Democratic consolidation

Ce mémoire a pour but d’évaluer le rôle de la société civile dans le processus de consolidation démocratique sud-coréen à travers l’exemple de la mobilisation sociale ayant suivi le naufrage du ferry Sewol en avril 2014. La préoccupation principale est de déterminer si la société civile est toujours mobilisée vingt-cinq ans après la transition à un régime démocratique. La mobilisation du Sewol montre que la société civile sud-coréenne s’est remobilisée et participe de la politisation d’enjeux afin de mettre à l’agenda des réformes démocratiques destinées à être entreprises par l’Etat. Néanmoins le gouvernement et plus généralement la société politique sud-coréenne est immobilisée, léthargique et ne prend pas la mesure des aspirations de la société civile. Ainsi le dialogue entre société civile et société politique, crucial dans ce contexte de consolidation démocratique, est miné. En raison du manque de confiance entre les deux parties, les membres de la société civile et plus généralement les citoyens ont tendance à contourner le jeu des partis politiques, ce qui pourrait être dangereux pour le futur de la consolidation démocratique sud-coréenne.

Mots-clés : Corée du Sud – Sewol – société civile – société politique – transition démocratique – consolidation démocratique – politisation – mouvements sociaux

This thesis is intended to assess the role of civil society in South Korean democratic consolidation process through the example of the social mobilization following the April 2014 Sewol ferry tragedy. The main concern is to determine whether civil society is still mobilized or not twenty five years after the transition to a democratic regime. The Sewol mobilization shows that South Korean civil society re-mobilized and is currently politicizing issues in order to push for democratic reforms to be implemented by the state. However the government and generally speaking South Korean political society is immobilized, lethargic and does not understand civil society’s aspirations. Therefore the dialogue between civil society and political society, crucial in this democratic consolidation context, is undermined. As a consequence of the lack of trust between both parties, civil society members and citizens more generally tend to bypass the political parties arena, which could be dangerous for the future of South Korean democratic consolidation.

Key-words: South Korea – Sewol – civil society – political society – democratic transition – democratic consolidation – politicization – social movements

The textbook Transition to Democracy in Central Europe focuses on the
Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia and their transition from communist regimes to democratic ones. Different problems of democratic development are under scrutiny. These states lie in the part of Europe, which is from the regional perspective called Central Europe. But this perspective and the determination of this region can be different going more to West or more to East. The aim of the present textbook is to give an overview of selected topics related to political development in Central Europe in the last one hundred years. The focus is put on the installation, character and fall of communist regimes, mode of transition to democracy and the given issues of democratic consolidation as it was with the state division in the case of Czechoslovakia, transition from one party system to a multiparty system, dealing with the communist past, economic transition and international influence on the democratization process. A great part of the book is also dedicated to an overview of relations with the European Union and to a lesser degree with NATO. Each chapter is accompanied by questions, by which the students can verify their acquired knowledge, and by further reading developing the topic.

Ghana's fourth attempt at constitutional democratic governance which started in 1992 has been plagued with negative acts of political vigilantism. Political vigilante groups play a key role in securing electoral victory for their parties. But they are also key agents in pushing their parties to opposition. Vigilante groups, particularly those belonging to the party that won elections have over the years, taken the laws of the country into their own hands, forcibly ejected officials of previous administration from their apartments and physically assaulted them, as well as engaged in seizures of public property and assets in the custody of public officials in an uncoordinated manner. These acts have fuelled polarization in Ghana's body politic and undermined the nation's drive towards democratic maturity. What accounts for the rise in the activities of vigilante groups? How useful are these groups to political parties? In what specific ways do vigilante groups pose a threat to Ghana's democratic governance? These and other allied questions are addressed in this article.

