University of California, Berkeley                                                                       Prof. M. Steven Fish

Department of Political Science                                                                        744 Barrows Hall

Political Science 137C                                                                                       tel. 643-1943

Fall 1998

 

 

TRANSITIONS TO DEMOCRACY

 

 

This course offers a comparative study of the wave of democratization that has swept much of Latin America, Southern Europe, East Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union during the past two decades. The course will analyze the theoretical literatures on regime change and compare the experiences of countries emerging from bureaucratic authoritarianism, military rule, personalistic dictatorships, and state socialism. We will investigate, among other topics: the meaning of democracy; the factors that facilitate or impede democratic transition; the roles and strategies of elites and mass movements; problems of nationalism and interethnic conflict in transitions; the relationship between democratization and economic transformation; and the possible limits of democratization and risks of reversion to authoritarianism.

 

This is an advanced course. There are no formal prerequisites, but the course is recommended only for students who possess some background and a strong interest in comparative politics.

 

Requirements consist of a midterm and a final exam. The midterm will count for roughly 40% of the course grade; the final exam, for 60%. TAs are given considerable latitude, however, to adjust grades in accordance with attendance and participation in lectures and discussion sections. During the course of the semester, students will have the opportunity to participate in one of the several debates that we will carry out on controversial topics investigated in the course. Effective participation in the student debates will enhance the final grade.

 

Much of the material for the course is contained in the course reader, which is available for purchase at Odin Readers. In addition to the reader, the following books are required for purchase:

 

 

Larry Diamond and Marc F. Plattner, eds., The Global Resurgence of Democracy, 2nd ed. (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996).

 

 

Axel Hadenius, ed., Democracy's Victory and Crisis (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997).

 

 

Donald L. Horowitz, Ethnic Groups in Conflict (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1985).

 

 

Guillermo O'Donnell and Philippe C. Schmitter, Transitions from Authoritarian Rule: Tentative Conclusions about Uncertain Democracies (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1986).

 

 

Alfred Stepan, Rethinking Military Politics: Brazil and the Southern Cone (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1988).

 

 

Syllabus

 

 

 

Week 1: What Are Democracy and Democratization?

 

Larry Diamond, "Three Paradoxes of Democracy," ch. 8 in The Global Resurgence

 

O'Donnell and Schmitter, chs. 1-2.

 

 

Week 2: "Requisites" of Democracy: Political Culture, Social Structure and Socioeconomic Development

 

Samuel P. Huntington, "Democracy's Third Wave," ch. 1 in The Global Resurgence

 

Francis Fukuyama, "The Primacy of Culture," ch. 26 in The Global Resurgence

 

Yung-Myung Kim, "'Asian-Style Democracy': A Critique from East Asia," Asian Survey 37, 12 (December 1997), pp. 1119-34.

 

Lahouari Addi, "Political Islam and Democracy: The Case of Algeria," ch. 6 in Democracy's Victory and Crisis

 

Larry Diamond, "Economic Development and Democracy Reconsidered," in Gary Marks and Larry Diamond, eds., Reexamining Democracy: Essays in Honor of Seymour Martin Lipset (Newbury Park: SAGE, 1992), pp. 93-139.

 

Hsin-Huang Michael Hsiao and Hagen Koo, "The Middle Classes and Democratization," in Larry Diamond, Marc F. Plattner, Yun-han Chu, and Hung-mao Tien, eds., Consolidating the Third Wave Democracies: Themes and Perspectives (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997), pp. 312-33.

 

 

Week 3: Dynamics of Transition, Routes to Democracy: Negotiations, Elite Bargains, and Pacts

 

Dankwart A. Rustow, "Transitions to Democracy: Toward a Dynamic Model," Comparative Politics 2, 3 (April 1970), pp. 337-63.

 

O'Donnell and Schmitter, chs. 3-4

 

Samuel P. Huntington, "How Countries Democratize," in Demetrios Caraley and Cerentha Harris, eds., Political Science Quarterly 108, 2 (1993), published as New World Politics: Power, Ethnicity, and Democracy (New York: The Academy of Political Science, 1993), pp. 1-38.

 

Terry Lynn Karl, "Dilemmas of Democratization in Latin America," Comparative Politics 23, 1 (October 1990), pp. 1-21.

 

Courtney Jung and Ian Shapiro, "South Africa's Negotiated Transition: Democracy, Opposition, and the New Constitutional Order, Politics and Society 23, 3 (September 1995), pp. 269-308.

 

 

Week 4: The Social-Organizational Infrastructure for Democracy: Civil Society

 

Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, ed. J. P. Mayer (Garden City, NY: Anchor/Doubleday, 1969), pp. 513-28.

