Democratization: Economic, cultural and institutional variables

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Why and how democratization has taken place in the countries with different levels of economic development and different cultural heritages has attracted interest in comparative politics. From Almond and Lipset in the 1950s to Diamond, O'Donnell and Huntington in the 1990s, the field was filled with theoretical arguments and empirical findings. Applying the Schumpeterian ‘democratic method’ to look at these ideas and data, I try to answer the ‘why and how’ from the western as well as eastern perspectives and to find out the strengths and weaknesses of the economic, cultural and institutional paradigms. The impact of economic growth on democratization is my central focus. My conclusion is that economic growth does not lead to democratization but contributes to its consolidation. I also dispute the arguments of ‘Asian values’ and Asian democracy.

This publication has 10 references indexed in Scilit: