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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Hybrid regimes and the challenges of deepening and sustaining democracy in developing countries |
Authors: | Rocha Menocal, Alina Fritz, Verena Rakner, Lise |
Year: | 2008 |
Periodical: | South African Journal of International Affairs |
Volume: | 15 |
Issue: | 1 |
Pages: | 29-40 |
Language: | English |
Geographic terms: | Africa Latin America |
Subjects: | democratization democracy |
External link: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10220460802217934 |
Abstract: | A wave of democratization swept across the developing world from the 1980s onwards. However, despite the momentous transformation that this so-called 'Third Wave' has brought to formal political structures in regions ranging from Africa to Asia to Latin America, only a limited number of countries have succeeded in establishing consolidated and functioning democratic regimes. Instead, many of these new regimes have become stuck in transition, combining a rhetorical acceptance of liberal democracy with essentially illiberal and/or authoritarian traits. This article analyses the emergence and key characteristics of these 'hybrid regimes' and the challenges of democratic deepening. It suggests that, because a broad consensus to uphold democracy as the 'only game in town' is lacking, hybrid regimes tend to be unstable, unpredictable, or both. The article concludes by arguing that a deeper understanding of the problems besetting these regimes helps to provide a more realistic assessment of what these incipient and fragile democracies can be expected to achieve. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract] |