DAT lecture notes and summary of the readings

DAT lecture notes and summary of the readings Lecture notes Lecture 1 Introduction Patterns of democracy -Three waves WWI ending Decolonization Fall of communism -Recent -Mostly in western world Why bother with democracy?-Amartya Sen - Democracy as a universal value Most people see value (not everyone wants it) The value of democracy

oIntrinsic: on itself useful

oInstrumental: provides benefits (accountability)

oConstructive: understanding our wants and needs (positive

feedback) Against economic or cultural preconditions for democracy Substantive view -Adam Przeworski – Why bother with elections?More minimalist  competitive elections “as a mechanism by which we decide who will govern us and how.” When repeated, voters can express dissatisfaction with how they are governed.More cautious about the benefits Procedural view on democracy  Doesn’t want to confuse democracy with outcomes of democracy -E.g. India Democracy continuing to function in midst of social cleavages and large-scale violence  how?Democracy as an independent variable (an outcome) -Democracy as outcomes (DV) vs democracy as cause (IV)

-Independent variable: democracy  economic performance, climate

change, peace -Democracy  growth The Lee Hypothesis oDemocratic leaders are more short-term oriented (because of elections) and are responsible to large group of people 1 / 4

oAutocratic leader that’s economic oriented is less short- term oriented and responsible to smaller group of people (better  Singapore) Democracies often more growth, but not a large difference oSingapore lot of growth, but also countries like North Korea oLess similarities among non-democratic countries -Democracy  climate change Weak negative effect -Democracy  peace Strongest evidence Higher number of democracies, less political violence Democracies are much less likely to experience severe violence Could be “baked into” definition Lecture 2 What is democracy?Democracy, then and new -Etymology Democracy as rule by the people -But who, what, how, when and where?-Early theoretical treatments Plato, The Republic oGovernment as realm of experts (ship of state) oDemocracy as mob rule Aristotle, The Politics oRegime classification Number of rulers (one, few, many) Good and bad forms Seen as susceptible to class warfare, unstable and dangerous Same to Montesquieu, Locke, etc.-Early experiments Athenian democracy oSuffrage for free, adult males oFree speech, political equality, direct participation

Early ‘democracy’: council governance, village governance

Very different oElection by lot, and/or direct decision-making, limited in processes and size -Shift in mid-19 th century French and American Revolutions Democracy as representative government Rapid expansion Ony white men with property -Connection with liberalism (Parekh) Emphasis on individual Capitalism as democratization of economic system -Resistance to expansion of democracy, including from liberals 2 / 4

Proportioneel kiessysteem omdat arbeiders grootste deel van de samenleving zijn en bij majoritan system verliest elite macht Conceptions of democracy 1.Substantive vs. Procedural conceptions Substantive or maximalist view oClassifies regimes by the outcomes they produce

oHowever:

Too many attributes  no empirical referents For some questions  limited analytical use Procedural or minimalist view oClassifies regimes according to institutions and procedures

oHowever:

Too few attributes  all cases become instances Procedural definitions more common 2.Electoral vs. liberal conceptions Electoral democracy (Dahl’s polyarchy) oContestation Classifies regimes by procedures of democratic competition

However: are competitive elections enough?

oInclusion Classifies regimes based on who participates in the democratic process

However: inclusion  little variation?

Liberal democracy oAdds democracy as limited government Maintain a system of rights based on principle of maximum liberty

However: imports liberalism

Electoral conception most common 3.Other conceptual debates Dichotomous vs. continuous oDemocracy as a qualitative difference Beyond electoral vs. liberal democracy oVarieties of Democracy project oElectoral, liberal, majoritarian, participatory, deliberative, and egalitarian conceptions National vs. subnational regime type

oExamples:

US states Indian states

From concepts to measurements:

building democracy indices  3 / 4

Measuring electoral democracy (V-Dem) -Institutional and procedural prerequisites

• Electoral democracy index

1.Elected officials 2.Free, fair and frequent elections 3.Freedom of expression (including press freedom) 4.Freedom of association 5.Inclusive citizenship II.Liberal component index 1.Equality before the law and protection of civil liberties 2.Judicial constraints on the executive 3.Legislative constraints on the executive -Liberal component index is subset of electoral democracy  not every electoral democracy is a liberal democracy (Mexico, Poland, Nigeria, Mongolia) Debates on measurement -Divergence in findings Most disagreement for “mixed” or hybrid regimes -Objective vs. subjective measures E.g. dichotomous DD measures vs. multidimensional V-Dem index Disagreement on presence and extent of global democratic backsliding  objective measures show less democratic backsliding “Democratizing” democracy -Bikhu Parekh – The Cultural Particularity of Liberal Democracy Liberal democracy oLiberalism as the dominant element oConstructs individual as central unit oDemocratic government as limited government Parekh’s critique of liberal democracy oUniversal aspirations of a culturally particular form oImposes liberal ideology on democracy Other critiques oState formation radically different in postcolonial states oLate-stage capitalism and current crisis of democracy Are other combinations of liberalism and democracy possible?oImportance of community Lecture 3 What is autocracy?The most common form of governance throughout human history, until the 1990s

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