Democratization in the late twentieth century is a 1991 book by samuel p. Between 1974 and 1990 more than thirty countries in southern europe. Huntington analyzes the causes and nature of these democratic. He identifies two previous waves of democratization a long slow wave from 1828 to 1926 and a second postwwii wave, from 19431964. The third wave of democratization in latin america by. Pdf the global expansion of democracy in the last quarter of the twentieth century was described by samuel huntington as the third wave of. Read this miscellaneous essay and over 89,000 other research documents. Syllabus democratization in asia, africa, and latin. This recent process of democratization is known as the third wave of democracy. The quality of democracy in latin america 35 years after the start of the third wave of democratization in the region 17. The new democracies of latin america that emerged with the third wave of democratization have now completed their transitions and have reached an advanced stage of their consolidation processes, despite some delays caused by clientelism, corruption, populism and the other alleged deficiencies taken as indicative of. Remmer, for instance, a leading scholar in the study of democracy in latin america, has recently made the point that a continent wide pattern of political change, like the one involved in the sweeping democratization wave of the 80s, involves more than coincidence.
From the late 1990s, latin america experienced a regionwide wave of elections that brought leftofcentre governments with diverse ties to these social movements to power. Democratization in the late twentieth century norman. Nations across the globe have demonstrated tremendous efforts in their transition to democratic regime. By 1991 thirty new countries had become democratic by 1991.
The third wave began in the mid 1970s and is still continuing today. The big wave, after many areas gained independence after wwii. Democracys third wave national endowment for democracy. The third wave of democratization in latin america. In the ongoing scholarly effort to explain democratic transitions, the role of. During the past two decades, research on democratization took four main directions. It seeks to explain the change from a region dominated by authoritarian regimes to one in which openly authoritarian regimes are the rare exception, as well as why some countries have achieved striking advances in democratization while others have experienced setbacks. It explains the sea change from a region dominated by authoritarian regimes to one in which openly authoritarian regimes are the rare. This wave of democratization since 1978 has been by far the broadest and most durable in the history of latin america, but many of the resulting democratic regimes also suffer from profound deficiencies.
The third wave of democratization in latin america by frances. The third wave of democratization in latin america book. In 1978, when the third wave of democratization began in latin america, the leading role of women in the social sphere did not translate into improvements in the political arena. Causes of the third wave of democratisation in the diverse.
In both cases, the overall assessment is that democracy is probably here to stay in the region, but the quality of. Investigating the reverse wave of dedemocratization. In political science, the waves of democracy are major surges of democracy which have. Comparing the first and thrid waves in europe and latin america. It explains the sea change from a region dominated by authoritarian regimes to one in which openly authoritarian regimes are the rare exception, and analyzes why some countries have achieved.
Five major factors have contributed significantly to the occurrence and the timing of the third wave transitions to democracy. By frances hagopian, associate professor of latin american studies in the. Presents new theoretical arguments about the causes of democratization. According to huntington, 1999, transition to democracy in the world happened in three main phases waves. Given the speed with which they have been multiplied and institutionalized, a reassessment of the course of democratization in latin america is necessary. Disenchantment about the ultimate outcomes of the third wave of democratization soon transformed in outright demopessimism. The origins of this process of transformation are to be found in the interaction between domestic and international forces. The idea of a democratic rollback started looming large on the horizon.
The quality of democracies in latin america international idea. Jun 06, 2005 the late twentieth century witnessed the birth of an impressive number of new democracies in latin america. The third wave of democratization the spanish paradigm history of the third wave history has proven that democratization around. It seeks to explain the change from a region dominated by authoritarian regimes to one in which openly authoritarian regimes are the rare exception, as well as why some countries have achieved striking advances. The first is to chart these unprecedented and unanticipated advances as well as the setbacks in what huntington 1991 called on a global scale the third wave of democratization. At the international level, the key events were the oil shocks of the 1970s, the related expansion of international lending, and the subsequent debt crisis. Huntington which outlines the significance of a third wave of democratization to describe the global trend that has seen more than 60 countries throughout europe, latin america, asia, and africa undergo some form of democratic transitions since portugals carnation revolution in.
