Democratic Consolidation

D EVELOPING D EMOCRACY Political Institutionalization  Strengthening the bureaucracy A professionalized & meritocratic bureaucracy A capable, professional, democratically oriented police force  Strengthening institutions of governance Political parties Legislatures Educational systems  Strengthening horizontal accountability and the rule of law  Deepening democracy: civil-military relations Larry Diamond, ch. 3.

W HAT I S “C ONSOLIDATION? ” Possibilities:  Democratic Survival or Durability  Democratic “deepening”  Democratic “completeness”  Acceptance of Democracy as “the only game in town”

W HAT IS D EMOCRATIC C ONSOLIDATION? Criteria for democratic regimes:  Robert Dahl's definition -- polyarchies which are commonly referred to as liberal democracies.  Civil and political rights plus fair, competitive, and inclusive election.

T RANSITIONS TO D EMOCRACY  Pacts of Transfer  Accepting Military imposed Limits on candidates, political parties, electoral rules  Constraints on authority of incoming civilian governments

C HALLENGES TO C ONSOLIDATION  Continuing Military legacy  Limits on participatory democracy  Constraints on authority of democratic governments

“P ROTECTED D EMOCRACY ”  Constitutional mandate for military (“Fourth branch of government”)  National security laws  Military jurisdiction over civilians

C OMPETING V IEWPOINTS  Prospects for democratic consolidation in Latin America have been crippled by the legacy of “protected democracy”  Democratic transitions would never have succeeded without compromises with the military and elites. And there are good reasons for a strong military in Latin America.

W HAT IS D EMOCRATIC C ONSOLIDATION? Criteria for democratic regimes:  Robert Dahl's definition -- polyarchies which are commonly referred to as liberal democracies.  Civil and political rights plus fair, competitive, and inclusive election.

W HAT IS D EMOCRATIC C ONSOLIDATION? Four-fold classification: Authoritarianism Electoral democracy Liberal democracy Advanced democracy

EL ECTORAL D EMOCRACIES  They possess some but not all of liberal democracy's essential features.  They manage to hold (more or less) inclusive, clean, and competitive elections but fail to uphold the political and civil freedoms essential for liberal democracy  They are widely recognized as semidemocratic regimes

A DVANCED D EMOCRACIES  They possess some positive traits over and above the minimal defining criteria of liberal democracy  They are ranked higher in terms of democratic quality