The Industrialized
Democracies
“…the worst from of government except for all
the others that have been tried.”
Thinking About Democracy

Key Questions
• Why did democracy emerge in these
countries?
• Why did democracy become so remarkably
durable in the second half of the 20th
century?
• Why is there so much debate about public
policy in the industrialized democracies in
the first years of the 21st century?
• why has that debate not gone one step
farther and led many people to question
their regimes or democracy itself?
elections





key principles:
elections are about who governs, not
basic principles
voters choose who will govern
in free, open, and reasonably honest
elections
elections are just part of the systems
that guarantee basic personal and
political freedoms




electoral differences among
democracies
USA holds elections on fixed
schedule; parliamentary systems do
not
USA and France elect their chief
executives; Britain does not
proportional, winner take all,
coalition





differences in government
USA: division and separation of
powers
all legislation is a product of
compromise
Parliamentary system: unified or
fused government
party discipline usually guarantees
support for majority’s legislative
proposals




despite differences, countries that
are democratic do 2 things:
guarantee individual liberties
choose rulers through competitive
elections
democracy is about the relationship
between the ruler and the rules
necessary features of a democracy






(1) rights:
basic individual freedoms guaranteed
(2) competitive elections
government to be chosen through
regular, free and fair elections
(3) the rule of law
clear, fair laws, in constitutions or
statutes (vs. arbitrary, personal
power)




(4) civil society and culture
in a stable democracy, people accept
the rules and also “buy in”
(5) capitalism and affluence
without this, hard to sustain (1), (2)
and (3) for extended time
The Origins of the Democratic State

domestic concerns more important
than international concerns

Eurocentric historical connection

development took a long time
The Origins of the Democratic State

Evolution of democratic thought
• Hobbes
• Laissez-faire
• Locke
• Suffrage





recent origin of modern democracy
(late 18th century)
opposition to society governed by
feudal institutions, values and
hierarchy
key addition to democratic thought:
limited government
government as referee

Hobbes: how to avoid “war of all against all”?

cede some freedom to the Leviathan



industrial capitalism  dominant economic
system  shift toward democratic government
laissez-faire capitalism: the invisible hand of the
marketplace (liberal capitalism)
Locke: role of the state: protect life, liberty and
property
4 great transformations of the last 500 years

how countries handled the following = how democracy
developed

creation of the nation and state

role of religion in society and government

development of pressures for democracy

the industrial revolution



where democratization was difficult,
no consensual resolution  led to
cleavages [deep social divisions]
example of France and Italy: role of
church in politics
example of Germany and Italy: not
unified states until late 19th century



economic and military “catch-up”:
Britain/France vs. Germany, Japan,
Italy
new democracies turned to
authoritarian leaders and fascism
influence of cold war on development
of strong democratic states in
Western Europe and Japan:
containment
Political Culture and Participation



how people’s thoughts and
actions can buttress or
undermine democracies
democratic beliefs coexisting with
a degree of political passivity
political efficacy + willingness to
do anything because they trust
leaders to do what is right

legitimacy : critical in successful
democracies

people accept the rules of the game


critical distinction between government
and regime: can oppose the government
without challenging the constitutional
order itself
feeling of legitimacy remains despite
dramatic drop in most forms of political
participation and trust for most politicians



social capital : degree to which a
society has networks that build trust
and cooperation
attitude of tolerance
institutions that instill respect for
views and actions of others
Political Parties and Elections

democracies give citizens many ways to
participate in political life

most important: participation in
competitive elections

political parties: the organizations
responsible for contesting (running)
elections and forming governments
afterward


most political parties have roots in
cleavages left by historical
transformations (deeper in some
countries than in others)
typical left-right spectrum defines
parties





left parties: remnants of communist
parties
opposed capitalism, supported USSR
during cold war
social democratic parties:
supported nationalization of industry,
extensive social welfare programs, greater
equality
opposed USSR







liberals/radicals
19th century, supported fundamental change –
separation of church and state, market economy
democracy
Christian Democratic Parties
unresolved divisions over relationship between
church and state
appeal primarily to Catholics in Germany and
France
Right
secular conservatives – values similar to Christian
Dems but no religious agenda

catch-all parties

try to appeal to all voters

1950s: shift in public opinion to center


economic growth, expansion of welfare
state, escalation of cold war
end-of-ideology theory
•growing influence of television
•undermines ability of parties to take
strong ideological positions, shape
public opinion for long
•increase cynicism
Ideology
Belief
North America
Liberalism
Limited state role in society
and economic activity; high
degree of personal freedom
over social equality
Conservative
Communism
Limited personal freedom,
strong state in order to
achieve social equality; state
owns property, market forces
eliminated, state takes over
economic decisions
Radical
Social Democracy/
Socialism
Private property and markets,
but strong state role in
regulation and providing
benefits to public; balance
freedom and equality
Liberal
Fascism
Low degree of personal
freedom and equality in order
to achieve powerful state
Reactionary
Anarchism
Elimination of state and
private property to achieve
freedom and equality
Radical


