AP Comp Day 7 – How and WHAT will we compare?
Goal – to apply the ST and S-F (and other approaches) to real-world
analysis. To understand the factors to be compared and the data
used in empirical study. Understand democracy
1. How do we compare? Log on and link to quia S-F quiz,
2. Using the typological approach – the three world’s model vs McCormick’s
a)
b)
c)
Identify the 3 variables and 6 arenas of study in McCormick
What will we learn from analyzing the data presented in AR 11?
Develop 5 comparative questions that you want answered based on the data
presented. i.e. If the US has a higher crime rate than Britain, What distributive public
policies have led to lower crime? (ST 5) Do the state/ policies have higher legitimacy in
UK than US (st1 & 3)
3. Democracy according to Kesselman:
a)
Identify the 5 democratic conditions (minimum political features)necessary for a
political system to be typed as democratic – How are these qualified?
4. Democracy according to Powell AR #13
a)
b)
c)
Identify and explain the preconditions for democratic consolidation
Do you agree that these are the main characteristics and preconditions? What
should be added or removed to make our understanding of democracy more
complete and accurate?
How does the Briefing paper compare to Kesselman?
Repairing Democracy Promotion
By Thomas CarothersSpecial to washingtonpost.com's Think Tank Town
Friday, September 14, 2007; 12:00 AM
U.S. democracy promotion is in a deeply troubled state. The Bush
administration's close identification of democracy building with the war
in Iraq has discredited the concept both at home and abroad. America's
standing as a global symbol of democracy and human rights has been
crippled by the many U.S. abuses of the rule of law in the war on
terrorism.
Typology
Consolidated Democracy – long lasting democracy with deep and
extensive democratic characteristics.
Transitional Democracy – in the process of moving towards
consolidation somewhere along a continuum, but where non-democratic
characteristics like corruption, arbitrariness, violence, unfree or unfair
electoral actions, untamed military.
Authoritarianism – arbitrary power rests in the hands of one or a few
Preconditions for transitioning to consolidation
1 – civil society
2 – political society of rules, institutions and processes
3 – rule of law
4 – professional, permanent, apolitical bureaucracy and military
5 – economic society that has freedom within limits
Kesselman’s Democracy – minimum political features
1. Free and fair competitive elections with rules and regularity
2. Freedom of assembly and party activity
3. Procedures w/o arbitrariness, due process, transparency in
policy-making and accountability
4. Civil liberties and rights w/ political equality
5. Independent judiciary with power over other institutions of
gov’t
Kesselman’s Democracy
1 – political accountability – state must be able to be
held accountable by the governed
2 – political competition – alternation of power must be
possible for different political parties and the losers must
accept the winner’s right to govern
3 – political freedom – citizens must have the rights to
participate and be informed – must have rule of law and
independent judiciary
4 – political equality – all citizens must be able to
participate in politics with their votes and voices
weighted equally
Kesselman - Qualification of the Democracy definition
1. Democracy is not necessarily wise or rational – democracy is
empirical – it defines a type of system. Do not imply normative
positive values
2. Democracy can be inequitable
3. No country is completely democratic
4. Contentiousness of issues often result in legitimate and valid
positions that result competing democratic “rights” whereby
there is a winner and loser, where the loser believes that the
decision may be illegitimate
5. Economic inequalities stack the deck against the poor in the
arena of politics
6. Many different institutional types of democracies, not just
presidential – each may appear more or less “democratic” but
in reality are just different manifestations.
Kesselman - Preconditions for consolidation
Transitional Democracies
Authoritarian
Electoral authoritarian
Illiberal
procedural
Substantive D
For a system to be typed as having transitioned from
authoritarianism through the transitional democracy types to
being a consolidated democracy, the system must have:
1. met the five conditions of democracy
a) Free fair elections
b) Freedom of political assembly
c) Regime has accountability based on fixed, knowable,
transparent procedures
d) Civil and political rights
e) Independent judiciary
2. Been in existence for some kind of length of time
3. Democratic practices that have become deeply ingrained and
the five conditions have been met relatively consistently
Democratization Briefing Paper
Democratization is the process by which a nation-state
moves from non-democracy through procedural to
fully consolidated substantive democracy.
This has happened in three waves
1. 19th and early 20th C – US, UK, France (sorta),
Canada, et al
2. After WWII as empires crumbled and fascism failed
3. 70’s through 90’s as communism and the USSR
failed and the authoritarians throughout saw their
fragile economies and corrupt leadership styles
become illegitimated
Democratization Briefing Paper
Substantive Democracy – like Kesselman’s
enduring or consolidated democracy
Procedural democracy – has the basics like a
newly transitional democracy, but not
consolidated yet
Illiberal democracy – has the appearance of
democracy, like a Potemkin Village, but the
underlying factors do not exist to much extent
Electoral authoritarianism – non-democracies
who pretend to be democratic
Briefing Paper - Preconditions of Democratization
There needs to be commitment by elites and polity for democracy and
ripeness in the conditions in society
Level of economic development – while not necessary, it is often an
important catalyst in producing modernization:
a. an environment of education,
b. widespread information media,
c. improved infrastructure for information and transportation,
d. leading to civil society and better living standards.
