18. Southern Europe

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Gunther
Keyword(s):  
Regime Change ◽  
The Political ◽  
Southern Europe ◽  
Mass Mobilization ◽  
Democratic Transitions ◽  
Cultural Characteristics ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
Transitions To Democracy ◽  
Social Structural ◽  
Distinguishing Features

This chapter examines the political consequences of different types of regime change in Southern Europe by comparing democratic transitions via ‘elite pacts’ or ‘elite convergence’ with those involving much higher levels of mass mobilization. It begins with overviews of the distinguishing features of the transitions to democracy in Portugal, Greece, and Spain, along with some observations about how the processes of regime transformation affected the conduct of politics for several years after democracy was established. It then considers the relevance of international actors and events, economic factors, as well as social-structural and cultural characteristics to processes of regime change. It also discusses lessons that can be drawn from the experiences of Portugal, Greece, and Spain and shows that the type of regime transition can have a significant impact on the success of democratization.

19. Southern Europe

2018 ◽  
pp. 285-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Gunther
Keyword(s):  
Regime Change ◽  
The Political ◽  
Southern Europe ◽  
Mass Mobilization ◽  
Democratic Transitions ◽  
Cultural Characteristics ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
Transitions To Democracy ◽  
Social Structural ◽  
Distinguishing Features

This chapter examines the political consequences of different types of regime change in Southern Europe by comparing democratic transitions via ‘elite pacts’ or ‘elite convergence’ with those involving much higher levels of mass mobilization. It begins with overviews of the distinguishing features of the transitions to democracy in Portugal, Greece, and Spain, along with some observations about how the processes of regime transformation affected the conduct of politics for several years after democracy was established. It then considers the relevance of international actors and events, economic factors, as well as social-structural and cultural characteristics to processes of regime change. It also discusses lessons that can be drawn from the experiences of Portugal, Greece, and Spain and shows that the type of regime transition can have a significant impact on the success of democratization.

Dictators and Democrats

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephan Haggard ◽  
Robert R. Kaufman
Keyword(s):  
First Century ◽  
Organizational Capabilities ◽  
Mass Mobilization ◽  
Democratic Transitions ◽  
Authoritarian Rule ◽  
Emerging Democracies ◽  
Regime Changes ◽  
Political Landscape ◽  
Transitions To Democracy ◽  
Multiple Routes

From the 1980s through the first decade of the twenty-first century, the spread of democracy across the developing and postcommunist worlds transformed the global political landscape. What drove these changes and what determined whether the emerging democracies would stabilize or revert to authoritarian rule? This book takes a comprehensive look at the transitions to and from democracy in recent decades. Deploying both statistical and qualitative analysis, the book engages with theories of democratic change and advocates approaches that emphasize political and institutional factors. While inequality has been a prominent explanation for democratic transitions, the book argues that its role has been limited, and elites as well as masses can drive regime change. Examining seventy-eight cases of democratic transition and twenty-five cases of reversion to autocracy since 1980, the book shows how differences in authoritarian regimes and organizational capabilities shape popular protest and elite initiatives in transitions to democracy, and how institutional weaknesses cause some democracies to fail. The determinants of democracy lie in the strength of existing institutions and the public's capacity to engage in collective action. There are multiple routes to democracy, but those growing out of mass mobilization may provide more checks on incumbents than those emerging from intra-elite bargains. Moving beyond well-known beliefs regarding regime changes, this book explores the conditions under which transitions to democracy are likely to arise.

Introduction

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephan Haggard ◽  
Robert R. Kaufman
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Research Method ◽  
The Political ◽  
Third Wave ◽  
Structural Factors ◽  
Mass Mobilization ◽  
Democratic Transitions ◽  
Political Factors ◽  
The Third ◽  
Democratic Rule

This book examines regime change during the so-called Third Wave by focusing on transitions to and from democratic rule, taking into account factors such as the nature of authoritarian and democratic institutions, regime performance, and capacities for collective action on the part of civil society. Drawing on seventy-eight discrete democratic transitions and twenty-five cases of reversion to autocracy that occurred between 1980 and 2008 as coded in two widely used datasets, the book considers how structural factors affect transitions to and reversions from democracy. It shows that democratization driven by mass mobilization appears to hinge on political factors: how exclusionary or co-optive authoritarian regimes are and the extent to which publics are capable of mobilizing grievances into the political arena. This introduction defines core terms and justifies the book's focus on the Third Wave. It also previews the book's empirical findings and concludes with a note on the research method used.