postindustrial
in last half century, advanced
democracies have experienced clear
shift from economies based primarily
on industry and manufacturing to
economies based on service
employment by economic sector, 1960 - 2004
SERVICES
INDUSTRY
AGRICULTURE
United States
1960
2004
58%
78%
33%
20%
9%
2%
Canada
1960
2004
55%
75%
32%
22%
13%
3%
Japan
1960
2004
41%
68%
29%
28%
30%
4%
France
1960
2004
39%
73%
38%
23%
23%
4%




postmodern
premodern: focus on traditional forms of
authority and basic survival
modern: focus on rationality and science,
individualism, autonomy, progress
postmodern: focus on nonmaterial gain




postmaterialist
rapid economic growth, improved living
conditions
3rd affluent generation, assumed economic
security
focus on ‘higher order’ values: job and personal
satisfaction, self-actualization, international
understanding





postmaterialist, cont.
less conservative than earlier generations of
affluent voters
not left – serious reservations about welfare
state, socialism
more supportive of peace and environmental
movements
most likely to support Green party agenda

the new right

older, less educated, low skill

most threatened by high-tech, automation,
outsourcing

priorities: maintain standard of living, national
economic strength, security

hostile to rights of women and minorities,
supportive of economic nationalism and
traditional values
realignment


emergence of ‘new’ parties reflects how
slowly individual parties and the national
party system respond to social and
economic change
“realignment”: a shift in the basic electoral
balance of power in which substantial
groups in a society change their longterm
party identification
realignment cont.




dealignment always precedes
realignment
voters have to sever psychological
ties
rates of party identification have
plummeted
voter skepticism about what parties/
politicians can deliver
interest groups




a feature of all industrialized democracies
trade unions, business groups and other
associations that are most visible, disruptive and
influential
relationship between interest groups and decision
makers varies tremendously from country to
country
interest groups that concentrate on economic
issues and represent groups that are central to
the country’s economic future tend to have most
influence
political protest



also a feature of all industrialized democracies
great variation in tactics, numbers, longevity,
scope (national, regional, local), ideology
main catalyst for anger: feeling that electoral
process does not represent them

most do not question legitimacy of the regime

fringe groups have little influence
The Democratic State




the power relationship between the state and
society
key feature: how representation of the people in
government is handled
informal access to government (political parties,
interest groups, protest) do give citizens in
industrial democracies more influence BUT
democratic states do impose limits on what
people can do



Presidential vs. Parliamentary systems
both based on critical democratic principle
of competitive elections
only one industrialized democracy has a
true presidential system: USA


United States: overall intent of founders:
create a state in which it would be very difficult
for rulers to:

abuse power or

act quickly

need to compromise is not a problem – it is the
norm

Parliamentary system: with a secure majority
party or coalition, PM has little need to
compromise

quick, decisive, predictable action

US President: little leverage over what congress
does – noncompliant

bills can be drastically altered or easily defeated
at many points – incoherent result

Parliament: majority can guarantee that
proposals it introduces are passed intact compliant

US Presidential system: power is separated

Parliamentary system: power is fused

after election, parliament selects PM

not elected by country as a whole

normally head of majority party or coalition
parties

PM appoints rest of the cabinet

MPs who retain their seats while serving in the
cabinet
Cabinet responsibility to Parliament


most important feature of parliamentary
system
government remains in office until the
next election if and only if it retains the
support of the majority on all major pieces
of legislation
vote of confidence




government must keep its majority on votes of
confidence, in which parliament is explicitly asked
to affirm its support for the government
if government loses, it must resign
a new majority can come into existence within
existing parliament to form a new government or
Parliament is dissolved, leading to new election


in Parliamentary system, legislative
process rarely produces more than slight
changes in an introduced bill where there
is a clear majority
in Parliamentary system, lobbyists have to
exert their influence before legislation is
submitted to parliament
the rest of the state: the bureaucrats




law making and governing requires
expertise that most elected officials lack
2 additional sets of actors:
civil servants in the bureaucracy
leading interest group representatives




theoretically, civil servants are
dispassionate and apolitical
recruited and promoted on basis of merit
ideal: objective, scientific, expert, not
motivated buy ideology or personal
agenda, follow rules clearly laid out in law
reality: civil servants are important,
unelected, unaccountable policy makers
iron triangle


alliance between business, bureaucratic
and political elites
in U.S., A close relationship between an
agency, a congressional committee and an
interest group
Public Policy


orthodox economic theory: state should
not interfere in economy
properly functioning markets, driven by
balancing effects of supply and demand
will provide maximum wealth at minimum
cost




limitations:
free markets will not provide collective or
public goods
markets will only function optimally with
certain conditions that they will not selfimpose:
competition, absence of concentration of
wealth or power
Economic policy: from the interventionist state to
privatization






made even more necessary after Industrial
Revolution
offers services that private/charitable sectors
can’t or won’t offer
basic health care
education
unemployment compensation
pensions




21st century economic transformations  effects
on economic policy of democratic states
economic center of gravity shifting from
manufacturing to service sector
millions of jobs lost to automation or to the third
world
globalization of economic activity  no state has
the power it once had to enact and implement its
own economic policies
Foreign policy





cold war: most industrialized democracies followed foreign
policy lead of USA
post cold war: USA remains sole military superpower
western allies remain close on most issues of national
security
more autonomy on issues of trade, environmental policy,
etc.
intersection of international relations and comparative
politics