Presents a theoretically and methodologically sophisticated remapping and analysis of political-institutional power diffusion in democracies.

This study of democratization since 1800 provides new data to explore the relationship between socioeconomic development and democracy over the last 200 years. Barbara Wejnert examines both countries and regions, and argues that the role of diffusion mechanisms (as opposed to internal factors) is especially significant, as are regional effects.

Analyses the ways markets and democracy have diffused around the world through interdependent decision-making.

The explosive spread of democracy has radically transformed the international political landscape and captured the attention of academics, policy makers, and activists alike. With interest in democratization still growing, Nathan J. Brown and other leading political scientists assess the current state of the field, reflecting on the causes and diffusion of democracy over the past two decades. The volume focuses on three issues very much at the heart of discussions about democracy today: dictatorship, development, and diffusion. The essays first explore the surprising but necessary relationship between democracy and authoritarianism; they next analyze the introduction of democracy in developing countries; last, they examine how international factors affect the democratization process. In exploring these key issues, the contributors ask themselves three questions: What causes a democracy to emerge and succeed? Does democracy make things better? Can democracy be successfully promoted? In contemplating these questions, The Dynamics of Democratization offers a frank and critical assessment of the field for students and scholars of comparative politics and the political economy of development. Contributors: Gregg A. Brazinsky, George Washington University; Nathan J. Brown, George Washington University; Kathleen Bruhn, University of California at Santa Barbara; Valerie J. Bunce, Cornell University; José Antonio Cheibub, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Bruce J. Dickson, George Washington University; M. Steven Fish, University of California at Berkeley; John Gerring, Boston University; Henry E. Hale, George Washington University; Susan D. Hyde, Yale University; Craig M. Kauffman, George Washington University; Staffan I. Lindberg, University of Florida; Sara Meerow, University of Amsterdam; James Raymond Vreeland, Georgetown University; Sharon L. Wolchik, George Washington University

Publisher description

To shed light on the global reassertion of authoritarianism in recent years, this volume analyses transnational diffusion and international cooperation among non-democratic regimes. How and with what effect do authoritarian regimes learn from each other? For what purpose and how successfully do they cooperate? The volume highlights that present-day autocrats pursue mainly pragmatic interests, rather than ideological missions. Consequently, the connections among authoritarian regimes have primarily defensive purposes, especially insulation against democracy promotion by the West. As a result, the authors do not foresee a major recession of democracy, as occurred with the rise of fascism during the interwar years. The chapters in this book were originally published in a special issue of Democratization.

This book explores the course and causes of the worldwide diffusion of democracy through an assessment of the political and economic development of individual countries from the year 1800 to 2005. Using this extended range of data and examining multiple variables, Barbara Wejnert creates a conceptual model for the diffusion of democracy and to measure national democratization. The author characterizes each nation's political system, its networking with other countries, level of development, and media advancement, in order to pinpoint what leads to national and regional progress to, or regress from, democratization. Her innovative findings challenge established thinking and reveal that the growth of literacy does not lead to democratization but is instead an outcome of democracy. She also finds that networks between non-democratic and democratic states are more important to a nation's democratization than financial aid given to non-democratic regimes or the level of national development.