The Dynamics of Democratization: Dictatorship, Development, and Diffusion

by Nathan J. Brown (Editor)

Overview

The explosive spread of democracy has radically transformed the international political landscape and captured the attention of academics, policy makers, and activists alike. With interest in democratization still growing, Nathan J. Brown and other leading political scientists assess the current state of the field, reflecting on the causes and diffusion of democracy over the past two decades.

The volume focuses on three issues very much at the heart of discussions about democracy today: dictatorship, development, and diffusion. The essays first explore the surprising but necessary relationship between democracy and authoritarianism; they next analyze the introduction of democracy in developing countries; last, they examine how international factors affect the democratization process.

In exploring these key issues, the contributors ask themselves three questions: What causes a democracy to emerge and succeed? Does democracy make things better? Can democracy be successfully promoted? In contemplating these questions, The Dynamics of Democratization offers a frank and critical assessment of the field for students and scholars of comparative politics and the political economy of development.

Contributors: Gregg A. Brazinsky, George Washington University; Nathan J. Brown, George Washington University; Kathleen Bruhn, University of California at Santa Barbara; Valerie J. Bunce, Cornell University; José Antonio Cheibub, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Bruce J. Dickson, George Washington University; M. Steven Fish, University of California at Berkeley; John Gerring, Boston University; Henry E. Hale, George Washington University; Susan D. Hyde, Yale University; Craig M. Kauffman, George Washington University; Staffan I. Lindberg, University of Florida; Sara Meerow, University of Amsterdam; James Raymond Vreeland, Georgetown University; Sharon L. Wolchik, George Washington University

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781421400082
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	07/01/2011
Pages:	344
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Nathan J. Brown is a professor of political science and international affairs and director of the Institute for Middle East Studies at George Washington University. He is author of Palestinian Politics after the Oslo Accords: Resuming Arab Palestine.

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
Part I: Democracy and Dictatorship
Chapter 1. Hybrid Regimes: When Democracy and Autocracy Mix
Chapter 2. Dictatorship and Democracy through the Prism of Arab Elections
Chapter 3. The Unexpected Resilience of Latin American Democracy
Chapter 4. Sustaining Party Rule in China: Coercion, Co- optation, and Their Consequences
Chapter 5. Fighting Reversion: Strong Legislatures as the Key to Bolstering Democracy
Part II: Democracy and Development
Chapter 6. Economic Development and Demo cratization
Chapter 7. Persistent Authoritarianism and the Future of Democracy in Africa
Chapter 8. Democracy and Development: Legacy Effects
Part III: Does Democracy Diffuse?
Chapter 9. Policy Makers, Intellectuals, and Democracy Promotion in Twentieth-Century American Foreign Policy
Chapter 10. International Dimensions of Elections
Chapter 11. International Diffusion and Demo cratic Change
Conclusion
List of Contributors
Index

Editorial Reviews

This volume is an engaging survey of what is known and not known about the causes and consequences of democratization.
—Foreign Affairs

From the Publisher

This volume is an engaging survey of what is known and not known about the causes and consequences of democratization.

Foreign Affairs