Democratization

Sociopolitical changes are often associated with ideological shifts at the individual and mass level. The study of how sociopolitical and ideological change interrelate has been the subject of debate for decades. Here, however, the authors develop and defend a new theory that treats ideologies as complex cognitive systems that are internally articulated around prioritized principles and values. Focusing on the transition to democracy in Latin America, the book examines the changes in mass beliefs that accompany democratization in an effort to offer a more sophisticated theory of the relationship between belief, ideology, and action in social change. Ultimately, the authors argue for a cognitive-based model that can account for how social actors come to define "democracy" in current contexts.

Are the global trends toward democratization and neoliberal economic development also providing enhanced protection for human rights? In this edited collection of theoretical essays and case studies, the contributors assess the often glaring contradiction between democratization trends in developing countries in the face of continuing human rights violations.

Robert K. Schaeffer believes that democracy is not something that is conferred from above by elites, rather it is a form of politics that comes from below, from an aroused and aware citizenry.

This book evaluates the current prospects for democracy in the world. The author clarifies the concept of democracy, shows its application in different contexts, and questions whether democratic advancement will continue -- and if so, at what price. The consequences of democracy for economic development, human rights, and peaceful relations among countries are illuminated in both their positive and negative aspects.

The second edition features a new section on the prospects of democracy as we approach the millennium, an extended discussion on economic performance in the current democratic transitions, and an evaluation of the possibilities for further democratic consolidation.

Leading the problems most critical to government decision makers worldwide are those that derive from privatization, democratization, and decentralization. Dr. Nagel and a panel of academics and practitioners help clarify the ways in which problems traceable to these trends are being handled -- and how they might be handled better -- in light of the goals, experiences, constraints, and other factors affecting participants in world governance. Among the many important features of the book is its interdisciplinary approach and the way it offers African, Asian, Latin American, European, and North American viewpoints. It also combines the perspectives of liberal and conservative ideologies. Cross-national with concrete examples and broad concepts and principles carefully detailed, the book is an important source of background and insight.

Featuring a broad range of perspectives on the democratic process, this collection of essays explores the development of civil society and how civil societies manage democratic change around the world.

This book examines the relationship between indicators of resource distribution and democratization in the group of 170 countries with data ranging from the 1850s to the present day. Vanhanen constructs a compelling argument, concluding that the emergence of democracy is closely linked to resource distribution.

The European Union has been a key actor in promoting democratization and providing assistance to encourage political change. This book assesses the EU's contribution to democratization by looking at the failures and states that offered resistance to EU pressure to reform, aiming to understand how the EU overcame or failed to overcome the numerous barriers blocking democratic progress. The book features studies on Slovakia, Romania, Croatia, Turkey, Ukraine, Morocco and Latvia.

Since the late 1980s, Africans have been engaged in efforts to transform their societies and provide themselves with more effective governance and economic structures. Unfortunately, most of these efforts have not progressed beyond simple elections. The contributors to this volume provide strategies that Africans can use to deepen democracy, improve resource allocation, and enhance their ability to coexist peacefully.

An interdisciplinary text, this volume shows how simplified views of globalization, that define it as either good or bad, are unhelpful when analysing the impact globalizing forces are having on Asian societies.

Although the Republic of Korea is regarded as a shining example of democracy in East Asia and a secure electoral democracy, its journey toward democratic consolidation is far from complete. Some of the best scholars on Korean politics explore and assess the complex interplay of the facilitating and inhibiting factors that have influenced and reshaped Korea's democratic consolidation process at all levels of state and society as well as the prospects for consolidation in the coming years.

Democratization in the Middle East addresses a number of key issues determining the success or failure of sustainable democratization in the region. With the exception of Israel in certain specific ways, the constituent states have yet to reach a level of democratization that would guarantee a path towards sustainable democracy and prevent a future return to non-democratic governance, and de-secularization and de-liberalization of the economy and society. Peace dividends from sustained democratization processes in the Middle East are still years away from realization. If anything, movement towards political, economic, and cultural liberalization has thus far brought instability and violence to the region, as traditional and religious values continue to clash with secular ethics, norms, and practices. Drawing on conceptual and country analyses. This book examines patterns of democracy; costs and benefits, barriers and support; relationship between civil society and the state; internal and external factors of democracy; the relationship between Islam and Islamic movements and democratization; experiences of democratic transition processes and resulting national and regional peace dividends; and the interdependence of development, peace and democratization, and political and economic transition. The contributors to the volume come to the conclusion that, in order to advance democratization processes throughout the region, reforms must be gradual and must be organized and monitored from the top, while supplemented by a similarly gradual process towards the establishment of a broad-based and broadly supported civil society. Only such gradual reform processes will be successful in creating participatory, just and, eventually, peaceful and stable societies in the Middle East (UNU website).