CONSOLIDATION &
CIVIL SOCIETY
PLAN FOR TODAY
1.
2.
3.
Summarizing Diamond’s tasks for
consolidation.
Evaluating concept of consolidation.
Distinguishing among civil society
definitions and their pros/ cons.
Necessary Developments to Promote
Consolidation
(Linz & Stepan, Diamond)
Tasks to Foster Consolidation
(Diamond)
1.
2.
3.
Democratic deepening.
Political institutionalization.
Regime performance.
Democratic Deepening
1.
2.
Making formal institutions more liberal,
accountable, representative, accessible.
No illiberal, electoral democracies during
third wave have achieved consolidation.
1.
E.g. Russia, Venezuela: deconsolidation.
Political Institutionalization
1.
2.
Movement to routinized, predictable patterns
of political behavior around common rules
and procedures.
3 types of institutions involved:
1.
2.
3.
State apparatus.
Institutions of democratic representation and
governance.
Structures that ensure rule of law.
Regime Performance
Economic Performance
1.
2.
Long record of economic performance can
build “reservoir of legitimacy” to weather
crises.
Cannot be widespread perception that few
are benefiting disproportionately.
1.
3.
E.g. South Africa.
Economic hardship generally doesn’t topple
democracies.
Regime Performance
Political Performance

1.
2.
3.
People care about political goods as well as
economic.
Order: physical safety, peace.
Prestige of country in international affairs
(sometimes).
Political freedom, accountability, lack of
corruption.
Is Consolidation an Appropriate Concept?
Problems with the concept of
consolidation
1.
How can consolidated democracies
become deconsolidated?
Problems with the concept of
consolidation
2.
How do we know when threshold of
consolidation is crossed?

How many people have to believe and
how strongly?
Problems with the concept of
consolidation
3.
Teleological aspect.



Assumption that events are naturally meant
to follow this path.
Mirroring modernization theory.
Unclear where definition of consolidation
comes from.
Problems with the concept of
consolidation
4.
Persistence of stable unconsolidated
regimes.

“Delegative democracies” (O’Donnell).
Problems with the concept of
consolidation
5.
Definition of institutionalization
(O’Donnell).

“Institution”: “regularized pattern of
interaction that is known, practiced, and
accepted by actors…” (O’Donnell)
Problems with the concept of
consolidation
5.
Definition of institutionalization
(O’Donnell).

Neglect of strong informal institutions.

E.g. Patron-client relations.
Problems with the concept of
consolidation


Solution may be to develop typologies
of democracy, without assuming stages
to consolidation.
E.g. (Collier & Levitsky)




“Electoral” democracy.
“Delegative” democracy.
“Limited” democracy.
“De facto one-party” democracy.
CIVIL SOCIETY
EMBLEMATIC IMAGES OF CIVIL SOCIETY
IN DEMOCRATIZATION:
 Prior
to/ during transition: protests to
push authoritarian regimes out of power.

Video of opposition protests in Belarus, March
2006 (Ukrainian TV footage)
 Following
transition: professionalized
organizations with narrower
specialization, sometimes seeing role in
democracy.

Video on Maria Rikhvanova, Russian
environmental activist.
DEFINING CIVIL
SOCIETY
DEFINING CIVIL SOCIETY
1.
Civil society as a collective
noun:
•NGOs
•Political parties? (e.g. Fish def’n.)
•Religious organizations?
•State-funded organizations?
DEFINING CIVIL SOCIETY
2.
Civil society as a space.
•
John Hall: Civil society a social
space for human experimentation
with identities.
Larry Diamond: “Realm of
organized social life…”
•
LARRY DIAMOND
 Different
from society in general –
citizens acting collectively in public
sphere.
 Intermediary between private life
and the state.
 Publicly oriented rather than private
ends.
DEFINING CIVIL SOCIETY
3.

Civil society as values or
norms.
Values that bind people together
collectively to promote democratic
attachment.
ROBERT PUTNAM
 Values
of trust, tolerance, mutual
cooperation.
 Not necessarily political advocacy
organizations.
 Building “social capital.”