Conditions of Democracy. Lecture 6

1.

Lecture 6.
Prof. Smorgunov L., SPbSU

2.

1.
The Lipset’s concept of the relationship between socio-economic development
and democracy.
2.
Models of the relationship between economic development and democracy.
3.
Multifactorial models of the relationship between the conditions of democracy
and democratic regimes.

3.

4.

Lipset S. M. Some Social Requisites
of Democracy: Economic
Development and Political
Legitimacy. In: American Political
Science Review. Vol. 53. 1959. # 1. P.
69-105.
Lipset S. M. Political Man: The Social
Bases of Politics. Garden
City:Doubleday, 1960.

5.

What does it mean a democracy?
Socio-economic requisites influence on political regime.
Socio-economic requisites influence on stability/instability of political regimes.
Socio-economic requisites influence on legitimacy of political regimes.
What are socio-economic requisites?

6.

Democracy (in a complex society) is defined as a political system which supplies
regular constitutional opportunities for changing the governing officials.
This definition implies a number of specific conditions: (a) a "political formula," a
system of beliefs, legitimizing the democratic system and specifying the
institutions parties, a free press, and so forth-which are legitimized, i.e., accepted
as proper by all; (b) one set of political leaders in office; and (c) one or more sets of
leaders, out of office, who act as a legitimate opposition attempting to gain office.

7.

“Perhaps the most widespread generalization linking political systems to other
aspects of society has been that democracy is related to the state of economic
development. Concretely, this means that the more well-to-do a nation, the greater
the chances that it will sustain democracy”.
Economic
development
Democracy:
sustainability and
legitimacy

8.

Wealth
Industrialization
Stable and
unstable
democracies
and
dictatorchips
Urbanization
Education

9.

European and
nations:
English-speaking
Latin American
nations:
Stable
democracies (13)
Unstable
democracies and
dictatorships (15)
Democracies and
unstable
dictatorships (7)
Stable
dictatorships (13)
Australia
Austria
Argentina
Bolivia
Belgic
Bulgaria
Brazil
Cuba
Canada
Czechoslovakia
Chili
Dominique
Republic
Denmark
Finland
Columbia
Ecuador
Ireland
France
Costa Rica
El Salvador

10.

Indexes of Wealth
Indexes of
industrialization
Indexes of
education
Indexes of
urbanization
Per capita income, $
Percentage of males in
agriculture
Percentage literate, %
Per Cent in cities over
20 000
Thousands of persons
per doctor
Per capita energy
consumed (metric tons
of coal)
Primary education
enrollment per 1000
persons
Per Cent in cities over
100 000
Persons per motor
vehicle
Post-primary
enrollment per 1000
persons
Per Cent in
Metropolitan Areas
Telephones per 1000
persons
Higher education
enrollment per 1000
persons
Radios for 1000
persons
Newspaper copies per
1000 persons

11.

The average value is the indicator that characterizes the generalized
value of the characteristic or group of characteristics in the
population under study.
The value of the average values lies in their generalizing function.
The average value replaces a large number of individual
characteristic values, revealing the common properties inherent in
all units of the population.
The average allows to avoid the occasional reasons and to reveal the
general laws caused by the general reasons.

12.

Per capita
income, $
Thousands
of persons
per doctor
Persons per
motor
vehicle
Telephones
per 1000
persons
Radios per
1000
persons
Newspaper
copies per
1000
persons
European and
Englishspeaking
stable
democracies
695
0,86
17
205
350
341
European and
Englishspeaking
unstable
democracies
and
dictatorships
308
1,4
147
58
160
167
LA
democracies
and unstable
dictatorships
171
2,1
99
25
85
102
LA stable
dictatorships
119
4,4
274
10
43
43

13.

By effectiveness is meant the actual performance of a political system, the extent to
which it satisfies the basic functions of government as defined by the expectations
of most members of a society, and the expectations of powerful groups within it.
Legitimacy involves the capacity of a political system to engender and maintain the
belief that existing political institutions are the most appropriate or proper ones for
the society.

14.

Conditions
Initial possible consequence
Additional consequences
open class system
open class system
economic wealth
equalitarian value system
equalitarian value
system
political apathy
democracy
bureaucracy
capitalist economy
mass society
literacy
literacy
high participation in
voluntary organizations

15.

Although the various indices have been presented separately, it seems clear that
the factors of industrialization, urbanization, wealth, and education, are so closely
interrelated as to form one common factor – economic development.
The problem of conditionality of democracy is put in the aspect of correlation, and
not causality.
It is used the premise of linear dependence.
Average values were used, which characterize the general trend in groups of
countries.
The problem of regime stability was studied; stability depended not only on the
level of socio-economic development, but also on the effectiveness and legitimacy
of regimes.
The idea was used of the multivariate link between democracy and its conditions.

16.

17.

Democracy
Economy

18.

Democracy
Regression line
Economy

19.

Studies
Years
Lipset, Seong,
Torres
Dahl
1994
Level of
development, $
2346-5000
1957
700-800
Diamond
1974
740-2320
Huntington
1974-1989
1000-3000

20.

Democracy
в
а
с
Economy

21.

Democracy
Manufacture of consumer nondurable goods
Economy
Agrculture
Production of means of production
(heavy industry)
Manufacture of consumer durables

22.

23.

History
Internatio
nal
relations
Equality
Economic
developme
nt
Education
D
Social
structure
Commun
ication
Urbaniza
tion
Religion
Ethnic
different
iation

24.

Historical
Industrialization
Urbanization
Education
conditions
Communication
Democracy

25.

Development of city middle and/or
working class
+
+
Democratization
Economic development
~
Uniquality

26.

There is a strong link between democracy and socio-economic conditions.
This relationship can be not only correlative, but also causal.
A high level of development provides stability for democracies.
The relationship between conditions and democracy is straightforward, but in
recent decades it has clearly been like a curve.
The causal link between development and democracy can be unstable in time and
can vary in the periods and waves in world history.
The level of socio-economic development is the most significant variable, but other
factors should be taken into account.

27.

For other reading see: 1) Lipset S.M. Some Social Requisites
of Democracy: Economic Development and Political Legitimacy.
The American Political Science Review, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Mar., 1959), pp. 69-105;
2) Jackman Robert W. On the Relation of Economic Development to Democratic Performance.
American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 17, No. 3 (Aug., 1973), pp. 611-621.
Thank you!