This wave began mid1970s, but picked up steam during the winding down of the cold war and the. Economic and social factors driving the third wave of. October 26, 2012 media in latin america have traditionally been consolidated into the hands of a few wealthy families and large media conglomerates. To do research on this pattern she argues is the way to search for. The third wave of democratization in latin america kellogg. Press, 1999 and jillian schwedler, faith in moderation. Comparing the first and third waves in europe and latin america. Synopsis analyses the causes and nature of the transition by more than 30 countries in southern europe, latin america, east asia and eastern europe from authoritarian to democratic governments between 1974 and 1990. Constructing democratic governance in latin america is the third in a series of milestone studies overseen by the interamerican dialogue. The recent transitions, he argues, are the third major wave of democratization in the modem world.
In this sense, we can say that an integrated wave of regionalism and democratization appeared in latin america for the. Using political freedom indicators, electoral archives, and historical resources in 174. Apr 14, 2012 by 1991 thirty new countries had become democratic by 1991. Third wave democratizers in southern e urope, latin america, and for the most part in central europe and east asia. The process of democratization in latin america springerlink. The real democracy story in the region was of crisis and despair.
Huntington has provided some of the best conceptual analysis of contemporary political science and this work is yet another in that tradition. The author also argues that many thirdwave cases underscore the need to focus on the capacity of the state and political elites to structure and restructure party systems from below. Huntington claims that the third wave of democracy was predominantly a catholic wave up two three quarters of the countries involved were catholic. Poor countries initiated the third wave in latin america, and notwithstanding many daunting challenges, only one of them peru has experienced a full democratic breakdown in the post1978 period. This global democratic revolution is probably the most important political trend in the late twentieth century. The expansion and incorporation of experimentalist forms of government in a num. A wave of democratisation, originating in portugal and spain in the 1970s, swept across the developing world in the 1980s and 1990s. Huntington which outlines the significance of a third wave of democratization to describe the global trend that has seen more than 60 countries throughout europe, latin america, asia, and africa undergo some form of democratic transitions since portugals carnation revolution in 1974. The origins of this process of transformation a at the international level, the key events were the oil shocks of the 1970s, the related expansion of international lending, and the subsequent debt crisis. The focus of democracy in latin america and of the third wave of democratization in latin america is the recent shift from authoritarian to democratic governments in latin america and throughout the world see huntington 1991.
Pdf latin american politics after the third wave of. Reassessing the three waves of democratization world. Empirically, the author studies the brazilian party system and democratization, with particular reference to the 197996 period. Since the publication in 1991 of huntingtons seminal work on the third wave, research on democratization has been conducted within the framework sketched by this fascinating metaphor. Syllabus democratization in asia, africa, and latin america. The current era of democratic transitions constitutes the third wave of democratization in the history of the modern world. Rethinking party systems in the third wave of democratization.
Jul 15, 20 why latin america is becoming less democratic. The study of democratization and the arab spring amel ahmed. In the particular case of latin america the trend towards democracy was even particularly remarkable. Democratization in the late twentieth century julian j. The third wave of democratization in latin america edited by. Includes the democratization of central, latin, and south america as well as postcommunist europe. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, women were involved in the grassroots movements that helped overthrow dictatorships and spur the transition jimenez polanco. Early alarm bells rang in the late 1990s, when diamond questioned about the end of the third wave 1996 and saw in the militarys seizure of power. Latin americas struggle with democratic backsliding brookings. Democratization waves have been linked to sudden shifts in the distribution of power. Spain and portugal first and then poland and hungary in europe, the philippines in south east asia and latin american countries were the protagonists of the third wave. The first integrated wave of regionalism and democratization.
