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Lecture 3

Lecture 3 (Jan. 24).rtf

Political Science
Course Code
Melissa Levin

Lecture 3 (January 24)
- preconditions of democracy
- poverty and equality
- create conditions for regimes to take root, make it difficult for democracies to hold
- Seymour Lipsit (sp?) raised issue
- existence in democratic politics = democratic institutions in presence of weak
democratic practice
- minimum level of equality to produce democratic unknown
- also question of basic level of national unity
- interest in participating in same institutions
- debate over boundaries a problem, especially in Africa where boundaries created
externally during decolonization
- modernization needed for creation of middle class, but ome argue instead the working
class is most important
- culture involved also it is suggested
- i.e. protestantism better for democracy than catholicism due to hierarchy involved
- culture should be condusive to democratic culture
- democratic transitions:
- collapse of fascism in Portugal and Spain led to collapse of economy
- followed by democratization wave in Europe
- 3rd wave of democracy, late 1970's to mid 1990's
- unravels authoritarian regimes internationally
- how and why do they?
- groups that form ruling elite start fracturing
- divisiveness over how to maintain control, the use of wealth gathered, etc. for example
- main dynamic is interaction between hardliners, radicals, and moderates
- type of transition emerges from this interaction
- all fighting for control
- these political factors exist in an economic space
- many authoritarian regimes brought about significant economic growth
- in absence of economic growth, difficulty for authoritarian government legitimate
- in midst of economic crisis, authoritarian government has hardened their rule
- African countries facing serious economic problems by the 1980's due to debt crisis
- more potential for popular opinion to mobilize against the government
- internal protest emerged and grew
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