 

Alfred Stepan, "State Power and the Strength of Civil Society in the Southern Cone of Latin America," in Peter Evans, Dietrich Rueschemeyer, and Theda Skocpol, eds., Bringing the State Back In (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985), pp. 317-43.

 

Bronislaw Geremek, "Civil Society Then and Now," ch. 20 in The Global Resurgence

 

M. Steven Fish, "Russia's Fourth Transition," ch. 22 in The Global Resurgence

 

Naomi Chazan, "Africa's Democratic Challenge," World Policy Journal 9, 2 (Spring 1992), pp. 279-307.

 

 

Week 5: Social Mobilization and Social Movements

 

O'Donnell and Schmitter, ch. 5

 

Sidney Tarrow, "'Aiming at a Moving Target': Social Science and the Recent Rebellions in Eastern Europe," PS: Political Science and Politics, March 1991, pp. 12-19.

 

Monica Jimenez de Barros, "Mobilizing for Democracy in Chile: The Crusade for Citizen Participation and Beyond," in Larry Diamond, ed., The Democratic Revolution: Struggles for Freedom and Pluralism in the Developing World (New York: Freedom House, 1992), pp. 73-88.

 

Ray Ekpu, "Nigeria's Embattled Fourth Estate," in Larry Diamond, ed., The Democratic Revolution: Struggles for Freedom and Pluralism in the Developing World (New York: Freedom House, 1992), pp. 181-200.

 

Deborah J. Yashar, "The Quetzal Is Red: Military States, Popular Movements, and Political Violence in Guatemala," in Douglas A. Chalmers et al., eds., The New Politics of Inequality in Latin America: Rethinking Participation and Representation (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997), pp. 192-216.

 

 

Week 6: Civil-Military Relations in Transitions: Moving the Armed Forces from Politics to National Defense

 

Stepan (entire; may skim chs. 2-4).

 

Wendy Hunter, "Politicians against Soldiers: Contesting the Military in Postauthoritarian Brazil," Comparative Politics 27, 4 (July 1995), pp. 425-43.

 

Marybeth Peterson Ulrich, "U.S. Assistance and Military Democratization in the Czech Republic," Problems of Post-Communism 45, 2 (March-April 1998), pp. 22-32.

 

 

Week 7: Establishing the Formal Bases for Democracy: Constitutional and Electoral Systems and Governmental Institutions

 

Juan J. Linz, "The Perils of Presidentialism," ch. 9 in The Global Resurgence

 

Donald L. Horowitz, "Comparing Democratic Systems," ch. 10 in The Global Resurgence

 

Seymour Martin Lipset, "The Centrality of Culture," ch. 11 in The Global Resurgence

 

Juan J. Linz, "The Virtues of Parliamentarism," ch. 12 in The Global Resurgence

 

Arend Lijphart, "Constitutional Choices for New Democracies," ch. 13 in The Global Resurgence

 

Guy Lardeyret, "The Problem with PR," ch. 14 in The Global Resurgence

 

Quentin L. Quade, "PR and Democratic Statecraft," ch. 15 in The Global Resurgence

 

Arend Lijphart, "Double-Checking the Evidence," ch. 16 in The Global Resurgence

 

Jon Elster, "Ways of Constitution-Making," ch. 7 in Democracy's Victory and Crisis

 

Andrew Reynolds, "Constitutional Engineering in Southern Africa," Journal of Democracy 6, 1 (April 1995), pp. 86-99.

 

 

Week 8: Political Parties and Elections

 

O'Donnell and Schmitter, ch. 6.

 

Kenneth M. Roberts, "From the Barricades to the Ballot Box: Redemocratization and Political Realignment in the Chilean Left," Politics and Society 23, 4 (December 1995), pp. 495-519.

 

Teh-fu Huang, "Party Systems in Taiwan and South Korea," in Larry Diamond, Marc F. Plattner, Yun-han Chu, and Hung-mao Tien, eds., Consolidating the Third Wave Democracies: Themes and Perspectives (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997), pp. 135-59.

 

Shaul Bakhash, "Iran's Remarkable Election," Journal of Democracy 9, 1 (January 1998), pp. 80-94.

 

Terrence Lyons, "Ghana's Encouraging Elections: A Major Step Forward," Journal of Democracy 8, 2 (April 1997), pp. 65-77.

 

 

Week 9: Managing National, Ethnic, and Regional Conflict

 

Horowitz, pp. 3-12, 36-41, 51-54, 131-35, 139-47, 166-71, 179-84, 201-07, 213-28, 291-311, 342-49, 563-76, 597-652, 681-84.

