Transition Consolidation Dem SEE1012 JT Lecture
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Transcript of Transition Consolidation Dem SEE1012 JT Lecture
(2) 23 Oct: TRANSITION AND CONSOLIDATION OF DEMOCRACY
Jovan Teokarevic
“TRANSITION PARADIGM” (Thomas Carothers) – in question: - getting out of dictatorship = democratization; all countries “in
transition”- strict order of phases of democratic transition- deciding importance of elections (= democracy)- structural conditions do not matter- third wave democratic transitions rely on coherent, functional
states
EXPECTATIONS FROM DEMOCRACY (Claus Offe):Democracy CAN:
- „Civilize conflicts“ – make the solutions possible- Avoid war between democracies- Provide for good economy and just society- Let people think about public issues
Democracy CANNOT: - help in state-building
- create itself, or even guarantee itself - create „political community“ – it has to be known in advance
Conditions and actors – two approaches
Democracy – a compromise
Political elites have the key role in transition to democracy. “Democracy imposed by elites”
Four main actors: hard-liners and soft-liners (within the ancien regime) + radicals and moderates (in the opposition)
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Democratization: liberalization – transition - consolidation
Democratization: problems1. „Democratic paradox“ – nationalists and other nondemocratic
actors in power2. Wars more probable3. Getting rid of the state bonds also means relativization of moral
and legal values
Linz-Stepan: DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION IS FINISHED when: - consensus reached on the political steps to lead to the elected
government- the government comes to power on the basis of free and general
elections- that government has the power to create new policies- executive, legislative and judicial powes, created by new
democracies, do not have to share power with others
Democracy becomes – „the only game in town“
CONSOLIDATED DEMOCRACY: - behaviour : no one is trying to impose a non-democratic regime or
to turn to violence or foreign intervention in order to secede
- attitudes : convincing majority thinks that democratic institutions and procedures are the most adequate way of running the society; support to anti-system alternatives limited
- constitution : both the government and the opposition respect the conflict resolution within the laws, procedures and institutions established by the new democratic process
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ARENAS OF CONSOLIDATED DEMOCRACY (Linz-Stepan)State – the precondition. No state – no democracy
1) civil society; 2) political society; 3) rule of law;
4) state administration; 5) economic society
Merkel: EMBEDDED AND DEFECTIVE DEMOCRACIES
Functional embedded democracy = five partial regimes of democracy
Internal embeddednessElectoral regime
Political freedoms Civil rights
Horizontal accountabilityReal power of ruling
External conditionsHigh level of soc-econ. developmentIntegrated within democratically-oriented int. org.Vital civil society
DEFFECTIVE DEMOCRACIESExclusive
Domain Illiberal
Delegative
Causes of deffective democracies:Course and level of modernization; Economic trends; Social capital; Civil society; Nation- and state-building; Type of former non-democratic regime; Transition mode; Political institutions; International and regional context
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TRANSITION MODELS (Huntington)
Transformation (reforma): elites in power lead democratization Brazil, Spain, Mexico, Hungary… Montenegro, Slovenia, Serbia 1990s, Macedonia
Replacement (ruptura): opposition groups lead Personal dictatorships (Romania)… Croatia 1990s and 2000, Serbia 2000,
Transplacement (ruptforma): power and opposition together (round table negotiations)
Poland, Czechoslovakia, South Korea
CONSOLIDATION – 3 TYPES OF PROBLEMS:
1. Problems of transition2. Contextual problems3. Systemic problems
CONSOLIDATION MORE SUCCESSFULL:
1. Experience with democracy longer and more recent
2. Level of economic development
3. International actors – in favour of democratization
4. Timing - the beginning of the democratization
5. Transition model – consolidation (peaceful, with the consent of all parties) - transplacement through negotiations
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- transformations- replacements and foreign interventions
6. Contextual problems – how many and of what nature
7. Institutional design of the new democratic system
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