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Intro to contemporary democracy > Democracy and democratisation > Flashcards

Democracy and democratisation Flashcards

1
Q

What is democracy?

A

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

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2
Q

What is procedural democracy

A

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

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3
Q

What is a “polyarchy”

A

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

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4
Q

What are key conditions of a “polyarchy”

A
  • freedom of association
  • freedom of expression and information
  • universal suffrage
  • free and fair elections
  • right to stand as candidates
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5
Q

What do the conditions of a “polyarchy” ensure

A
  • the inclusion of different voices in deciding what happens
  • competition for power
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6
Q

What is substantive democracy

A

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

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7
Q

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

A
  • 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)
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8
Q

What conditions does Larry Diamond 1999 use to define democracy

A
  • 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
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9
Q

What is a polity score

A

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

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10
Q

what is the polity score for a democracy

A

+6 to +10

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11
Q

What is the polity score for an Anocracy

A

-5 to +5

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12
Q

What is the polity score for an autocracy

A

-10 to -6

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13
Q

What is expert codes, with reference to V-Dem

A

four fold differentiation, where countries are placed

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14
Q

What are the four measurements put forward by V-Dem

A
  • Closed autocracy
  • Electoral autocracy
  • Electoral democracy
  • Liberal democracy
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15
Q

What is a closed autocracy

A

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

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16
Q

What is an electoral autocracy

A

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

17
Q

what is an electoral democracy

A

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

18
Q

What is a liberal democracy

A

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

19
Q

What are the stages of democratisation

A
  • liberalisation
  • transition
  • consolidation (acceptance)
  • deepening
19
Q

What are three key theoretical explanations of democracy

A
  • Economic
  • Cultural
  • Bargaining
20
Q

What does Lipset (1959) say about Economic theory

A

“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”

21
Q

What do economic theorists argue about modernisation

A

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

22
Q

economic theory hypothesis 1 - wealth correlates with democracy

A

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

23
Q

economic theory hypothesis 2 - democratic survival

A

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

24
Q

What does Putnam (1993) argue about cultural theory

A

“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

25
Q

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

A

‘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

26
Q

cultural theory hypothesis 1 - classic cultural theory

A

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

27
Q

what is an example of the first cultural theory hypothesis

A

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

28
Q

cultural theory hypothesis 2 - cultural modernisation theory

A

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

29
Q

What is the argument of strategic bargaining

A

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

30
Q

What do Acemoglu and Robinson argue about strategic bargaining

A

“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”

31
Q

bargaining theory hypothesis 1 (credible commitment)

A

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

32
Q

bargaining theory hypothesis 2 (wealth inequality)

A

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

33
Q

bargaining theory hypothesis 3 (economic shocks)

A

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

34
Q

Evidence of strategic bargaining

A
  • 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
35
Q

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

A

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%

Intro to contemporary democracy (2 decks)

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