1. Democracy
Goal – To Understand that democracy’s required characteristics, preconditions for democratization and consolidation are complex and not absolute
Current events discussion – making connections to STs
Democracy according to Powells’ Briefing Paper AR #14
Identify the historical periods of democratization
Identify and explain the preconditions for democratic consolidation
Do you agree that these are the main characteristics and preconditions?
What should be added or removed to make our understanding of democracy more complete and accurate?
How does the Powells’ Briefing paper compare to Kesselman? Create a Venn diagram comparing conditions for democracy and description of consolidated democracy for each reading
Democracy according to S and K discuss anticipation reading guide AR 15
Review anticipation reading guide section 3 and 4 with group
Do you agree that these are the main procedures, characteristics and factors? How does AR#16 compare to Kesselman to S and K?
With your partner develop a comprehensive definition and explanation of democracy and democratization.

2. Preconditions for transitioning to consolidation
Typology
Consolidated Democracy – long lasting democracy with deep and extensive democratic characteristics.
Transitional Democracy – in the process of moving towards consolidation somewhere along a continuum, but where non-democratic characteristics like corruption, arbitrariness, violence, unfree or unfair electoral actions, untamed military.
Authoritarianism – arbitrary power rests in the hands of one or a few
Preconditions for transitioning to consolidation
1 – civil society
2 – political society of rules, institutions and processes
3 – rule of law
4 – professional, permanent, apolitical bureaucracy and military
5 – economic society that has freedom within limits

3. Kesselman - Preconditions for consolidation
Authoritarian
Transitional Democracies
Electoral authoritarian Illiberal procedural
Substantive D
For a system to be typed as having transitioned from authoritarianism through the transitional democracy types to being a consolidated democracy, the system must have:
met the five conditions of democracy
Free fair elections
Freedom of political assembly
Regime has accountability based on fixed, knowable, transparent procedures
Civil and political rights
Independent judiciary
Been in existence for some kind of length of time
Democratic practices that have become deeply ingrained and the five conditions have been met relatively consistently

4. Democratization Briefing Paper
Democratization is the process by which a nation-state moves from non-democracy through procedural to fully consolidated substantive democracy.
This has happened in three waves
19th and early 20th C – US, UK, France (sorta), Canada, et al
After WWII as empires crumbled and fascism failed
70’s through 90’s as communism and the USSR failed and the authoritarians throughout saw their fragile economies and corrupt leadership styles become illegitimated
Democratization Briefing Paper

5. Democratization Briefing Paper
Substantive Democracy – like Kesselman’s enduring or consolidated democracy
Procedural democracy – has the basics like a newly transitional democracy, but not consolidated yet
Illiberal democracy – has the appearance of democracy, like a Potemkin Village, but the underlying factors do not exist to much extent
Electoral authoritarianism – non-democracies who pretend to be democratic
Democratization Briefing Paper

6. Briefing Paper - Preconditions of Democratization
Level of economic development – while not necessary, it is often an important catalyst in producing modernization:
an environment of education,
widespread information media,
improved infrastructure for information and transportation,
leading to civil society and better living standards.
All of this helps to lead to democratization.
International and regional environment of democracy – if the world, trading partners and neighbors want democracy, it puts pressure on system to democratize
But
If modernization leads to complex states, with complex and very valuable system outputs, there is significantly increased pressure for corruption leading to criteria of authoritarianism

7. AR#15 - Briefing Paper
Democratization is the process by which a nation-state moves from non- democracy through procedural to fully consolidated substantive democracy.
This has happened in three waves
19th and early 20th C – US, UK, France (sorta), Canada, et al
After WWII as empires crumbled and fascism failed
70’s through 90’s as communism and the USSR failed and the authoritarians throughout saw their fragile economies and corrupt leadership styles become illegitimated
Substantive Democracy – like Kesselman’s enduring or consolidated democracy
Procedural democracy – has the basics like a newly transitional democracy, but not consolidated yet
Illiberal democracy – has the appearance of democracy, like a Potemkin Village, but the underlying factors do not exist to much extent
Electoral authoritarianism – non-democracies who pretend to be democratic

