Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation (Paperback)

Juan J. Linz

ISBN 10: 0801851580 / ISBN 13: 9780801851582

Published by Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD, 1996

About this Item

Paperback. This comparative analysis of the process of democratization looks at Southern Europe, South America and post-communist Europe. The authors reconceptualize the major types of modern nondemocratic regimes, and the consequences of each type for the paths available to democratic transition and consolidation. An effective state is seen as necessary for effective citizenship, and the text offers criteria and evidence for politicians and scholars alike to distinguish between democratic consolidation and pseudo-democratization. Interviews are included with participants in most of the 14 countries studied. Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation contains the first systematic comparative analysis of the process of democratic consolidation in southern Europe and the southern cone of South America, and it is the first book to ground post-Communist Europe within the literature of comparative politics and democratic theory. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780801851582

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation (Paperback)
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD
• Publication Date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0801851580
• ISBN 13: 9780801851582
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Since their classic volume The Breakdown of Democratic Regimes was published in 1978, Juan J. Linz and Alfred Stepan have increasingly focused on the questions of how, in the modern world, nondemocratic regimes can be eroded and democratic regimes crafted. In Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation, they break new ground in numerous areas. They reconceptualize the major types of modern nondemocratic regimes and point out for each type the available paths to democratic transition and the tasks of democratic consolidation. They argue that, although "nation-state" and "democracy" often have conflicting logics, multiple and complementary political identities are feasible under a common roof of state-guaranteed rights. They also illustrate how, without an effective state, there can be neither effective citizenship nor successful privatization. Further, they provide criteria and evidence for politicians and scholars alike to distinguish between democratic consolidation and pseudo-democratization, and they present conceptually driven survey data for the fourteen countries studied.

Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation contains the first systematic comparative analysis of the process of democratic consolidation in southern Europe and the southern cone of South America, and it is the first book to ground post-Communist Europe within the literature of comparative politics and democratic theory.

About the Authors

Juan J. Linz is Sterling Professor Emeritus of Political and Social Science at Yale University. In addition to the works coauthored and coedited with Professor Stepan, Professor Linz has published works on democracy, democratization, and comparative politics, including Sultanistic Regimes, also published by Johns Hopkins.

Alfred Stepan is the Wallace Sayre Professor of Government at Columbia University. His books include Democracies in Danger, Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation, and The Breakdown of Democratic Regimes, all also published by Johns Hopkins, the last two with Juan J. Linz.