All of this helps to lead to democratization.
• International and regional environment of democracy – if the world,
trading partners and neighbors want democracy, it puts pressure on
system to democratize
But
• If modernization leads to complex states, with complex and very
valuable system outputs, there is significantly increased pressure for
corruption leading to criteria of authoritarianism
Democratization Briefing Paper
Substantive democracy – consolidation includes
1. Democratic competition accepted by all major
actors seeking political influence
2. Citizen participation
3. Rule of law
4. Society has accepted the values of competitive
parties, independent judiciaries, subordinated
militaries, and the rule of law
5. Continued modernization and improved standards
of living – generally, but not always
Kesselman
AR#15 - Briefing Paper
Preconditions for consolidation Preconditions of Democratization
1 – civil society
1. Level of economic development –
while not necessary, it is often an
2 – political society of rules,
important catalyst in producing
modernization:
institutions and processes
a. an environment of education,
3 – rule of law
b. widespread information media,
4 – professional, permanent,
c. improved infrastructure for
apolitical bureaucracy and
information and transportation,
military
d. leading to civil society and better
living standards.
5 – economic society that has
e. All of this helps to lead to
freedom within limits
democratization.
2. International and regional
environment of democracy – if the
world, trading partners and
neighbors want democracy, it puts
pressure on system to democratize
Kesselman
Consolidated democracy
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
AR#15 - Briefing Paper
Substantive/consolidated democracy
Free and fair competitive elections with•
rules and regularity
Freedom of assembly and party activity
•
Procedures w/o arbitrariness, due
process, transparency in policy-making •
and accountability
•
Civil liberties & rights w/ political
•
equality
Independent judiciary with power over •
other institutions of gov’t
•
political freedom
•
civil society
political society of rules, institutions
and processes
rule of law
•
professional, permanent, apolitical
bureaucracy and military
economic society that has freedom
within limits
Democratic competition accepted by all
major actors seeking political influence
Political and Civil rights
Civil society
Multiple & free sources of info
Citizen participation
Rule of law
Independent judiciary
Society has accepted the values of
competitive parties, independent
judiciaries, subordinated militaries, and
the rule of law
Continued modernization and improved
standards of living
Briefing Paper - process of democratization
1. Independence
2. Breakdown of
authoritarianism
a. Can be top down
a. Military dealmaking
b. Death of the leader
b. Bottom up
During “transition” a country
needs:
Civil society
Contingent consent political
culture – belief in the value of
compromise
Elections becoming freer and fairer
a. Economic problems
Development of political and
communication freedom
b. Education and civil
society development
Development of rules and
accountability procedures
3. Democratic institutions and
practices – procedural
democracy
4. Consolidation
Decreasing use of coercion,
repression and force and the
development of values against these
tools
Briefing Paper – outcomes of democratization process
1. Further consolidation can occur if
a. Economic and social development/ modernization occurs
b. Citizens culture accepts the principles of democracy and demand
them
c. Institutions must follow the rules and continue to promote the
criteria of democracy
d. Public policies must continue to advance democratic criteria
rather than retard them
2. If democratization deepens, then:
a. Less likely to enter into war
b. Much less likely for human rights abuses
c. No genocide
d. Few life-threatening problems like famine
3. Unclear if democracy leads to improved education, economics, life
expectancy, or if these factors ae causes of democracy
S and K - Procedures Democracy in a nation-state:
1. Elected officials make policy within constitutional limits w/o
veto from informal or unelected sources or from supersovereign influences from abroad
2. competitive, fair, free, non-coercive & regular elections
3. practically full universal suffrage
4. Practically universal right to run for office
5. Free and noncoercive right to expression
6. Free, widely available & multiple information sources
7. Civil society
Plus 2 – 1. elected officials cannot be vetoed by unelected bodies
like the military
2. Sovereignty of political system – cannot be vetoed by
external system
S and K’s factors of feasibility for Democracy in a
nation-state are:
1. “contingent consent”
1. Agreement that electoral winners get to rule, but winners
cannot freeze out opposition
2. Citizens must follow rules, currently agreed to or not, so
long as there is legitimacy based partially on belief that
free elections will occur later
2. There does not have to be consensus, just rule of law
consistent with the political culture or set of political norms
3. Must be opportunity for alternation of power and policy