ABSTRACT
This book deals with strategies of democratization. The idea is to explore the scope and significance of human choices in the process of democratization and to produce knowledge that might help to overcome various obstacles in the path of democratization. What kinds of strategies might most effectively further attempts to democratize political systems and to consolidate democratic institu-tions? Two major approaches are taken to the problem; the first approach is the more theoretical of the two. It poses the question of the relative significance of social and other environmental constraints versus conscious strategies of de-mocratization. Is democratization a more or less unintended consequence of change in social conditions and other environmental factors, or is it rather a result of the conscious efforts of political actors to change a country's political system? To what extent might it be possible to further or hamper democratization by conscious political and social strategies, and what should those strategies be? The second approach highlights particular countries and regions in which the struggle for democracy is actually taking place. Attention is devoted to actual strategies used in the struggle for democracy in various countries and under different local conditions. What strategies have actually been used in the process of democratization? How can we explain successful and failed attempts to democratize political systems? Have the strategies been rational and effective, or have they been faulty and mistaken? Which strategies have been successful and which have failed? To what extent has the success or failure in a particular case been due to social conditions and to political strategies used in the struggle for democratization? The chapters dealing with particular countries and regions illustrate the actual strategies used in the struggle for democracy in various parts of the world and in widely different social and political circumstances. The two approaches are intended to complement each other. General arguments and hypotheses provide a framework for detailed analyses of particular countries, whereas the latter offer empirical data that can be used to test our general arguments and hypotheses.
