ABSTRACT
According to the evolutionary resource distribution theory of democratization, formulated in Chapter 2, democratization takes place under conditions in which power resources have become so widely distributed that no group is any longer able to suppress its competitors or to maintain its hegemony. This theoretical explanation of democratization was derived from the Darwinian interpretation of politics according to which competition for scarce resources is the central and permanent theme of politics. The scarcity of resources makes this competition inevitable in all parts of the living nature. People and groups struggle for political power in order to affect the distribution of important resources. Because power is based on sanctions, it is reasonable to assume that the success in the struggle for power depends on the distribution of sanctions used as sources of power. This kind of Darwinian interpretation of politics led me to formulate the theoretical explanation for democratization presented in Chapter 2. Democracy means that power is shared by the many and not concentrated in the hands of the few. When important resources used as sources of power are widely distributed, environmental circumstances are favorable for the distribution of political power and for the emergence of democracy.
