Lecture 3 Phases of Democratisation

Question 1

According to J. Loxton, what are three common authoritarian vestiges found in new democracies?

Answer 1

1. Authoritarian successor parties,
2. authoritarian-era constitutions, and
3. subnational authoritarian enclaves.

While subnational authoritarianism is always harmful, the other two can sometimes have surprising benefits.

Question 2

According to S. Bernman, what is the best way to understand how stable, well-functioning democracies develop?

Answer 2

Analyzing the political trajectories of countries, including their struggles and conflicts, to see how non-democratic institutions were replaced by democratic ones.

Question 3

What are the three phases of democratization?

Answer 3

1. Democratic transition
2. Democratic stabilization/consolidation
3. Democratic deepening

Question 4

Democratic transition

Answer 4

shift from autocracy to democracy

Question 5

Democratic stabilization/consolidation

Answer 5

Stabilizing the new democratic regime to become immune to backsliding (though this isn’t always the case, as seen in Poland and Hungary).

Question 6

What are the three types of causes of democratization distinguished in democratic causality?

Answer 6

Long-term/structural causes, mid-term/institutional causes, and short-term/actor-based causes.

Question 7

What is the key difference between preconditionalists and universalists in their views on democratic development?

Answer 7

Preconditionalists argue that democracy requires specific prior conditions, while universalists believe democracy can emerge anywhere and at any time.

Question 8

According to S. Bernman, what is a common misconception about the first wave of democratization?

Answer 8

Bernman challenges the idea that the first wave of democratization was gradual and peaceful, arguing that it typically involves setbacks and backsliding, making it more complex and messy, similar to the France model rather than the UK model.

Question 9

What are the key elements for the success of a democratic transition?

Answer 9

Regime types, transition types, and authoritarian legacies.

Question 10

What is the likelihood of a military regime transitioning to democracy?

Answer 10

If a military regime breaks down, it usually becomes a democracy, especially after the Cold War.

Question 11

What happens when a single-party regime breaks down?

Answer 11

If a single-party regime breaks down, it is about fifty-fifty whether the new regime will be democratic, but there is a slight tendency towards authoritarian regimes, except after the Cold War when democracies became more common.

Question 12

What are the four dichotomies used to classify types of democratic transitions?

Scheiding in twee volledig afzonderlijke delen

Answer 12

Violent vs. non-violent, pacted vs. rupture, imposed vs. indigenous, and clear-cut vs. protracted.

Question 13

Which type of democratic transition is considered the most effective?

Answer 13

Non-violent, pacted, indigenous, and clear-cut transitions are considered the most effective.

Question 14

What problems can arise from a lack of transitional justice in democratic transitions?

Answer 14

A lack of transitional justice can cause problems of injustice, particularly social and legal issues, when dictators escape accountability for their crimes, as seen in cases like Suriname and Argentina.

• reageren op grootschalige schendingen van mensenrechten en ernstige misdaden tijdens of na conflicten of onder repressieve regimes.

Question 15

What are the three types of authoritarian legacies according to Loxton?

Answer 15

• Authoritarian successor parties,
• authoritarian constitutions,
• subnational authoritarian enclaves.

Question 16

What are authoritarian successor parties?

Answer 16

Parties that existed under the authoritarian regime and ran in elections after the transition, usually losing at first but often winning further down the line.

Question 17

Why is it not necessarily bad that authoritarian successor parties win elections later on?

Answer 17

It illustrates that the regime change was successful and that these authoritarians now act within the democratic system.

Question 18

What are authoritarian constitutions?

Answer 18

Constitutions that are kept by most recently transitioned democracies at first and changed later, laying down all rules of the state and offering a framework for a rule of law.

Question 19

Why might keeping an authoritarian constitution initially be beneficial?

Answer 19

Because it has provisions that make it hard to change itself, which can keep autocrats in check.

Question 20

What is a potential downside of keeping an authoritarian constitution?

Answer 20

It may enshrine reserved power domains, such as military privileges, which do not help democratic transitions

Question 21

What are sub-national authoritarian enclaves?

Answer 21

Small dictatorships at lower governmental levels where local governments remain authoritarian even if the national government has become democratic.

Question 22

How do sub-national authoritarian enclaves affect democratic success?

Answer 22

They never have a good effect on democratic success because small dictators still rule parts of the country.

Question 23

Can regimes have democratic legacies as well?

Answer 23

Yes, some regimes retain previous democratic structures embedded in the state and/or political culture, even though they were authoritarian regimes at the time.

Question 24

In which regions have states retained their previous democratic structures despite being authoritarian?

Answer 24

Latin-America and Eastern-Europe.

Question 25

What are the three ways colonial history can influence democratisation?

Answer 25

• Colonial legacy,
• type of colony,
• population density.

Question 26

How does the rule of law tradition compare between British and Portuguese colonies?

Answer 26

British colonies had a rule of law tradition, while Portuguese colonies had a rule by force tradition.

Question 27

What is the difference in parliamentary institutions between British and French colonies?

Answer 27

British colonies had parliamentary institutions, whereas French colonies had presidential institutions.

Question 28

What kind of conflicts did colonizers leave due to divide and rule tactics?

Answer 28

Land conflicts or social groups conflicts.

Question 29

What combination is considered the best formula for democratisation after decolonisation?

Answer 29

Rule of law tradition, parliamentary institutions, and a lack of conflicts.

Question 30

Why has the first theory about the rule of law tradition and parliamentary institutions been discarded?

Answer 30

Because former British colonies like Myanmar and Pakistan have had trouble democratising.

Question 31

How do former colonies usually base their institutional choices?

Answer 31

British colonies have majoritarian parliamentary systems, French colonies have semi-presidential systems, and American-occupied territories have majoritarian presidential systems.

Question 32

What is the distinction between settler colonies and extraction colonies?

Answer 32

Settler colonies had favourable climates for settlement and institution-building, while extraction colonies had unfavourable climates and were only used for resource extraction.

Question 33

What happens to a state with an extraction colony once colonizers leave?

Answer 33

It is left with a predatory state and less favourable conditions for democracy.

Question 34

How does population density affect the ease of setting up systems of oppression?

Answer 34

A more dense population makes it easier to set up systems of oppression, slavery, and forced labour.

Question 35

Give examples of regions where dense populations facilitated oppression.

Answer 35

Indonesia and Latin-America.

Question 36

How does a less dense population affect democratic concessions from colonizers?

Answer 36

Colonizers had to make democratic concessions to locals in return for labour, based on ‘no taxation without representation’.

Question 37

Give examples of regions with less dense populations that led to favourable democratic circumstances.

Answer 37

The US, Australia, and New Zealand.

Question 38

Give an example of a settler colony and its impact on democracy.

Answer 38

India, where settlers built a framework of institutions that led to favourable conditions for democracy.

Question 39

Democratic deepening

Answer 39

Gradual improvement in the quality of democracy once it is stable (not covered in this course).