Huntington analyzes the causes and nature of these democratic transitions, evaluates the prospects for stability of the new democracies, and explores the possibility of more countries becoming democratic. The countries in latin america, the caribbean, europe, and east asia that were most susceptible to american influence have, with a. From the late 1990s, latin america experienced a regionwide wave of elections that brought left of centre governments with diverse ties to these social movements to power. It explains the sea change from a region dominated by authoritarian regimes to one in. Thomas mackie and richard rose, the international almanac of electoral history new york. The third wave of democratization poses empirical and theoretical challenges to modernization arguments as applied to latin america. The third wave started in the 1970s and really took off in the late 1980s, with the democratization of latin america and the fall of the berlin wall.
Wave of democratisation in latin america, africa and asia, it seems that. Transition to democracy in latin america, case study of mexico. Transition to democracy in latin america, case study of. This socalled third wave huntington, 1991 moved across latin america and eastern europe, and later asia and africa.
The case ofbrazilstanforduniversitypress, 1999, presidentialism and democracy in latin america cambridgeuniversity press, coedited, 1997, and building democratic institutions. Driving the third wave of democratization february 2008 abstract we identify permanent democratic transitions during the third wave of democratization and the nineties, when many former socialist countries moved towards representative rule. This was the 60s latin america took huge strides, and post war occupation of europe. The third wave of democracy gained momentum in latin america only in the 1990s hagopian and mainwaring, 2005 and with it, scholars began evaluating. International idea, 2014, publicationsfundingof politicalpartiesandelectioncampaigns. Maybe recent vents in the maghreb and the middle east are the start of a fourth wave, now focused on arab countries. According to silva 2010a, the democratization that took place in the region enabled the processes of transition and consolidation of latin american democracies, and even with notable institutional and. Significantly, each of the first two waves ended with what he calls a reverse wave of democratic breakdowns 192242, 196175. The third wave of democratization the spanish paradigm.
This volume offers an ambitious and comprehensive overview of the unprecedented advances as well as the setbacks in the post1978 wave of democratization. Rather, the period from the late 1950s to the mid1970s may be characterized as one of relatively trendless fluctua tion, leading to the breaking of a new wave of democratization in 1976 and the subsequent explosion of democratization since 1990. Democratisations third wave and the challenges of democratic. Europe and north america since the third wave of democratization began in the 1980s. The late twentieth century witnessed the birth of an impressive number of new democracies in latin america. The first long wave of democratization began in the 1820s, with the widening of the. During the 1980s, latin america experienced the longest and deepest wave of democratization in its history. Between 1974 and 1990 more than thirty countries in southern europe, latin america, east asia, and eastern europe shifted from authoritarian to democratic systems of government. The third wave began in 1974 carnation revolution, portugal and included the historic democratic transitions in latin america in the 1980s, asia pacific countries philippines, south korea, and taiwan from 1986 to 1988, eastern europe after the collapse of the soviet union, and subsaharan africa beginning in 1989.
Huntington originally had this wave ending in 1990, but it is generally accepted now to be continuing currently. Over the last decade and a half, however, several governments in the region, including venezuela, ecuador, argentina. Here he analyzes the transition to democracy of some thirty countries, mainly in asia and latin america, in the period before the democratic revolutions in eastern europe and the former soviet union. The countries in latin america, the caribbean, europe, and east asia. Huntington, a political scientist at harvard university in his article published in the journal of democracy.
Democratization in the late twentieth century, university of oklahoma press, 1991. Find materials for this course in the pages linked along the left. Why latin america is becoming less democratic the atlantic. The most comprehensive analysis of the post1978 democratization wave in latin america.
A group of factors may explain the pink tide in latin america. Third wave democracy, also known as democracys third wave in some political science arenas, refers to the third major surge of democracy in history. For the first time in decades, democracy in the region is facing a sustained, coordinated authoritarian threat. This volume, which offers an ambitious and comprehensive overview of the post1978 wave of democratization in latin america, has three objectives. It explains the sea change from a region dominated by authoritarian regimes to one in which openly.