8. Kesselman AR#15 - Briefing Paper
Preconditions of Democratization
Level of economic development – while not necessary, it is often an important catalyst in producing modernization:
an environment of education,
widespread information media,
improved infrastructure for information and transportation,
leading to civil society and better living standards.
All of this helps to lead to democratization.
International and regional environment of democracy – if the world, trading partners and neighbors want democracy, it puts pressure on system to democratize
Kesselman AR#15 - Briefing Paper
Preconditions for consolidation
1 – civil society
2 – political society of rules, institutions and processes
3 – rule of law
4 – professional, permanent, apolitical bureaucracy and military
5 – economic society that has freedom within limits

9. Kesselman AR#15 - Briefing Paper
Consolidated democracy
Free and fair competitive elections with rules and regularity
Freedom of assembly and party activity
Procedures w/o arbitrariness, due process, transparency in policy-making and accountability
Civil liberties & rights w/ political equality
Independent judiciary with power over other institutions of gov’t
Substantive/consolidated democracy –
Democratic competition accepted by all major actors seeking political influence
Political and Civil rights
Civil society
Multiple & free sources of info
Citizen participation

10. Kesselman AR#15 - Briefing Paper
Consolidated democracy
political freedom
civil society
political society of rules, institutions and processes
rule of law
professional, permanent, apolitical bureaucracy and military
economic society that has freedom within limits
Substantive/consolidated democracy –
Rule of law
Independent judiciary
Society has accepted the values of competitive parties, independent judiciaries, subordinated militaries, and the rule of law
Continued modernization and improved standards of living

11. Briefing Paper - process of democratization
Independence
Breakdown of authoritarianism
Can be top down
Military dealmaking
Death of the leader
Bottom up
Economic problems
Education and civil society development
Democratic institutions and practices – procedural democracy
Consolidation
Briefing Paper - process of democratization
During “transition” a country needs:
Civil society
Contingent consent political culture – belief in the value of compromise
Elections becoming freer and fairer
Development of political and communication freedom
Development of rules and accountability procedures
Decreasing use of coercion, repression and force and the development of values against these tools

12. Briefing Paper – outcomes of democratization process
Further consolidation can occur if
Economic and social development/ modernization occurs
Citizens culture accepts the principles of democracy and demand them
Institutions must follow the rules and continue to promote the criteria of democracy
Public policies must continue to advance democratic criteria rather than retard them
If democratization deepens, then:
Less likely to enter into war
Much less likely for human rights abuses
No genocide
Few life-threatening problems like famine
Unclear if democracy leads to improved education, economics, life expectancy, or if these factors ae causes of democracy
Briefing Paper – outcomes of democratization process

13. S and K - Procedures of Democracy in a nation-state:
Elected officials make policy within constitutional limits w/o veto from informal or unelected sources or from super-sovereign influences from abroad
competitive, fair, free, non-coercive & regular elections
practically full universal suffrage
Practically universal right to run for office
Free and noncoercive right to expression
Free, widely available & multiple information sources
Civil society

14. S and K’s factors of feasibility for Democracy in a nation-state are:
Agreement that electoral winners get to rule, but winners cannot freeze out opposition
Citizens must follow rules, currently agreed to or not, so long as there is legitimacy based partially on belief that free elections will occur later “contingent consent”
There does not have to be consensus, just rule of law consistent with the political culture or set of political norms
Must be opportunity for alternation of power and policy
S and K’s factors of feasibility for Democracy in a nation-state are:

15. Anticipation Reading Guide – What Democracy is…and is Not
Disagree – elections do not determine democracy – see page 68 for the fallacy of electoralism and p 70 addendum #1 about situations where elected officials are of secondary policy-making authority to unelected officials like military leaders.
Agree – p 68 indicates that the focus of political conflict is the scope of government activity “Differences …over the optimal mix of the two (liberal v socialist conceptions of democracy) provide much of the substantive content of political conflict…”

16. Anticipation Reading Guide – What Democracy is…and is Not
Disagree – p 69 – discussion of numbers versus intensities that explains that majorities must be qualified by minority support or protections through any number of methods like constitutionalism, confederalism, federalism consociationalism, or neocorporatism.
Disagree – p 71 explains that a civic culture is generally a result of democratization, but that p 69 explains that a workable civil society is necessary to augment the protections of minorities that are necessary for substantive democracy and to mitigate conflicts without having to rely on the coercion of the state or the market place of privatism. But other poli-scis argue the reverse – this is equivocal.
Agree – p 70 – last full paragraph in the right column.