A chief topic of this book is the advance of democracy in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
The three countries belong to the most ‘successful’ cases of transition from communist
rule to democracy, demonstrated by the fact that they joined the European Union in 2004.
In contrast to other new EU members, the Baltic countries were constituents of the Soviet
Union and, thus, had to embark upon state- and nation-building in tandem with democratisation
and marketisation. Estonia and Latvia (but to a smaller extent Lithuania) were
left with considerable numbers of immigrants from the Soviet period, which prompted the
authorities to impose fairly restrictive citizenship laws. One in five Estonian and Latvian
remain excluded even after 15 years of independence. This situation has created a great
deal of tension, but at least thus far, no political meltdown. The case for imposing strict
citizenship requirements centred on the fact that the countries were forced into the Soviet
Union, but it was clearly also related to nation-building and fear of Russian influence in
determining the path from communist rule. Arguably, democratisation and nation-building
are based on different, sometimes even conflicting logics. Thus, a key question in this
book is to what extent – and how – diverging understanding of the political community
affects democratic legitimacy.
Another central task is to determine the strength of the ties between Baltic citizens and
the respective political systems – in terms of support for the regimes and the degree of
representation of societal interests through political parties. Applying the New Baltic
Barometer 1993–2004, the book explores levels of political support among native Baltic
citizens and the Russian-speaking minority groups. It reveals that democracy as an ideal
enjoys increasing support, but that many Baltic citizens remain unconvinced about the
performance of democracy. Corruption and the rule of law are particularly thorny issues
in Latvia and Lithuania, while political parties and MPs are widely held in contempt in all
three countries. The Russian-speakers appear somewhat more reluctant to embrace the
current system, expressing greater enthusiasm for the Soviet system of the past.
Yet another section explores the nature of political representation and the expression
of demands and interests from below, offering a comprehensive examination of the Baltic
party systems, including types of parties, issue dimensions, public attitudes to distributional
questions, and to what extent parties channel or mirror social interests. An underlying
theme is the extent to which the party systems are based on some degree of cleavage
structures, or if questions of identity and nationality eclipse social interests or, alternatively,
if Baltic politics at heart is driven by strong personalities rather than interest politics.
Finally, the book presents the case for a specific pattern of ‘Baltic democracy’, marked
by divided political communities, ambiguous mass-elite relations, and weak political representation.
Conceivably, many Baltic citizens would prefer reduced political competition
and stronger, more assertive leaders. Moreover, the strong emphasis on nation-building
turns the Baltic countries into a potential playground for identity politics. For the time
being, at least, this makes the ideological space open-ended and malleable, leaving fertile
ground for fleeting populism.

Dominance by a single party can deteriorate the quality of representation. Yet, surprisingly, voters sometimes support a formerly dominant party they had previously thrown out of power. As an important case, this essay studies the PRI’s victory in the 2012 elections in Mexico. Why did voters give it a new chance at ruling the country? Fraud accusations have been shown to be insufficient, so this research looks for electoral reasons. The paper points to fatigue with the incumbent party; unsatisfying economic and security conditions; ineffective campaigns by both the PAN and the PRD candidates; the PRI’s popularity based on its governing experience; and a convincing PRI candidate that secured the conservative, rural and poor voters. This conveys the mandate for Peña Nieto to produce tangible results without abandoning democracy. More broadly, these observations shed light on the perplexing phenomenon of formerly dominant parties making an electoral comeback.

"Intra-party democracy is an element of participatory democracy that is widely perceived as being necessary for the development of a democratic culture in the wider society. This book examines the state of internal party democracy in East Africa with specific reference to how processes of institutionalisation, inclusiveness and (de)centralisation influence levels of participatory democracy.
While debate continues on exactly how much internal democracy is good for political party effectiveness, there is some consensus on its usefulness in increasing participatory democracy in the wider society. The discussion draws on normative political theory developed largely from studies of political parties in western democracies.
This book seeks to determine if and to what extent these models are adequate for the study and analysis of African political parties and party systems. It concludes that whereas intra-party democracy is a desirable ideal, African political parties are products of distinct socio-economic and historical circumstances to which existing models do not fit wholly and need to be reviewed."

This dissertation seeks to examine the challenges and opportunities for democratic consolidation in Tanzania from the perspective of the opposition parties. Tanzania achieved procedural democracy through the re-introduction of a multi-party system in 1992. Since then, Tanzania has held five peaceful general elections, with the exception of election-related conflicts in Zanzibar. However, the ruling CCM party has always been dominant since independence in 1961 and the opposition parties are accusing the ruling party of being authoritarian. To understand the issues, this study focuses on the underdevelopment of opposition parties in Tanzania. It has been presumed that opposition parties are weak and have little impact on Tanzanian politics. This study, however, argues that democratic consolidation in Tanzania is primarily dependent on the opposition parties. Following a brief introduction of the history of the multi-party politics in Tanzania since 1958, the dissertation explains that the underdevelopment of opposition parties is the result of the ‘controlled transition’ by the strong state. The democratisation lacked public participation and excluded wider agendas of substantive democratisation. As a result, the institutions and the political culture from the authoritarian periods retain its influence in democratised Tanzania. Through the examination of opposition parties in Tanzania, the study identifies that political parties, which lack social base, became a vehicle for pursuing their own interests rather than being accountable to the public. In conclusion, it must be noted that there some visible developments of opposition parties and relevant democratic progress are observed, though democracy of Tanzania is partially consolidated both institutionally and socially. The analysis of Tanzania’s opposition parties will deepen the understanding of partial consolidation and importance of opposition parties’ role in new democracies of African countries, which particularly have dominant party systems.

