ABSTRACT
Culture is decisive in understanding the response of societies to the processes of democratization. The latter can be described as a transition from an authoritarian or semi-authoritarian regime to a democratic political system. Putnam suggests that the quality of democratic institutions in various regions of Italy correlate positively with social capital, a set of shared values which make it possible for individuals to cooperate outside their close-knit in-groups. Fukuyama too has argued that a culture rich in social capital is essential for creating a healthy civil society. Schwarz and Sagie have demonstrated that democratization correlates positively with the values of autonomy, openness to change and self-transcendence, while Inglehart has shown that societies emphasizing 'self-expression values' are much more likely to be democratic than are societies which emphasize 'survival values'. The functioning of a democracy is also dependent on an effective underpinning of its political institutions by cultural formations.