Political Bargaining and Democratic Transitions: A Comparison of Nicaragua and El Salvador

1999 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
LAURA NUZZI O'SHAUGHNESSY ◽  
MICHAEL DODSON
Keyword(s):  
El Salvador ◽  
Regime Change ◽  
Institutional Reform ◽  
The Political ◽  
Democratic Transitions ◽  
Political Bargaining ◽  
Polarisation Characteristic ◽  
The Relationship

This article examines the relationship between pact-making and democratic transitions in Nicaragua (1988–1997) and El Salvador (1990–1997). We argue that the process of elite bargaining about regime change affects the prospects for the consolidation of democracy. We emphasise three factors: (1) the choices key actors make as they bargain about bargaining, (2) their willingness to ‘under-utilise’ their power and (3) the influence of historical and structural contingencies upon the key choices made. Essential to our discussion of historical and structural contingencies is the interrelation of domestic and international actors and the importance of demilitarisation and institutional reform. We argue that these three factors favoured El Salvador more than Nicaragua, although neither nation has overcome the political polarisation characteristic of transitional regimes.

Modeling Democratic Transitions

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terence Teo
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Political Mobilization ◽  
Third Wave ◽  
Mass Mobilization ◽  
Democratic Transitions ◽  
The Third ◽  
Transitions To Democracy ◽  
Distributive Conflict ◽  
Mass Protest ◽  
Prairie Fire

This chapter examines why some democratic transitions were driven by mass mobilization, while others appeared to be predominantly elite processes, with a greater role for international influences as well. It first outlines core theoretical arguments about the way authoritarian regimes and the capacity for collective action influence transitions to democracy before discussing some statistical modeling of transitions during the Third Wave. Contrary to “prairie fire” models of political mobilization, this chapter shows that enduring social organizations play a major role in fomenting the mass protest that drives distributive conflict transitions, particularly unions and ethnonationalist organizations. Moreover, it provides evidence that these factors do not give us purchase in explaining elite-led transitions.

Inequality and Transitions to Democracy

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephan Haggard ◽  
Robert R. Kaufman
Keyword(s):  
Rational Choice ◽  
Regime Change ◽  
Third Wave ◽  
Sample Period ◽  
Democratic Transitions ◽  
The Third ◽  
Transitions To Democracy ◽  
Distributive Conflict ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Universe

This chapter explores the relationship between inequality, distributive conflict, and regime change during the Third Wave of democratic transitions (1980–2008). It first provides an overview of the theory and existing quantitative findings on the link between inequality and democratic transitions before discussing the results obtained by using an empirical approach that selects all transitions in the relevant sample period identified in the Polity and CGV datasets. It shows that about half of the transitions analyzed are the result of the mobilized de facto power envisioned by both the sociological and rational choice distributive conflict theories. Cases of democratization driven by distributive conflict constituted only slightly more than half of the universe of transitions during the period, and neither transitions in general nor those driven by distributive conflict were correlated with economic inequality. The emergence of democracy in the advanced industrial states stemmed in part from fundamental changes in class structures.

Language Movement and Civil War in West Africa

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ericka A. Albaugh
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Political Process ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
Language Spread ◽  
The 1960S

This chapter examines how civil war can influence the spread of language. Specifically, it takes Sierra Leone as a case study to demonstrate how Krio grew from being primarily a language of urban areas in the 1960s to one spoken by most of the population in the 2000s. While some of this was due to “normal” factors such as population movement and growing urbanization, the civil war from 1991 to 2002 certainly catalyzed the process of language spread in the 1990s. Using census documents and surveys, the chapter tests the hypothesis at the national, regional, and individual levels. The spread of a language has political consequences, as it allows for citizen participation in the political process. It is an example of political scientists’ approach to uncovering the mechanisms for and evidence of language movement in Africa.

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