Modernization theory has its opponents and proponents debating the topic passionately, advancing arguments in its favor and opposition since its (theory’s) emergence. Modernization postulated that economic development led to democracy. In other words, the more developed a society was, the more its chances to democratize. It is to be stated here that conception of evolution of democracy, and democratization, is essentially seen as developed and witnessed in the United States and Europe. These states are a prototype, if not epitome, of evolved democracy. The modern understanding of democracy, its importance and influence are often understood through the prevalence and practice of democracy in the United States and European states. However, this classification could simply appear simplistic in nature when it comes to the more rigorous academic and philosophical debate surrounding the issue. The theory has its strong theoretical base; proffered by eminent social scientists. Its intellectual underpinning is primarily attributed to Seymour Martin Lipset. In this regard, Adam Prezewonski and Fernando Limongi offer their evaluation of the theory in Modernization Theories and Facts. These authors paraphrase the theory as, “The basic assumption of this theory, in any of its versions, is that there is one general process of which democratization is but final stage. Modernization consists of a gradual differentiation and specialization of social structures that culminates in a separation of political structures from other structures and makes democracy possible. The specific causal chains consist of sequence of industrialization, urbanization, education, communication, mobilization and political incorporation among innumerable others; a prog...
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...lization, democracy remains an elusive dream for many societies in the world. The theory, in my view, remains relevant even today as many societies struggle to move towards democratic transition. The dictatorial nature of certain regimes in the world has their critics: Both domestic and international. All the same, as stated above, economic development has not facilitated democracy in many countries of the world. Yet, paradoxically, there are instances where the transition has been witnessed. Nonetheless, as to how sustainable those fragile democracies are after the changes is something to be seen. Be that as it may, the democratic transition has not always been smooth. Thus so long as transition from dictatorship to democracy, and essentially democratic transition, continues, the theory will have its relevance and potency despite the criticisms that it has faced.
Ross states that to produce a more accountable and democratic government certain social changes need to take place. The modernization effect argument drew on the previous work of scholars Inglehart , Lipset and Deutsch and argued if “Occupational specialization, urbanization and higher levels of education” were to all improve, that in turn would help develop democracy prosper. Better education would lead to a more enlightened public better equipped to communicate and organize while improvements in occupational specialization would lead to enhanced skills and a more powerful middle-class. However, the scholars found that with oil wealth, these social changes are heavily inhibited, thus so is the democratic
middle of paper ... ... t Democracy in a Neoliberal Order: Doctrines and Reality, Z online Magazine Iversen, T., (2006), Handbook of Political Science, 1st ed, Spi Publisher Services. Pp 614-615 Koelbe, T. and Lipuma, E. (2008), 'Democratizing Democracy: A PostcolonialCritique of Conventional Approaches to the 'Measurement of Democracy', Democratization , Vol.15, No.1, Pp. 16-18 Przeworski, A., 2004. Capitalism, Development and Democracy.
In making this argument this essay seeks to five things. Firstly, to define democracy within the contemporary context offering the key characteristics of a modern re...
In “Democracy’s Third Wave”, Samuel P. Huntington examines the creation of democracies during the third wave and questions whether they were part of a continuing “global democratic revolution” or simply a limited expansion only meant for countries that had already experienced democracy (Huntington, 1991). He does this through research based empirical study by tracing the series of events leading to democratization. There are both quantitative (in regards to economic growth and the amount/percentage of countries that democratized during all three waves) and qualitative (through historical evidence in regards to snowballing) research methods. Huntington’s examination is based on having democratization as his dependent variable and his five factors,
The next theory is the modernization theory, which is the basis for the rest of the essay. The modernization theory is that since the West led the push to modernization, many components of Western culture are embedded in modern society. “As the first civilization to modernize, the West is the first to have fully acquired the culture of modernity.” This theory also heavily relies on the idea that in order to modernize, the country must Westernize and lose its traditional culture. It is then proposed that although in present day many societies are modern, it does not mean they are all the same.
Around the 20th century, the end of the First World War cleared the way for the formation of democratic regimes. Why they had not been successful, why the people didn't use the opportunity to establish a democratic political system and why did the dictatorships appear, is still unclear, but it is a very discussible subject. The decisive role in these processes was the human being. It was the object of the cause, but on the other hand he was also the subject - executor of all the problems as well.
In comparing the average citizen in a democratic nation, say the United States, to that of a non-democratic nation, for instance Egypt, it will be found that the citizen in the democratic nation is generally better off – free of persecution, free from fear of the authorities, and free to express his opinions on governmental matters. And while national conflicts occur everywhere, incidents like violent revolts have shown to be more prevalent in nations where citizens are not allowed to choose who governs them. It is slightly paradoxical that democracy, so inherently flawed in theory, can lead to such successful outcomes in practice. The question, then, becomes: “If democracy has so many weaknesses, why does it work?”
