ABSTRACT
Explanation is the goal of science, and explanatory power the criterion for assessing the validity of theory. The aims of 'empiricism' and 'realism' invoke unattainable standards, leaving people with little over which to exercise critical judgment. Abandoning the quest for a general explanation of democracy is not the only difficulty faced by a realist account. The second difficulty lies in the nature of the causal mechanisms that may be said to operate in and on the political world. 'Empiricist' studies of democratization do not aim simply to establish factors associated with democracy. They aim to explain. To this end they commonly try to establish necessary and/or sufficient conditions for a democratic regime: conditions without which democracy cannot occur and/or conditions which are in themselves adequate to bring about democracy. The initial attraction of necessary and sufficient conditions is easy to understand.