The task to reshape governments in the countries confronted with the Arab Spring prompts the question whether there are necessary conditions to realize a stable society that simultaneously seeks to eliminate the elements that have led to the uprisings. Acknowledging some constitutional rights seems indispensable in such a process. I argue that such a state of affairs is indeed the case, at least now that the ‘old’ justifications to differentiate between people do not suffice anymore. That is not to say that the countries involved will have identical laws in each respect, but merely that a common basis has to be realized, manifested in political and legal equality, so this given does not derogate from the fact that each country’s specific legislation needs to be shaped in the light of its own history. Such a basis has no ‘moral’ character, but is simply a necessary condition to prevent sedition.

This paper sets out an ambitious critique of contemporary political scientists, political historians and others concerned with the history of democracy. It argues that overwhelmingly the history of democracy relies on an overtly Eurocentric narrative that emphasizes the keystone moments of Western civilization. According to this narrative, democracy has a clear trajectory that can be traced from ancient experiments with participatory government in Greece and to a lesser extent in Rome, through the development of the British parliament, the American Declaration of Independence and the French Revolution, and then finally onto the triumphant march of the liberal model of democracy across the globe over the last 200 years, particularly under Western tutelage. Histories of democracy that focus exclusively on these events not only privilege Europe and its successful colonies, but also miss the broader human story of the struggle for and achievement of democracy.

This presents us with a distinct challenge. For those whose heritage does not include a direct link to Greek assemblies, the American Congress or the French Revolution, the 'standard history of democracy' provides a distant and exclusive narrative, which limits one's ability to embrace democracy. This paper concludes by noting that, as democracy spreads out across the world today, political scientists not only need to break down the intellectual orthodoxy that democracy has exclusively Western roots, but also to embrace a more global view of democracy as a political practise that has been present at various times and in sometimes unfamiliar ways in the complex histories and rich cultural traditions of most of the people of the earth.

Abstract
Nigeria’s elections so far have been characterized by unprecedented ferocious and violent outcome due to various forms of electoral manipulations which have denied the country credible free and fair elections in her body politics. The scenario has not only marred democratic consolidation in Nigeria but has also violated the fundamental human rights (right to life) of so many Nigerians. Elections and democratic consolidation in Nigeria with a study of the 2015 general elections as the focus of the research, posits that democracy sits on the horn of a dilemma in Nigeria. The inadequacies of democracy and its practice as a political ideology in Nigeria is illustrated by the tactics and tantrums of her political leaders and faulty political process. Free and fair election is still a mirage. In as much of the paradigm shift in the 2015 general election, as scholars and analyst acknowledged as free fair and credible. Hence, the research study will focus on the meaning and content of democracy and highlight the problems and assesses the prospects for consolidating democracy in Nigeria under the prevailing national, socio-economic and political conditions. The study will further examine the interface between credible election and democratic consolidation with specific reference to the 2015 general election. Finally examines the place of morals in democratic consolidation and how electoral frauds have become a threat to the survival, growth and consolidation of democracy in Nigeria with observed recommendations for further studies.

The  model  of  democracy  that  is  popular  in  this  age  of  globalization  is  liberal democracy  (Ikpe  2011),  democracy  is  a  descriptive  term  that  is  synonymous  with majority  rule,  it  associated  with  democratic  consolidation  and  good  governance. However,  in  Nigeria,  effort  to  attained  the  high  level  of  democratic  consolidation  and good  governance  have  been  made  but  not  yet  to  be  crowned  with  much  success.  (Ajayi 2015b). Democratic  consolidation  as  a  political  regime  in  which  democracy  as  a  complex system  of  institutions,  rule  and  patterned  incentives  and  disincentive  has  become  the  only game  in  town.

