists argue about modernisation

Answer 21

‘modernisation theory’ - as countries become wealthier, the economy transforms with the dominance of the large industry and service sector

Question 22

economic theory hypothesis 1 - wealth correlates with democracy

Answer 22

Prezworski et al - commonality between the raising GPD and the decreasing likelihood of dictatorships

Question 23

economic theory hypothesis 2 - democratic survival

Answer 23

transitions to dictatorship become less likely as wealth increases. Prezeworski et al: the wealthier a country is, the more likely it is to be a democracy

Question 24

What does Putnam (1993) argue about cultural theory

Answer 24

"some countries are blessed with vibrant networks and norms of civic engagement, while others are cursed with vertically structured politics... and a culture of distrust" - believed these differences play a key role in explaining institutional success

Question 25

What did Almond and Verba (1963) study in relation to the cultural theory

Answer 25

'civic culture' - partook in cross national surveys, found certain countries had more of a civic culture (trust between others) and they were therefore more likely to be democratic

Question 26

cultural theory hypothesis 1 - classic cultural theory

Answer 26

democracy is more common in some cultures, which support democratic values - means tay democracy is based on the dominant culture of a country

Question 27

what is an example of the first cultural theory hypothesis

Answer 27

Polity IV (2010) - Christian countries on average have better polity scores meaning they are more likely to foster democracy

Question 28

cultural theory hypothesis 2 - cultural modernisation theory

Answer 28

Inglehart-Welzel (2022) - the more focus on self-expression values the more likely a country will turn into a democracy, in comparison to a country focused on survival - explains that economic development does not directly cause democracy, but it leads to cultural change which influences democracy

Question 29

What is the argument of strategic bargaining

Answer 29

highly related to the economic explanation, emphasises how change in economic development/inequality affects the balance of power between social groups/political actors

Question 30

What do Acemoglu and Robinson argue about strategic bargaining

Answer 30

"for a leader to make a credible commitment to pro-majority policies in order to prevent revolution, they need to give away some power, and need to secure this through democratic institutions"

Question 31

bargaining theory hypothesis 1 (credible commitment)

Answer 31

elites cannot credibly commit to redistribute wealth without democratic institutions in place

Question 32

bargaining theory hypothesis 2 (wealth inequality)

Answer 32

higher wealth inequality raises the risk of democracy for non-democratic elites, which leads to more efforts to suppress democracy

Question 33

bargaining theory hypothesis 3 (economic shocks)

Answer 33

lead to transitions to democracy, but not transitions away from democracy

Question 34

Evidence of strategic bargaining

Answer 34

- equal societies: democracy doesn't redistribute much wealth, masses do not invest in revolution and the rich do not invest in repression - unequal societies: democracies redistribute much wealth, masses invest in revolution and the rich invest in repression

Question 35

What does the European and World values survey say about democracy being in decline

Answer 35

found more people are less willing to defend democracy, with a decline in the % of people who say it is essential to live in a democracy - EG: Britain - 1930s = 70% - 1980s = 30%