There have been enormous efforts to spread democracy as a political system throughout the world by the developed democratic countries and the international development organizations including the World Bank. By the late 1990s the United States alone spent over a half billion dollars to promote democratic expansion throughout the world (Diamond, 2003). These were done considering that the democratic system leads towards development. As a result in the late 20th century we saw a huge political transformation towards democracy. During the last few decades a huge number of countries adopted democracy as their political system. However, it retain a big question how far democracy is successful in bringing development of a country? At this stage, some people also criticizes the effort of democratization arguing that it is done without considering the context of a country, sometimes democracy is not ideal for all countries and it is an effort to extinct diversity of political system. In studying the literature regarding the debate, we found a paradoxical relationship between democracy and development. Some argue that democracy has failed to ensure expected outcomes in terms of development. While others confronted that democracy has a considerable impact on development. Another group of people argue that form of political system actually does not have any impact on development process. On the verge of these debates, some development institutions and academics throw light on why democracy is not working properly, and what measure should be taken to make it more successful in bringing effective development of developing countries. Consequently, this writing is an effort of revisiting the different views about impact of democra...
Human history is pock-marked with innumerable wars and revolutions. The cause for most of the revolutions has been the choice of freedom. The opportunity to live a life without physical, mental or emotional restrictions has been and still is of supreme importance to man. This has resulted in the most widely followed discipline of political governance: Democracy.
Firstly, K. Isbester mentions that democracy has a different meaning for everyone, as some can define democracy as a good aspect for development, on the contrary other believe that it is nothing more than voting after several years. Although, Latin America see democratic g...
This does lead to the conclusion, that for this theory to apply, countries considered to be democracies must really be democratic.
The question posed is best explored through the lens of Modernization Theory, which partly originated with Lipset's 1959 formulation that the prospects for democracy to thrive within a country are directly correlated to its level of economic development. Przeworski has elucidated Lipset's theories as hypothesizing that economic affluence dovetails with democracy because wealth reduces the intensity of group or individual conflicts over the distribution of resources. Democracy – which through representative rule is perceived as the most egalitarian form of government – is widely taken to be the fundamental criterion of what makes a country or nation-state 'modern'. Lipset proposes that economic development sets off a series of profound social changes, such as increased urbanization, education and communication, that in turn precipitate larger middle classes and greater social equality. All of these elements combined, Lipset contends in his 1963 award-winning book, Political Man, provide the necessary framework for the emergence of democratic institutions. Today China maintains all such socio-economic elements. Thus, we are presented with a conundrum of sorts. Either we must construe that Modernization theory is dead, or according to its principles, that China’s democratization is latent, and will materialize at a later date.
Throughout history different types of instrumental regimes have been in tact so civilizations remained structured and cohesive. As humanity advanced, governments obligingly followed. Although there have been hiccups from the ancient times to modern day, one type of government, democracy, has proven to be the most effective and adaptive. As quoted by Winston Churchill, democracy is the best form of government that has existed. This is true because the heart of democracy is reliant, dependent, and thrives on the populaces desires; which gives them the ability for maintaining the right to choose, over time it adjusts and fixes itself to engulf the prominent troubling issues, and people have the right of electing the person they deem appropriate and can denounce them once they no longer appease them. In this paper, the benefits of democracy are outlined, compared to autocratic communism, and finally the flaws of democracy are illustrated.
In the website http://www.wmd.org/about/current-challenges/current-challenges-democracy it states how Democratic progress has increased around the world such as; a downfall of authoritarian military regimes in Latin, the demolishing of the apartheid regime in South Africa, and the fall of the Communist System and Berlin Wall. All of these stories show that democracy does not come from itself; the website continues by showing how democracy grows within countries by progressively institutionalizing, constructing political processes, and distributing the universal values that are inherent ...
Modernization is the term used for the transition from the traditional society of the past to modern society as it is found today in the West. Modernization theory refers to a variety of non-Marxist perspectives which have been put forward to explain the development or underdevelopment of countries. Modernization theory is a model of economic and social development that explains global inequality in terms of differing levels of technological development among societies. Modernization theory presents the idea that by introducing modern methods in "technology, agricultural production for trade, and industrialization dependent on a mobile labour force," the underdeveloped countries will experience a strengthening in their economies. Modernization theory offers an account of the common features of the process of development drawing on the analysis of Durkheim and Weber. Development implies the bridging of these gaps by an imitative process, occurring in stages, such that traditional sectors and/or countries gradually assume the qualities of the 'modern' western countries. There are many proponents of Modernization Theory, such as, Walter Rostow, W.A. Lewis, Talcott Parsons, and Daniel Lerner, however the theory has it's roots in the ideas of Durkheim and Weber. The proponents of the modernization theory all felt that the rest of the world needed to look to the Western model of modernity and pattern their society like the West in order to progress. Modernization theory was developed as an alternative to the Marxist account of social development. Modernization Theory Divides the World into two kinds of societies: "modern" and "traditional." Traditional societies are backward looking : Dominated by religious a...