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21. Disaggregating Political Regime: Conceptual Issues in the Study of Democratization

Author:
Gerardo L. Munck
Publication Date:
08-1996
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
The increasingly global scope of democratization has challenged comparativists to engage in crossregional research as part of a collective enterprise. The response to such a challenge, however, hinges upon their ability to both base their research on a set of clear concepts, a prerequisite for theory-building, and clarify their method of case selection, a prerequisite for theory-testing. While these conceptual issues have yet to be fully resolved, I show how the work of a group of 'regime analysts' provides the best starting point for scholars interested in this enterprise. For this purpose, I show how the disaggregation of the concept of political regime provides the basis for a distinction among three analytically separable problems--the process of transition, the outcome of this process of transition, and the process of consolidation--and for more nuanced distinctions in terms of modes of transition, regime types and subtypes, and degrees of consolidation. I also show how the problem of conceptual stretching is avoided by regime analysts in the course of case selection through the vertical organization of their concepts along a ladder of generality and the application of a simple rule. Finally, I show how the study of political regimes on the basis of quantitative indices of democracy fails to avoid the problems of conceptual conflation and conceptual stretching.
Topic:
Democratization, Politics, and Democracy
Political Geography:
Europe and South America

22. Democracy 'with Adjectives': Conceptual Innovations in Comparative Research

Author:
David Collier and Steven Levitsky
Publication Date:
08-1996
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
The recent trend toward democratization in countries throughout the globe has challenged scholars to pursue two potentially contradictory goals: to develop a differentiated conceptualization of democracy that captures the diverse experiences of these countries; and to extend the analysis to this broad range of cases without 'stretching' the concept. This paper argues that this dual challenge has led to a proliferation of conceptual innovations, including hundreds of subtypes of democracy-i.e., democracy 'with adjectives.' The paper explores the strengths and weaknesses of three important strategies of innovation that have emerged: 'precising' the definition of democracy; shifting the overarching concept with which democracy is associated; and generating various forms of subtypes. Given the complex structure of meaning produced by these strategies for refining the concept of democracy, we conclude by offering an old piece of advice with renewed urgency: It is imperative that scholars situate themselves in relation to this structure of meaning by clearly defining and explicating the conception of democracy they are employing.
Topic:
Globalization, Politics, and Democracy
Political Geography:
Global Focus

23. Accountability for Past Abuses

Author:
Juan E. Méndez
Publication Date:
09-1996
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
The transitions to democracy in the 1980s have yielded a wealth of experience regarding the way societies reckon with a recent past of massive human rights violations. This paper looks at the most influential literature produced contemporaneously with those experiences and analyzes its current validity in the light of new contexts in which the issue arises. The author places emphasis first and foremost on the duties that the State owes to the victims of human rights violations and to society and then looks at the objective limitations that most transitions place on governments' ability to satisfy demands for truth and justice. These duties are part of an emerging rule of international law that demands that certain crimes should not go unpunished. But the obligations of the State to the victims and to society are varied and not dependent on each other; even if prosecution and punishment are rendered legally or politically impossible, the duties to disclose all that can be established about each violation, to offer reparations, and to dismiss the culprits from the armed and security forces remain fully in force.
Topic:
Democratization, Human Rights, Social Movement, Democracy, and Public Policy
Political Geography:
Africa, Europe, South America, Central America, and Caribbean

24. Renovation in the Revolution? Dictatorship, Democracy, and Political Change in the Chilean Left

Author:
Kenneth Roberts
Publication Date:
03-1994
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
This paper provides an analysis of political learning and change in the Chilean Socialist and Communist parties since the overthrow of Salvador Allende in 1973. It argues that 'prodemocratic' patterns of political learning identified by other researchers are not an inevitable outcome of authoritarian experiences. Instead, they are contingent upon the interaction of several organizational and strategic factors. A 'most similar systems' comparison suggests that the flexible organizational structure and relative autonomy of the Socialist Party facilitated ideological and strategic 'renovation' under authoritarian rule, whereas the organizational rigidity and dependence of the Communist Party combined with its environmental constraints to produce a process of radicalization. These divergent patterns of change caused the two parties to reverse their respective positions within the Chilean party system, with important implications for Chile's democratic transition.
Topic:
Democracy, Dictatorship, Leftist Politics, Political Change, Political Behavior, and Salvador Allende
Political Geography:
South America and Chile

