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== Waves ==

This field has conceptualized three 'waves' of democratization.

 1. The first wave was very general, starting somewhere in the 19th century and continuing until the rise of [[Italy/BenitoMussolini|fascism]].
 2. The second wave followed [[WorldHistory/WorldWar2|WW2]] and was characterized by decolonization.
 3. The third wave began with [[Portugal]] and [[Spain/Democratization#Constitution_of_1978|Spain]], but is largely a story of Latin America, Asia, and Eastern Europe following the fall of the [[WorldHistory/SovietUnion|USSR]].

There are then reactionary waves of autocratization that follow these:

 1. Obviously, the rise of fascism.
 2. Decolonization dropped off in the 1960s. The Cold War also saw several notable autocracies propped up.
 3. In the context of the [[UnitedStates/GeorgeWBush|War on Terror]] and the Great Recession of 2008, many democracies have backslid. The Arab Spring is a notable counterpoint.

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 * [[SurveyMeasuresOfDemocraticAttitudesAndSocialDesirabilityBias|Survey measures of democratic attitudes and social desirability bias]], Pedro C. Magalhães and Laurits Florang Aarslew, 2025

Democratization

Democratization (and the inverse, autocratization or democratic backsliding) are comparative fields of study of (positively) how democracy is established and (normatively) how its establishment can be encouraged.

Contents

  1. Democratization
    1. Description
    2. Waves
    3. Reading Notes

Description

Democratization is a field of study approached by many competing theories and frameworks. As examples:

  • Some authors explore democratic backslide as a consequence of 'worsening' political polarization, and therefore apply affective polarization or constructivist methods. These typically lean into the normative side of the field.

  • Some authors explore autocracy as an instrument: an institution that is designed to extract benefits from one group for another. This is also an example of positive theory in this field.

Waves

This field has conceptualized three 'waves' of democratization.

  1. The first wave was very general, starting somewhere in the 19th century and continuing until the rise of fascism.

  2. The second wave followed WW2 and was characterized by decolonization.

  3. The third wave began with Portugal and Spain, but is largely a story of Latin America, Asia, and Eastern Europe following the fall of the USSR.

There are then reactionary waves of autocratization that follow these:

  1. Obviously, the rise of fascism.
  2. Decolonization dropped off in the 1960s. The Cold War also saw several notable autocracies propped up.

  3. In the context of the War on Terror and the Great Recession of 2008, many democracies have backslid. The Arab Spring is a notable counterpoint.

Reading Notes

CategoryRicottone

PoliticalScience/Democratization (last edited 2025-12-29 17:47:48 by DominicRicottone)