The paper examines the peace process between ethnic armed groups and the Myanmar government in their attempt to sign nationwide ceasefire agreement with the goal of holding political dialogue that would ultimately lead to peace and stability in the country. The study shows that despite the willingness to move forward with the peace plan, there remains lack of trust. For peace to prevail there needs to be short-term and long-term strategies. The short-term strategy should focus on critical issues such as ending armed conflicts in Kachin and Shan states, and building mutual trust between ethnic armed groups and the Myanmar government, particularly the military. The long-term strategy should focus on issues pertaining to post-ceasefire period of political dialogue, establishing a federal union, and achieving peace and national reconciliation.

Belief in the fundamental importance of civic education for democracy has been long-standing. But if educators can agree that schools have an essen- tial role to play in preparing students for informed engagement in civic and political life, they cannot seem to agree on what that means. The very same efforts that are applauded by some are viewed as misguided by others. The result for schoolchildren has been a mostly watered-down notion of civics that emphasizes good character and patriotism over critical thinking and engaging with multiple perspectives. At the same time, the number of young people worldwide now willing to entertain nondemocratic forms of government is on the rise. For example, nearly a quarter of U.S. youth aged 16 to 24 believe that democracy is a “bad” or “very bad” way of governing. About 70% of millennials do not think it is essential to live in a country governed by democratic rule of law. This article examines the ideological tensions that underlie civic education policies and practice in a time of rising populist support for anti-democratic forms of governance.

From 1999 to 2011 General Elections, the People's Democratic Party (PDP), dominated and had a telling impact on the Nigerian body polity. Within this period, the PDP not only produced all the presidents, it also garnered majority seats in both chambers of the National Assembly and consistently won over two-thirds of governorship elections in the country. It is within this context, that three of Nigeria's opposition parties merged in 2013 to form a mega opposition party named All Progressives Congress (APC). This paper, using a qualitative method of data collection and analysis, analyzed the factors that led to the emergence of the APC and its implications on democratic consolidation in Nigeria. Considering the fact that the paper is premised on " Party Merger " and " Democratic Consolidation " ; Heuristic Framework of Party Merger have been carefully adopted as theoretical framework to analyze the rise of the APC ahead of the 2015 elections that set Nigeria on a trajectory towards consolidating its democracy, transitioning from a largely unstable and expedient experiment to the realm of political maturity. Therefore, the paper concluded that existence of credible, strong and challenging opposition is important for the consolidation of democracy.

This paper examines the political system, attitudes towards democracy, and their determinants in Ukraine before, during and after the “Euromaidan.” The research question is as follows: What type of political system has emerged in Ukraine since the “Euromaidan?” The related research question is to what extent political values in Ukraine are supportive of democracy. This study is based on theories of democratic, semi-democratic, and authoritarian political systems, democratization, and political culture. A number of major survey-based academic studies, conducted primarily before the “Orange Revolution,” concluded that mass political values in Ukraine were generally supportive of democracy, and that they did not preclude emergence of a consolidated democracy. Many previous studies presented the “Orange Revolution” as a democratic revolution that transformed Ukraine from semi-democracy or competitive authoritarianism to democracy. Democracy was often regarded as the most likely future path of political development of this post-Soviet state. The Western and Ukrainian media, the Western governments, and the Maidan government in Ukraine also generally presented the “Euromaidan” as a democratic revolution that overthrew the authoritarian government as a result of mass peaceful protests. However, there is lack of academic studies of the political system and democratic values in Ukraine since the “Euromaidan.” This paper compares political systems in Ukraine before, during and after the “Euromaidan.” It uses data from different waves of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems surveys, the Pew Global Attitudes surveys, and the World Values Surveys to examine public attitudes towards democracy in Ukraine before and after the “Euromaidan.” It also compares democratic and authoritarian preferences in Ukraine with those in Poland and Russia, two similar post-communist countries with differing political cultures and divergent trajectories of democratization. Finally, this study implements multiple regression analysis of the determinants of attitudes towards democracy. It analyzes effects of political party preferences, regional historical legacies, religion, ethnicity, and other factors on pro-democracy views. The study also discusses implications of its findings for the prospects for liberal democracy in Ukraine and for the conflict between the West and Russia over Ukraine.

