Democratization in the late twentieth century norman. In political science, the waves of democracy are major surges of democracy which have. The first and most obvious is in the middle east and north africa, the region that has proved most resistant to democratization to date. The first and second democratic waves, however, were followed not. Samuel huntington defined three waves of democracy in his book the third wave. The second wave began after world war ii, but lost steam between 1962 and the mid1970s. First, are we witnessing the beginning of a fourth wave of democratization, which could extend democracys reach into other regions of the world that have. The main goal of this paper is to lay down the first foundation for constructing a crossregional theory of democratization and regime change in the postcold war wave by integrating subsaharan africa and the postcommunist space into one theoretical framework. Because they have democratized backwards, most thirdwave countries are currently incomplete democracies. The first wave of democratization the period, with its origins in the late nineteenth century, when democratization took hold under demands from increasingly educated and urbanized citizens. Yet reflecting on the years end, there are positive stories.
The second wave of democratization in africa is part of what samuel huntington calls the third wave of democratization in the global le vel, which happened in the 1990s and after cited in. Missing the boat to the third wave of democratisation. The third main wave began with the overthrow of the military regime in portugal in 1974. The latest wave began in 1974 and is still ongoing. Huntington has dubbed the third wave of democratization has seen more than 60 countries experience democratic transitions since 1974. The atlantic wave 17761798 the latin american wars of independence 18091824 the first constitutional wave 18201821 the romanticnationalist wave 18301831 the spring of nations 1848 the second constitutional wave 19051912 the postwwi. More attention is being paid to the first of these. The triumph of the allies in world war ii initiated a second wave of democratization that reached its zenith in 1962 with 36 countries. The middle east revolts place in history the new republic. Huntington scrutinizes the third wave of democratization in four. And the third, current wave of democratization, began in 1974 and is ongoing. Democracys third wave national endowment for democracy. While these countries have succeeded in bringing down authoritarian regimes and replacing them with freely elected governments, few of them can as yet be considered stable. The second, short wave of democratization occurred from 1943 to 1962.
The second main wave 194362 occurred through the occupation of the axis countries by the allied powers following the end of world war ii, the attempts at democratization in newly independent former british colonies during the postwar period, and the spread of democracy in latin america. Morocco is a positive example of democratization efforts. Finally, a fourth wave of democratization could potentially spread well beyond the arab world. In attempting to reconcile these contrasting views, one might speculate that the working class may be the driving force behind the first wave of democratization, whereas the origins of the third wave of democratization may be found primarily in intraelite political processes. During the second wave of democratization, three countries. This included spreading democracy to many nations that were previously thought to be inhospitable to democracy.
Either as the first government in a newly independent country or by replacing an. The period, with its origins in the late nineteenth century, when democratization took hold under demands from increasingly educated and urbanized citizens. Pdf the three waves of democratization herman patrick. Countries undergoing or having undergone a transition to democracy during a wave are subject to democratic backsliding. Huntington the third wave democratization in the world. Middle east and north african countries ultimately it is the mena countries that links the effect of islam. Following a reverse wave, the end of world war ii provided the impetus for the second, short wave of democratization. Democracy first spread through southern europe and latin america, then to eastern europe and asia, and finally to africa. Democratization in the third wave european countries essay.
Democratization in the third wave european countries essay example. The movement toward democracy in africa the workshops were convened against the background of what many observers have called the second wave of liberation in africa. Democratization in the late twentieth century is a 1991 book by samuel p. He also addresses the causative factors of this reverse wave in some countries, and he claims that the third wave of democratization that swept the world in the 1970s and 1980s might become a dominant feature of middle eastern and north african politics in the 1990s. Consolidating the third wave democracies johns hopkins. Ap comparative government democratization flashcards. The first wave of democratization started in the early 19th century and persisted. A wave of democratization is a group of transitions from nondemocratic to democratic regimes that occurs within a specified period and that significantly outnumbers transitions in the opposite direction in the same period. Reassessing the three waves of democratization jstor. In 1979 the third wordwide wave of democratization was due to the overthrow of portuagese dictatorship in europe which spread to asia during the 1980s. The gist of his theory is that there have been three basic periods of democratization that have occurred throughout the world throughout history. The third wave started in the 1970s in southern europe, spilled over to south america, some asian and african countries, and culminated in the democratization of the former communist countries in eastern europe for more information on waves of democratization cf. The third wave countries in some cases failed to consolidate democracy. The movement toward democracy in africa democratization.
