Term
| Economic Causes of Regime Breakdown |
|
Definition
Modernization - Seymour Martin Lipset advanced the argument that socioeconomic development is a prerequisite for democracy. As societies modernize, social structures become more complex, creating new groups which produce a system that can no longer be governed by command, resulting in democracy.
Economic performance of regimes - This approach argues that enduring levels of poor economic performance trigger regime changes. As the economy in a country deteriorates, the resources are reduced, making it harder to maintain the regime’s bases of support. |
|
|
Term
| Social Causes of Regime Breakdown |
|
Definition
Theory of Rising Expectations - People have expectations about their future and significant events like regime change can cause people to raise their expectations. When expectations go unmet, people advocate change.
Ethnic Conflict - Many countries have multiple ethnic groups, causing cleavages. Ethnic divisions threaten regimes due to problems of inclusion and exclusion (those with power get privileges, those without do not). When groups feel that exclusions are becoming permanent, they may try to threaten the regime through violence. Likewise, groups in power may try to maintain power by using violence.
Theory of Relative Deprivation - Examines when people have a relatively stable set of expectations that have been met over time. When these expectations are no longer being met, then people will begin to support change |
|
|
Term
| Political Causes of Regime Change |
|
Definition
Corruption - Corruption creates economic inefficiencies and it is hard for the public to trust political leaders who benefit personally from corruption, hence when corruption is high, people want change.
Institutional failure - When institutions of government don’t function, it is hard for a regime to sustain itself (ex. When legislatures can no longer pass laws due to fractionalized party systems)
War - History is full of defeated regimes who have broken down. When a country can no longer maintain the integrity of its borders, it has little hope for survival. (Ex. Germany and Japan adopted democracy post WWII). |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
1) Political Elite - Consists of political leaders, bureaucrats, members of legislature, etc. May withdraw support from regime when the 'losers' (opposition, etc.) want to defeat the 'winners' (existing regime) to further their own goals. They may also feel strongly about a certain policy or for the welfare of the country.
2)Business Elite - Consists of the people outside of government involved in the functioning of the country’s economy, including the leaders of the country’s largest corporations, key associational groups and trade groups. May withdraw support if the economy is doing poorly or they feel left out of the political process and feel change is needed to benefit the economy.
3) The Military - They execute military coups. Internal explanations: The military may withdraw support if they are concerned about their institutional survival (feel like military discipline is being undermined). External explanations: Feeling that the current regime is corrupt/unable to lead the nation may lead to withdrawal of support. Sometimes, the military is seeking a larger role in determining policy.
4) Mass Public - Consists of the mass amount of 'regular' citizens, who have a lot of power. May withdraw support for economic reasons (economy is doing poorly, economic crisis, failure to meet expectations) or political reasons (scandals involving leaders, corruption, assassinations of leaders)
5) International community - includes any actors not resident in the country. Aid and trade greatly influence regimes. International organizations like the World Bank and the IMF are more likely to give aid when countries are democratizing and often create preconditions for aid which involve pushing towards democracy. Trade is also easier amongst democratic countries. |
|
|
Term
| 3 Basic Consequences of Regime Breakdown |
|
Definition
- Nondemocratic change
- Liberalization - Adopting some civil/political liberties to stave off radical change and expand opportunities for trade/aid
- Democratization - announcing an election, adopting a new/rewriting the Constitution |
|
|
Term
| 3 Main Forms of Nondemocratic Regime Change |
|
Definition
- Political Dissent
- Rebellion
- State Failure |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
- Involves some form of action taken to indicate a rejection of the existing order
1) Protest - ex. Student protests
2) Domestic violence/terror - ex. the IRA
3) International terrorism - ex. 911 |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
1) Coup d'etat - The overthrow of a political regime through military force. The military may do this for two reasons: 1) They are working in the national interest of the country and will seek power when the existing government has lost legitimacy or 2) They are working in corporate interest and feel that their existence is at risk under the current regime, hence they fight to defend themselves.
2) Autogulpe - A self-coup in which the country’s leader decides to rule by decree (Ex. Alberto Fujimori of Peru) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
- Involves more than rebellion, coups or riots, but refers to a situation where the structure, authority (legitimate power), law, and political order have fallen apart and must be reconstituted in some form, old or new
1) Civil war
2) Social breakdown (Ex. Somalian famine killed 300,000 people and tribal conflict, fighting, etc. ensued. The country was ruled by tribal warlords and all services usually carried out by a state ceased to function. Somalia was close to anarchy) |
|
|
Term
| Huntington's Waves of Democratization |
|
Definition
- Huntington argues that there have been 3 waves of democratization (towards democracy) and two reverse waves (away from democracy) in history
- 1st Wave - Rooted in the American and French revolutions. Began in 1828 with the American election. By the end of it, 33 countries experienced some sort of democratic transition.
- 1st reverse wave - Began in 1922 with Mussolini’s rise to power in Italy and continued with Hitler’s rise to power in Germany. During this time, military coups overthrew democracy in many places around the world.
2nd wave - Began during WWII but lasted only through the early 1960s. Countries like Japan and West Germany adopted democracy and others (like in Latin America) followed. Many were the result of the decline of colonial rule, but these were short-lived.
- The 2nd reverse wave - A return to nondemocratic regimes around the world and democracies were swept from power through military force
- 3rd wave - Began in southern Europe with the end of dictatorial rule in Portugal, followed quickly by a return to democracy in Greece and Spain. This wave picked up steam in the 70s in Latin America where Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia all saw military governments withdraw from power. The movement spread through Latin America and to Asia. The collapse of the Soviet Union triggered democracy in Eastern Europe and democracy began to spread to Africa in the 90s. More recently, democratization has been seen in the Middle East |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Democratic consolidation exists when none of the major political actors, parties, organized interests, forces or institutions consider that there is any alternative to democratic processes to gain power and when no political institution or group has a claim to veto the action of democratically elected decision makers |
|
|
Term
| Challenges to Consolidation |
|
Definition
- Asserting civilian control over the military
- Reforming the institutions of government
- Fostering the growth of civil society
- Improving relations with the international community |
|
|
Term
| Consequences of Consolidation |
|
Definition
- Political rights (like right to vote, fairness of electoral rules, the ability to organize political parties, meaningful opposition)
- Civil liberties (freedoms to hold views, maintain institutions and possess personal autonomy)
- Society recognizes the importance of liberties
- The political elite sees democracy as the only possible regime and spends time trying to take advantage of the rules in order to gain power
- The military takes its orders from the civilian government and is now professional and divorced from politics
- Civil society has blossomed
- The socioeconomic situation has gradually improved
- On an international level, the country is more involved
- Aid donors and trade partners no longer question if they should be engaged with this country
- This regime is no longer questioned over democratic legitimacy |
|
|
Term
| 3 Approaches to Conceptualizing Democracy |
|
Definition
- Focus on the source of authority
- Focus on the outputs of government
- Focus on the procedures for constituting the government |
|
|