The paper examines Bangladesh's democratic performances on key democratic consolidation indicators based on a framework of democratic consolidation theories. Using various data sources and employing descriptive analyses, the paper evaluates the performances of both state and non-state institutions critical to democratic consolidation.

U ovom radu pokušaćemo da dokučimo najbitnije značajke i specifičnosti demokratske konsolidacije u Brazilu. Takođe, pokušaćemo da damo analitički pregled glavnih izazova koji stoje pred punom demokratskom konsolidacijom u Brazilu.
U prvim godinama dvadesetog vijeka Brazil je bio pretežno agrarna zemlja. Koncept agrarne proizvodnje bio je većinski zasnovan na proizvodnji kafe. “Egzogeno usmjerena ekonomija”  značajno je narušena krizom koja je zahvatila oblast izvoza kafe. Dodatnom pogoršanju ovakvog stanja doprinijela je i Velika depresija, a kasnije i Drugi svjetski rat. Uslijedila je industrijalizacija, kao logičan odgovor.

This article sets out to review the extant literature on civil society. Indeed the literature on civil society abounds with several views and perspectives, especially on the theoretical debates on the concept. However, in order to avoid the unnecessary entanglement of the unending theoretical debates that have characterized the subject, the article focuses on the activities and operations as well as the usefulness of civil society in the twenty first century.
The article consequently tries to identify the literature that discusses the activities of civil society across the globe. It begins by giving a general background to the concept of civil society. This is then followed by
discussions on civil society and how it relates to democracy and democratic consolidation and development in different parts of the world with particular emphasis on Africa. It then examines the activities of CSOs in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region (with emphasis on Malaysia). It further examines the changing nature of CSOs in the midst of global crisis by discussing how civil society has operated in challenging times amidst financial crisis, terrorism, etc. It concludes by suggesting some new ways of understanding civil society.

Ghana has experienced three peaceful transfers of power over the past 26 years. There are effective systems in place that have been handling election-related issues in the country. The people have accepted democracy as the ‘only game in town’. The paper adopts an expository approach. It uses both primary and secondary sources of information such as press releases, news items, official reports from the EC and various election observer groups and international organizations. Interviews and focus group discussions were also undertaken.
The study finds that Ghana still faces some challenges in terms of its ability to produce some democratic dividends despite the many years of enjoying a seemingly consolidated democracy.
Massive unemployment persists; corruption exists in all branches of government; political elites usually escape the ambit of the law while the poor masses are always hemmed in. Are these really characteristics of a consolidated democracy?
The paper submits that despite the fact that most of the conditions that fuel democratic consolidation exist in Ghana, the country is now on the second step of the democratic consolidation ladder- electoral democracy. In essence, there are better prospects for future democratic consolidation in the country.

La presente tesina tiene dos objetivos principales. El primero consiste en exponer los fundamentos del republicanismo contemporáneo en el marco de las teorías sobre la democracia y el segundo en producir, a la luz de los aportes de la teoría republicana, una relectura de los aspectos normativos de la teoría de las transiciones para América Latina.

South Africa’s 1996 Constitution ushered in a democratic regime that brought new freedoms and rights and greatly expanded opportunities for political participation. In 1998, South Africa also implemented a new school curriculum intended, among other things, to promote democratic and other constitutional values. At the same time, South Africa has undergone rapid demographic change as growing proportions of young people enter the electorate with no working memory of apartheid. Given our knowledge of post-regime change shifts in popular attitudes in post-war Europe and Japan, theories of socialisation and democratic habituation would lead us to expect significant pro-democratic shifts in South Africa’s political culture, especially amongst the youngest generation, who are popularly known in South Africa as the ‘Born Frees.’ Against these expectations, however, survey evidence indicates that the post-apartheid generation is less committed to democracy than their parents or grandparents.

This chapter analyses the issue of democracy in Ukraine and major factors which determine the prospects for democracy in the one of the largest European countries. The research question is as to how Ukraine fares in terms of common democracy criteria. The related question is as to which factors or obstacles affect democracy in Ukraine, specifically after the “Euromaidan.”  The major measures of democracy, such as the Polity and Freedom House indexes, show that Ukraine did not turn into a democracy as a result of the “Euromaidan.” The Polity index and various evidence, specifically concerning the violent political transition during the “Euromaidan,” suggest a relative movement towards greater authoritarianism. Such development contrasts with relative democratization of Ukraine after it gained independence following a collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and after peaceful mass protests and an additional round elections during the “Orange Revolution” prevented an attempt to seize power with help of falsification of election results.

