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Democratic Consolidation (democratic + consolidation)
Selected AbstractsDeconstructing Abacha: Demilitarization and Democratic Consolidation in Nigeria after the Abacha EraGOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION, Issue 1 2001Raphael Chijioke Njoku First page of article [source] European Union Accession Dynamics and Democratization in Central and Eastern Europe: Past and Future Perspectives1GOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION, Issue 3 2006Geoffrey Pridham EU influence in encouraging and promoting democratic consolidation in Central and Eastern Europe has been extensive, though in a wide rather than deep sense. But, as shown by the enlargement process up to 2004, accession dynamics are the crucial force driving governments in the region to meet the EU's political conditionality. Despite the latter's deficiencies, it has by and large contributed towards democratic consolidation in the new member states notwithstanding some negative aspects of accession. The clear lesson for further enlargement in post-Communist Europe is that EU pressure and promise over integration will be decisive in new candidate states, even though their capacity to achieve the political conditions is more problematic. It follows too that any lessening of EU commitment is likely to undermine democratization efforts there. [source] Corporatism and Democratic Transition: State and Labor During the Salinas and Zedillo AdministrationsLATIN AMERICAN POLITICS AND SOCIETY, Issue 4 2002James G. Samstad ABSTRACT A long process of free-market reforms and gradual democratization seems to be dismantling Mexico's corporatist system of labor representation. A thorough analysis of the country's corporatist institutions yields theoretical reasons to believe that Mexico's practice of labor relations is indeed changing. An empirical examination of the nation's labor congress and ruling party during the two previous presidential administrations (1988,2000) demonstrates that corporatism is being transformed at a practical level, although the process of reform has been complex and uneven at best. The continuing strength of an officialist labor sector will complicate the task of establishing a new system of labor representation, a problem that may have important implications for future democratic consolidation. [source] Political Parties in South Korea and Taiwan after Twenty Years of Democratization*PACIFIC FOCUS, Issue 2 2009Heike Hermanns South Korea and Taiwan are often cited as successful cases of third-wave democracies where democracy has taken roots. However, electoral volatility is high and disenchantment among citizens is rising, especially regarding the performance of politicians and political parties. Since political parties play a vital role in the democratic process their institutionalization is seen as an indicator of democratic consolidation. An analysis of Taiwanese and South Korean parties in terms of age, organization and structure, as well as programs and leadership style of parties indicates that parties are weakly institutionalized. The Korean party system is a weak point in democratic deepening, as it is reminiscent of a carousel of party creations, mergers and dissolutions. Parties lack distinguishing ideological or programmatic markers and remain cadre parties, focusing on their charismatic leader and their home regions. In Taiwan, in contrast, a clear cleavage in the form of Taiwanese identity led to the appearance of two distinct political camps, each consisting of several parties. Taiwanese parties have progressed in their institutionalization in terms of longevity, organization and programmatic differences. However, membership numbers and party identification remain low and regular corruption scandals show the slow attitudinal change among Taiwanese politicians. In the light of politicians' behavior, citizens in both countries thus are feeling increasingly disenchanted with the ruling elite as well as the democratic system. [source] Constitutional Jurisdiction and the Consolidation of DemocracyPOLITICS & POLICY, Issue 1 2009DIETER NOHLEN This lecture elaborates on the kind of relationship that exists between constitutional jurisdiction and democratic consolidation by applying the comparative method to cover Latin American political,and especially judicial,systems. The argument is that constitutional jurisdiction is influenced by the very same factors that either favor or constrain democratic consolidation and that it exerts no negative influence over democratic consolidation. However, Nohlen identifies patterns of behavior that both judges and politicians are encouraged to adopt that strengthen the judiciary, and with it democratic stability, by fostering among the citizenry a culture of constitutionality. Nohlen also hopes to show that departures from those patterns of behavior even while conditions for democratic consolidation have not been terribly adverse, can be identified in the behavior of key actors in the period preceding and throughout, the populist turn that is now affecting Ecuadorean, Venezuelan, and Bolivian politics. [source] Renewed authoritarianism in Southeast Asia: Undermining democracy through neoliberal reformASIA PACIFIC VIEWPOINT, Issue 3 2009Simon Springer Abstract In the wake of the Asian Crisis, cases studies from Southeast Asia often reinforced the perception that neoliberalism is thriving in authoritarian states. Processes of intensive neoliberalisation in the region have now been ongoing for over a decade, yet attempts at democratic consolidation have been tenuous, fragile and incomplete at best, calling into question the supposed nexus between democracy and neoliberal reform. Accordingly, there is need for a moment of pause, to take stock of the neoliberalising process in the region, and importantly, to reframe the question and reflect on how and why authoritarianism is continuing to thrive in the neoliberalising Southeast Asian state. [source] Low Intensity Democracies: Latin America in the Post-dictatorial EraBULLETIN OF LATIN AMERICAN RESEARCH, Issue 4 2001Dirk Kruit In the context of the Cold War and accompanied by the doctrines of National Security, authoritarian and often repressive military or civil-military regimes emerged in a number of Latin American countries. However, military regimes were not the only ones contributing to the formation of societies mutilated by fear and terror. During the last four decades, the continent became affected by a cycle of violence that involved various armed actors, from the armed forces to the guerrilla, from the paramilitaries to the narcotics-trafficking Mafia, or from the committees of self-defence to the ,common' criminals. This article focuses on the persistence of military influence and organised political violence more general in post-authoritarian and indeed post-Cold War Latin America. After briefly reviewing the historical legacy of so-called ,political armies' in the region as a whole, I offer an assessment of the consequences of this legacy for the current agenda of democratic consolidation in Latin America. Two possible scenarios are examined: that of fairly progressive democratisation and civilianisation of politics, and that of the re-emergence of violence despite the formal rule of democracy. In the latter scenario, de facto harsh and violent regimes collide with a growing array of rival perpetrators of political and other forms of organised violence. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||