Transitions, Interrupted Routes toward Democracy in Latin America

Peter H. Smith ； Matthew C. Kearney

《Taiwan Journal of Democracy》 6卷1期 (2010/07) Pp. 137-163

https://doi.org/10.29654/TJD.201007.0006

並列摘要

This essay contributes to existing literature on regime transitions by offering a systematic analysis of structural pathways toward democracy in Latin America. Through a statistical exploration of nineteen countries from 1978 through 2008, the study identifies recurrent routes of political change, stopping points, and regime reversals. Aggregate patterns are then applied to individual countries. Results show that most Latin American nations have made successful ex its from authoritarianism, but without moving all the way to full democracy; that illiberal democracy has become the modal form of political organization throughout the region; that illiberal democracy has formed a crucial stepping stone in progressions toward liberal democracy; and that the eventual form of routes toward democracy depends very largely on two factors-first, prior national experience with pluralistic politics, and second, the relative size and capacity for mobilization of marginal sectors in society.

並列關鍵字

Democracy ； democratization ； illiberal democracy ； liberal democracy ； Latin America ； regime change ； transitology

參考文獻

O''Donnell, Guillermo(ed.),Schmitter, Philippe C.(ed.),Whitehead, Laurence(ed.)(1986).Transitions from Authoritarian Rule: Comparative Perspectives.Baltimore, MD:Johns Hopkins University Press.

Reuschemeyer, Dietrich,Stevens, Evelyne Huber,Stephens, John D.(1992).Capitalist Development and Democracy.Chicago:University of Chicago Press.

Pridham, Geoffrey(1995).Transitions to Democracy: Comparative Perspectives from Southern Europe, Latin America and Eastern Europe.Aldershot, England:Dartmouth.

Haggard, Stephan,Kaufman, Robert R.(1995).The Political Economy of Democratic Transitions.Princeton, NJ:Princeton University Press.

Collier, Ruth Berins(1999).Paths toward Democracy: The Working Class and Elites in Western Europe and South America.Cambridge, England:Cambridge University Press.