However, the changes in the state of democracy in independent Ukraine and the application to Ukraine of various factors, which previous studies identified as promoting or hindering democracy, indicate that consolidated liberal democracy or consolidated autocracy are unlikely to take root in Ukraine. Such factors include the economic development level, semi-democratic political values, historical legacies, political institutions, political leadership, civil society, and European Union integration. The effect of Ukrainian diaspora on democracy in Ukraine is a factor that requires further research.

The paper focuses on the unique, role model characteristics of the Hungarian hybrid regime, the Hungarian political system's new incarnation forged in the past years' democratic backsliding process. Following the short review of the main hybrid regime literature and the key analyses putting the democratic quality of the Hungarian political system under the microscope, the paper argues that Hungary's EU membership, the competencies of EU institutions and the scope of EU law, has played a crucial role in the development of the system's unique characteristics. Based on this argument, the paper qualifies Hungary as an " externally constrained hybrid regime ". However, the EU does not only fulfil system constraining functions regarding the Hungarian regime, but performs system support and system legitimation functions as well. At the end of the day the changing scope of these functions determined by the European integration's internal dynamics influences first and foremost the Hungarian power elite's strategic considerations about the country's future EU membership.

Hopes that "third wave" transitions in sub-Saharan Africa in the early 1990s would usher in a new era of liberal democracy vanished fairly quickly when new forms of liberalized authoritarianism emerged. Illiberal democracy has taken hold as the political trajectory shifted from an opening to a closure when the wave of regime transitions lost steam by the end of the decade. Unlike a relatively steady process of democratic consolidation and a renewed democratic awakening in post-Communist
Europe, the region saw continued democratic erosion or breakdown of
democratically elected governments and the institutionalization of various illiberal, semi-authoritarian regimes by the turn of the century. Contrary to presumptions of a rebirth of liberal democracy prevalent among some scholars and policy-makers, third wave democratization in Africa predominantly ended up in illiberal democracies and stable semi-authoritarian regimes. Based on a cross-regional analysis and new data made available only recently, this article examines the levels of institutionalization of three main features of democracy: elections, liberal
democracy, and the rule of law. It employs a path-dependent institutional approach that focuses on political institutions—both formal and informal—both as causal explanations for the democratic deficit of the transitions and as objects of study in the analysis of democratic consolidation or lack thereof.

Democratic consolidation is the process by which a newly established democratic regime becomes sufficiently durable that a return to nondemocratic rule is no longer likely.  Study of this field is particularly of import when considering the varied outcomes of the so-called “Fourth Wave of Democratization” that occurred during the Arab Spring. The author will examine the reasons behind the success of the one state to democratize in the wake of this upheaval: Tunisia. Utilizing three theoretical models to examine various socioeconomic, cultural, and political indicators in the Tunisian state, this thesis will show the role that key elites play in facilitating the transition from autocratic to democratic rule.

South Africa’s first post-apartheid generation was eligible to vote for the first time in the 2014 general elections. Born in 1994, this generation never lived under an institutionalised system of apartheid, yet they continue to grapple with the legacies of the apartheid system in contemporary South Africa. This paper presents findings on the construction of political party support among university students. The conventional wisdom perpetuated within democratisation scholarship is the necessity of a strong middle class for democratic durability; consequently, this study evaluates the foundations of the political support of students as
the aspiring and potential future middle class in South Africa. This survey measured the foundations of political party support and political choice at three different universities in the Eastern Cape: Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Rhodes University and the University of Fort Hare. The Eastern Cape is often considered the birthplace of the ruling African National Congress (ANC); as such, the findings prove to be significant in that the overall finding was that support for the ANC is declining in its heartland. Should universities be successful in facilitating the upward social mobility of students to an educated middle class, this could in future result in the erosion of one-party dominance in South Africa. The
findings suggest that, as with many one-party-dominant systems, a lack of political efficacy and a declining ability to deliver political, social and economic goods to citizens lead to a decline in political support for ‘liberator political parties’, and as such, the ANC’s dominant position in the political system may in future become fragile.

