Where Does Democracy Come From?

[dreamshark]

I've been thinking about this question for the last few days. I would love to know what other thoughtful people think about it.

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How does a society move from authoritarian government to democracy? (using the broadest definition of democracy: roughly "of the people, by the people and for the people.")

1) Has any country ever moved directly from totalitarianism to something approximating democracy without going through at least a generation of something else in between? Is there more than one path to democracy? Are there prerequisites for democracy to work, and what are they?

2) Is it ever possible to impose democracy on another country? (leaving aside the question of whether or not it is desirable. The question is: is it possible?)

3) Is it possible for one country to foster democracy in another country, while still leaving it up to them when or if they want to take the step?


These are not rhetorical questions or invitations to a polemic. Surprisingly, the answer to #2 is "yes." There is one obvious example. It took me quite a while to think of it, but Richard got it immediately.

Comments

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

Spain's a puzzle. They tried desperately to get a republic going at least twice (starting in the mid-to-late 19th century) only to fall back into old habits of bloody civil war. Franco was the last of the dictators, ruling the country with an iron fist for, what, 40 years? Then he dies, everybody heaves a sigh of relief, the kindly old doddering monarch comes back from exile, and just like that Spain joins the rest of western Europe in a perfectly civilized constitutional monarchy. Where the heck did that come from?

One route to democracy is the one Dan mentioned in his comment, a gradual evolution over centuries with a larger and larger percentage of the population getting a political voice (along with a continuing extension of basic human rights). England followed this route, as did the Scandinavian countries.

Spain does not follow this pattern. It's Spain that made me ask if there might be more than one set of prerequisites for democracy to take hold. Hypothesis: Franco was the key. He wasn't exactly a nice person, but he wasn't a monster either. He had no qualms about killing anybody that opposed him, but once he solidified his hold on the country he just settled down and ran the place. It might be a stretch to call him a benevolent dictator, but he was at least a non-malevolent one, especially compared to some of Spain's historic monarchs. He lived a long time, helpfully spending the last few years in a coma, which gave the country a chance to transition gradually to life without Franco.

Truly malevelent dictators leave nothing but chaos behind them; the Duvalier family of Haiti being an excellent example of this.