25. The Political Underpinnings of Economic Liberalization in Chile

Author:
Timothy R. Scully
Publication Date:
07-1994
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
The contemporary consensus over economic policy-making in Chile and the democratic government's capacity to effectively implement these policies are powerfully shaped by a combination of institutional legacies from Chile's democratic past and certain institutional holdovers from the Pinochet regime. This paper reviews briefly the performance of the Chilean economy under the Concertation government headed by Patricio Aylwin. It then argues that Chile's democratic government has been uniquely endowed with a capacity to successfully sustain economic liberalization, in part because of the reappearance of a well-institutionalized party system, in part because of certain nondemocratic limits built into the democratic game during the Pinochet regime. Over the medium term, however, these limits may pose a threat to the consensual style of politics that has come to characterize the post-Pinochet political arena in Chile, and ultimately may threaten democratic political stability if left unaddressed.
Topic:
Economics, Governance, Democracy, and Liberalization
Political Geography:
South America and Chile

26. Economic Policy Elites and Democratic Consolidation

Author:
Verónica Montecinos
Publication Date:
05-1993
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
After being the last to join the wave of democratic transitions in the 1980s, Chile is posing intriguing questions for those interested in understanding the present phase of democratic consolidation, not least because of the country's economic accomplishments. This paper suggests that the future of Chile's distinctive transition may be nearer the democratic pole than other "hybrid" democratic-authoritarian regimes that emerged in Latin America in the past decade. The performance of technocratic roles may result in less authoritarian styles of policy-making, due to a unique pattern of interaction between economic and political elites, aided by favorable economic conditions and the legacy of Chile's democratic traditions.
Topic:
Development, Democracy, Economic Growth, and Elites
Political Geography:
South America and Chile

27. From Democracy to Democracy: Continuities and Changes of Electoral Choices and the Party System in Chile

Author:
Timothy R. Scully and J. Samuel Valenzuela
Publication Date:
07-1993
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
After almost seventeen years of authoritarian rule with no regular national elections, Chileans have once again expressed themselves in the polls. The central question addressed in this paper is the extent to which there are continuities in the current elections with the past choices of the voters. This question is examined by comparing current vote totals by party and by tendency with those of the past, and by correlating the votes in the elections of 1969, 1970, and 1973 with the 1988 plebiscite and the 1989 presidential and parliamentary elections. The results show that there is a remarkable consistency of electoral choices in the country, which is still divided into left, center, and right tendencies. And yet there have been changes. New party labels have emerged, and the party system is currently much more centripetal than it was in the past, given a significant degree of consensus among the main political forces over the value of democracy as well as over fundamental socioeconomic policies. Whether these changes will prove to be long lasting in the face of renewed electoral competition over the next years is still an open question.
Topic:
Authoritarianism, Democracy, Voting Behavior, and Political Behavior
Political Geography:
South America and Chile

28. Juan Linz, Presidentialism, and Democracy: A Critical Appraisal

Author:
Scott Mainwaring and Matthew Shugart
Publication Date:
07-1993
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
This paper briefly reviews and critically assesses Juan Linz's arguments about the perils of presidentialism. We largely agree with Linz that presidentialism as it is normally practiced is less likely than parliamentarism to sustain democratic government. Nevertheless, we introduce a number of caveats into the argument. Although we agree with most aspects of Linz's four major criticisms of presidentialism, we disagree with one of them: we argue that presidentialism is less oriented towards winner-takes-all results than Westminster parliamentary systems. We also claim that presidentialism has some advantages that partially offset its drawbacks. These advantages can be maximized by paying careful attention to differences among presidential systems; we build a case for presidencies with weak legislative powers. Presidentialism also appears to be more viable with parties that are at least moderately disciplined, and it is especially problematic with highly fragmented multiparty systems and with congressional elections that occur more frequently than presidential elections. Finally, we argue that switching from presidentialism to parliamentarism could exacerbate problems of governability in countries with very undisciplined parties. All of these points suggest that even if Linz is largely correct in his argument that parliamentary government is more conducive to stable democracy, a great deal rests on what kind of parliamentarism and what kind of presidentialism are implemented.
Topic:
Government, Governance, Democracy, and Presidential Elections
Political Geography:
Europe, Asia, and South America