In 2006, Bangkok middle-class residents overwhelmingly supported the military coup that displaced the elected government of Thaksin Shinawatra. Survey research shows that opponents of Thaksin had a stronger commitment to liberal democracy and possibly to royalist values while rural voters supported Thaksin because he fulfilled their social demands. Opposition to Thaksin was not motivated by economic interests, but rather, there is some evidence that urban middle- and upper-class voters disliked Thaksin because they heard negative reporting about him, which were less available in the countryside. These findings are compatible with a new theory of democratic consolidation, in which the upper classes have the means that would enable and encourage them to pay sufficient attention to politics to discover that what they viewed as “good government” was violated by the ruling party, which could have led to demands for more democracy historically. More recently, however, in Thailand and perhaps other instances in Southeast Asia and Latin America, those with the money and leisure to follow politics closely have heard reports about the “bad government” of populist, democratically elected leaders, and thus have turned against them.

The countries of the Commonwealth Caribbean are all self-governing, determining their own futures. But some 40 years after gaining independence from Britain, the question remains whether these countries are truly democratic and whether the parliamentary and electoral systems adopted, are well suited to the Caribbean experience. Meighoo and Jamadar answer these questions in the negative. A true democracy, they argue, is one where the Legislature has the authority and the strength to make the Executive effectively accountable and responsible to it and where the electoral system results in the true practical separation of the Legislature and the Executive.

Using Trinidad and Tobago as the model, Democracy and Constitution Reform in Trinidad and Tobago offers an overview of the constitutional reform process in the Commonwealth Caribbean. In these young, postcolonial democracies, where party politics have had a negative impact on the process of democratic reform, the authors review the historical, political and cultural motivations that have spawned the most recent debates on constitutional reform; and more particularly on the proposals for parliamentary and electoral reform. The book concludes with a review of past proposals and recommendations, and puts forward the authors’ own suggestions for reform.

At a time when most of the Commonwealth Caribbean is undergoing a process of constitutional debate and change, this book makes a valuable contribution to the discussion and provides a basis for the informed citizen, student or pundit to judge the process of reform.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Kirk Meighoo is a member of the Democratic National Assembly and the author of Politics in a Half-Made Society: Trinidad and Tobago 1925–2002.

Peter Jamadar is a Judge of the Supreme Court of Trinidad and Tobago and the author of The Mechanics of Democracy.

L’indépendance de la justice constitutionnelle représente, dans l’Amérique latine contemporaine, un enjeu d’autant plus important que l’avenir de la démocratie demeure incertain.
Alors que la consolidation démocratique progresse avec difficulté, la justice constitutionnelle a un rôle particulièrement important à jouer dans le parachèvement de la démocratisation du sous-continent. En contribuant au passage de l’État législatif de droit, qui affirme la suprématie de la loi, à l’État constitutionnel de droit, qui restaure pleinement la Constitution au sommet de la hiérarchie des normes, le juge constitutionnel se retrouve placé au centre du processus de consolidation démocratique dans sa dimension juridique.
La situation des juridictions constitutionnelles en Amérique latine est, sur ce point, riche d’enseignements sur la santé des démocraties du sous-continent.

The independence of the constitutional judiciary is an important issue in contemporary Latin America because the future of democracy remains uncertain.
While democratic consolidation is progressing with difficulty, constitutional justice has a particularly important role to play in completing the democratization of the sub-continent. By contributing to the transition from the legislative rule of law, which affirms the supremacy of the law, to the constitutional rule of law, which fully restores the constitution to the top of the hierarchy of norms, the constitutional judge finds himself placed at the center of the process of democratic consolidation in its legal dimension.
The situation of constitutional courts in Latin America is, in this respect, rich in lessons about the health of the sub-continent's democracies.

The paper argues that the capture of critical democratic institutions by mainstream political parties has eroded the impersonal character of those institutions that undermines the democratic and political development in Bangladesh.  The study uses the theoretical framework of state building offered by political scientist Francis Fukuyama in his classic work: The Origins of Political Order: From Pre-human Times to the French Revolution, that argues that at least three preconditions have to be satisfied for a country’s political development: (i) State Building, (ii) Rule of Law, and (iii) Democratic Accountability.  The research employs case study methods for the inquiry.  Three key state and non-state institutions have been thoroughly studied to test the hypothesis using both primary and secondary data.