According to huntington, the first wave, initiated by the independence of the usa. The suggestion that this third wave of autocratization began as far back as the early 1990s is a striking one, given that until 2000 the number of countries experiencing democratization was higher than at any other point in history before the third wave. The reversewave happens after the first wave of democratization in which some but not all countries that transitioned into democratic political systems revert back to nondemocratic political systems. The first 20thcentury wave of democracy occurred after world war i and the second after world war ii, he said. The first wave of democracy, 18281926 began in the early 19th century when suffrage was granted to the. Egypt, one of the most influential countries in the arab world, has witnessed a major democratic backslide. It was ended, and partially reversed, by the great depression and the rise of nazi germany. This wave was relatively brief, with a large proportion of countries succumbing to autocracy in. In fact, i think we already sawor, arguably, are still seeingthe next wave of democratization in the form of the arab spring and its aftermath. Huntington book, the thirdwave, democratization in the late twentieth century, highlighting its principal ideas and concepts. One of the first concepts the author defines is that of democracy, which for the purposes of this book is defined.
The term, waves of democratization, popularized by huntington 1991, can be conceptualized in at least three ways. In order to qualify for the democracy label, a country must grant participatory. In order to qualify for the democracy label, a country must grant. It was followed by a rise of dictatorships during the interwar period. The first wave began in america in the early nineteenth century and. During the following 25 years, there was a dramatic expansion of democracy worldwide. The third wave of democracy started in portugal in 1974 and spread to asia, eastern europe, and latin america.
Mussolini in italy marked the beginning of a first reverse wave that by 1942 had reduced the number of democratic states in the world to 12. Authoritarian regimes are being challenged by individuals and movements in search of more democratic forms of governance. The first wave during the 19th century, democracy was begun in western europe and north america. Not every transitions of democracy occur at the same. The recent transitions, he argues, are the third major wave of democratization in the modem world. The first one brought democracy to western europe and northern america in the 19th century. The first, long wave of democratization occurred from 1828 till 1926. It is conceivable the scenes from tunis and cairo could eventually serve as a rallying cry for a. As with the definition of the term, the importance of democratization is easy to see at first glance but is much more complicated in practice. This is then followed by a minor reverse wave that continues through the early 1940s, after which the trend turns upward again, although not in so pronounced a fashion as that suggested by huntingtons data. Democratization is important because of one of the most widely but not universally accepted trends in international relations, known as the democratic peace. A wave of democratization can bring liberalization and partial democratization to a political system.
Thereafter came an enormous global swing away from democracy in the 1960s and. The first small wave was in the early 1800s, the second took place immediately after the second world war, and the third wave started in southern. Democratization in the third wave european countries. When did the first long wave of democratization occur. The third wordwide wave of democratization did not however affect the undemocratic east asian countries as they challenged the notion of demoratization and avocated asian values. Huntington analyzes the causes and nature of these democratic transitions, evaluates the prospects for stability of the new democracies, and explores the possibility of more countries becoming democratic. The first wave of democratization 1177 words bartleby. A group of transitions from nondemocratic regime to democratic regimes that occur within a period of time and that significantly outnumber transitions in the opposite directions. As it was premature to announce the end of history in.
The first wave of democratization started in the early 19. The first wave of democratization happened is what huntington refers to as the first long wave that lasted from the 1828 1926. The sequence in which countries develop a modern state and introduce democratic elections has differed radically between waves of democratization. The third wave introduction the purpose of this paper is to summarize samuel p. By contrast, countries in the first wave of democratization became modern states before universal suffrage was introduced. Huntington which outlines the significance of a third wave of democratization to describe the global trend that has seen more than 60 countries throughout europe, latin america, asia, and africa undergo some form of democratic transitions since portugals carnation revolution in 1974.