 

Robert M. Price, "Race and Reconciliation in the New South Africa," Politics and Society 25, 2 (June 1997), pp. 149-78.

 

 

Week 10: The Economy and Democratization I: An Outline of the Controversy

 

Adam Przeworski, "The Neoliberal Fallacy," Journal of Democracy 3, 3 (July 1992), pp. 45-59.

 

Robert A. Dahl, "Why Free Markets Are Not Enough," Journal of Democracy 3, 3 (July 1992), pp. 82-89.

 

Ralph Miliband, "The Socialist Alternative," Journal of Democracy 3, 3 (July 1992), pp. 118-24.

 

Anders Åslund, "The Case for Radical Reform," Journal of Democracy 5, 4 (October 1994), pp. 63-74.

 

Leszek Balcerowicz, "Understanding Postcommunist Transitions," Journal of Democracy 5, 4 (October 1994), pp. 75-89.

 

Joan M. Nelson, "Linkages Between Politics and Economics," Journal of Democracy 5, 4 (October 1994), pp. 49-62.

 

 

Week 11: The Economy and Democratization II: Evidence from Real-World Practice and the Problems and Challenges of Policymaking

 

David Schrieberg, "Dateline Latin America: The Growing Fury," Foreign Policy 106 (Spring 1997), pp. 161-75.

 

Mitchell Orenstein, "Lawlessness from Above and Below: Economic Radicalism and Political Institutions," SAIS Review 18, 1 (Winter-Spring 1998), pp. 35-50.

 

M. Steven Fish, "The Determinants of Economic Reform in the Post-Communist World," East European Politics and Societies 12, 1 (Winter 1998), pp. 31-78.

 

Surjit S. Bhalla, "Freedom and Economic Growth: A Virtuous Cycle?," ch. 10 in Democracy's Victory and Crisis

 

 

Week 12: The International Environment I: The Debate over Globalization

 

Jagdish Bhagwati, "Globalization, Sovereignty, and Democracy," in Democracy's Victory and Crisis

 

Claude Ake, "Dangerous Liaisons: The Interface of Globalization and Democracy," in Democracy's Victory and Crisis

 

Philippe C. Schmitter, "Exploring the Problematic Triumph of Liberal Democracy and Concluding with a Modest Proposal for Improving Its International Impact," in Democracy's Victory and Crisis

 

 

Week 13: The International Environment II: Actors, Policy, Action

 

Larry Diamond, "Promoting Democracy in the 1990s: Actors, Instruments, and Issues," in Democracy's Victory and Crisis

 

Joel D. Barkan, "Can Established Democracies Nurture Democracy Abroad? Lessons from Africa," in Democracy's Victory and Crisis

 

 

Week 14: The Possible Limits of Democratization and the Dangers of Reversion to Authoritarianism

 

Guillermo O'Donnell, "Delegative Democracy," ch. 7 in The Global Resurgence

 

Atul Kohli, "On Sources of Social and Political Conflicts in Follower Democracies," ch. 4 in Democracy's Victory and Crisis

 

Ken Jowitt, "Dizzy with Democracy," Problems of Post-Communism 43, 1 (January-February 1996), pp. 3-8.

 

Joseph Fewsmith, "Neoconservatism and the End of the Dengist Era," Asian Survey 35, 7 (July 1995), pp. 635-51.

 

M. Steven Fish, "The Pitfalls of Russian Superpresidentialism," Current History 96, 612 (October 1997), pp. 326-30.

 

Richard Joseph, "Africa, 1990-1997: From Abertura To Closure," Journal of Democracy 9, 2 (April 1998), pp. 3-17.

 

 

Week 15: Reflections on the Prospects for Democracy in Global Perspective

 

Juan J. Linz and Alfred Stepan, "Toward Consolidated Democracies," Journal of Democracy 7, 2 (April 1996), pp. 14-33.

 

Henry S. Rowen, "The Tide Underneath the 'Third Wave'," ch. 25 in The Global Resurgence

 

Philippe C. Schmitter, "More Liberal, Preliberal, or Postliberal?," ch. 27 in The Global Resurgence

 

Harry Harding, "Will China Democratize? The Halting Advance of Pluralism," Journal of Democracy 9, 1 (January 1998), pp. 11-17.

 

David I. Steinberg, "Korea: Triumph Amid Turmoil," Journal of Democracy 9, 2 (April 1998), pp. 76-90.

 

M. Steven Fish, "Mongolia: Democracy Without Prerequisites," Journal of Democracy 9, 3 (July 1998), pp. 127-41.

 

Juan J. Linz, "Some Thoughts on the Victory and Future of Democracy," ch. 17 in Democracy's Victory and Crisis