According to S.M. Lipset, one of the political sociology’s prime concerns is “an analysis of the social conditions making for democracy”. In the context of the process of democratization two of its final goals are often emphasized: the formation  of  political  system  with  democratic  institutions  (e.g.  democratic
procedures, free and fair elections, freedom of expression, separation of power, etc.);  and  the  formation  of  democratic  political  culture  (people’s  subjective orientations, values and beliefs, which are supportive of democracy). It has also
been  argued  that  post-communist  states  bear  a  cultural  legacy  (so  called civilizational  incompetence  or  uncivic/undemocratic  political  culture)  that inhibits effectiveness of the new democracies. Past empirical research has largely confirmed this hypothesis. The aim of the present research was to analyze the newest World Values Study (Survey) (2008) and compare political culture in established  and  post-communist  European  democracies.  The  results  do  not uniformly confirm previous findings. Implications of the results are discussed.
Keywords: civilizational incompetence, post-communist Europe, democratic political culture, cross-national studies, values.

Согласно  С.М.  Липсету,  «анализ  социальных  условий,  способству-
ющих установлению демократии» — один из важнейших вопросов поли-
тической социологии. В контексте процесса демократизации часто вы-
деляют  две  из  его  ключевых  целей:  создание  политической  системы
с демократическими институтами (например, демократические проце-
дуры, свободные и честные выборы, свобода выражения и т. д.) и создание
демократической  политической  культуры  (субъективные  ориентации
людей,  ценности  и  убеждения,  поддерживающие  демократию).  Ранее
отмечалось  (Штомпка  1993),  что  культурное  наследство  посткомму-
нистических  обществ  (так  называемая  цивилизационная  компетент-
ность или негражданская / недемократическая политическая культура)
сдерживает эффективность новых демократий. Проведенные эмпириче-
ские исследования подтверждают эту гипотезу. Целью данного исследо-
вания стал анализ последнего World Values Study (Survey) (2008) и сравне-
ние  политической  культуры  установившихся  и  посткоммунистических
европейских  демократий.  Результаты  частично  подтверждают  пред-
шествующие данные.
Ключевые слова: цивилизационная некомпетентность, посткомму-
нистическая  Европа,  демократическая  политическая  культура,  кросс-
национальные исследования, ценности.

Anatomía heterodoxa del populismo evidencia, por un lado, que, bajo determinadas circunstancias, el populismo favorece la consolidación democrática, pues estimula la participación ciudadana; por otro, que suele tener mayores efectos en democracias no consolidadas, dado que en los sistemas desarrollados el populismo parece limitarse a una estrategia meramente electoral. En este caso, mediante una revisión documental, un análisis conceptual del populismo y una serie de entrevistas que se especifican en el documento, el fenómeno en cuestión muestra aspectos fundamentales sobre la actualidad de una democracia que, de otro modo, pasarían inadvertidos. La exploración del caso ecuatoriano, al ser un Estado con una amplia tradición populista, permite llegar a conclusiones que no solo ayudan a entender su realidad como Estado-nación, sino que se pueden aplicar a otros países que parecen haber sucumbido a la tentación populista. Para lograr ese objetivo, el libro se divide en dos partes: en la primera se analizan los principales referentes conceptuales y teóricos relativos a la democratización y al populismo y en la segunda se hace hincapié en el vínculo entre el populismo y la consolidación democrática en el caso ecuatoriano con un énfasis en la Revolución Ciudadana.

Heterodox anatomy of populism evidences, on the one hand, that, under certain circumstances, populism favors democratic consolidation, since it stimulates citizen participation; on the other, it tends to have greater effects in unconsolidated democracies, since populism in developed systems seems to be limited to a merely electoral strategy. In this case, through a documentary review, a conceptual analysis of populism, and a series of interviews that are specified in the study, the phenomenon in question illustrates some fundamental aspects of the current situation of a democracy that would otherwise go unnoticed. The exploration of the Ecuadorian case—which is a state with a broad populist tradition—allows reaching conclusions that not only help to understand its reality as a nation-state but can also be applied to other countries that seem to have succumbed to the populist temptation. To achieve this objective, the book is divided into two parts. The first part is dedicated to an analysis of the main conceptual and theoretical references related to democratization and populism, while the second one examines the link between populism and democratic consolidation in the case of Ecuador with an emphasis on the Citizen Revolution.