Chapter 8: Developed Democracies

Week 10

What is a developed democracy?

• All are guaranteed participation, competition, and liberty

• Stable political institutions (with the exception of potential erosion of democracy)

• Diverse, wealthy economy (with the exception of growing inequality

• Sometimes called “first world”

Economic development in developed democracies:

• small agricultural sectors

• industrial sectors shrinking

• service sectors growing

Developed democracies vary in what?

Freedom and equality. Examples:

• Personal liberties: Abortion permitted in Canada, restricted in Korea. Expression freer in the United States than Germany.

• Economic freedoms: Prostitution permitted in New Zealand, illegal in the United States. Some drugs permitted in the Netherlands.

• Political participation: Voting is compulsory in Australia and Brazil. Far fewer than 100 percent vote elsewhere

What are two trends that may erode the sovereignty of advanced states?

1. International integration

• Movement of state functions to international level

• Reduction in independent state capacity

• WTO, NAFTA, EU, MERCOSUR, ASEAN etc.

And 2. Devolution

• Movement of state functions to local/regional level

• Reduction in independent state capacity independent or semi autonomous regions in Spain, UK, etc.

European Union (example of International Integration)

Group of European countries. Originally 6 Western European states, now 28. Maintain economic and social cooperation

Origins of the EU

• After WWII

• Goal was to prevent another European war

• European Coal and Steel Community: Functional cooperation on coal and steel —> common market to neutralize competition

Different views of/perspectives on the European Union:

1. Intergovernmental cooperation

• EU is actually controlled by member states

• All major decisions made through negotiation among national

leaders

2. Supranational institution

• EU is governed through EU institutions

• National governments are constrained by EU rules and

procedures

3. Integration through crisis management

What are the 4 different EU institutions discussed in class?

European Council, European Commission, European Parliament, EU Court of Justice

European Council

• heads of state or government

• elects the EU president for 2.5 year term

• sets the general political direction and priorities of the EU

European Commission

• 28 commissioners

• Has its own president chosen by the European Council

• Sets policy objectives, proposes legislation and managed the EU budget

European Parliament

• 751 directly elected members

• Passes legislation proposed by the commission

• Passes the budget for the EU

EU Court of Justice

• Rules on EU law and conflicts between EU laws and national laws

• EU law supersedes national laws

Other examples of International Integration Include…

World Trade Organization

• Created in 1994 (follow up to GATT)

• Judicial process can rule on national laws.

North American Free Trade Agreement

• Trade policy set through international treaty

• Some environmental and labor standards

• Now: U.S., Mexico, Canada Agreement

Mercosur (Southern Common Market)

• An economic and political agreement among Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela and Brazil (joined in December 2012)

Reasons for devolution:

• Improve representation of ethnic/linguistic minorities

• Bring citizens closer to decision making (engage citizens)

• IEncrease efficiency (varied results)

Examples of devolution:

Spain, 1978

• Regional parliaments, budgets, taxes

• Autonomy for local minorities (Catalan, Basque)

United Kingdom, 1997

• Parliaments in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland

• Local governments tax, spend independently

Modern values

rationalism, industry

Material values

individual consumption

Post-material values

Contrast with modern values

Post-materialism

After basic needs met, concern for social ends

• Justice, environmental protection, culture

Identity politics

Since WWII, accelerating ethnic change

• North African migrants to Western Europe (15%-20% immigrant)

• Latin American migrants to United States (13% immigrant)

• Asian migrants to Canada and Australia (25% immigrant)

Economic changes - trends since the 1970s:

• Postindustrialism: the shift from economic growth and

employment in industry to growth and employment in services

• The welfare state: political challenges to social policy and

redistribution, often attributed to globalization

Shift from industry to services:

• manufactured goods imported from newly industrializing countries

• services account for more economic growth and exports (examples: insurance, banking)

Consequences of shift to service industry

• job losses in manufacturing sectors. Skills do not often transfer to growing sectors. Raises demands for trade barriers.

• Greater inequality. Raises demands for income redistribution

Why are welfare states becoming more expensive?

• rising health care costs

• aging populations

What are some possible solutions to welfare states becoming more expensive?

• higher taxes

• lower benefits

• technical fixes

Problems with these possible solutions include…

Higher taxes:

• Firms or wealthy individuals may leave the country to

avoid taxes.

• Globalization may constrain state revenue.

Lower benefits:

• Reducing health, education spending may undermine

growth in the long run.

• Cutbacks may trigger public protests.

Technical fixes:

• Requires effective political oversight.

Democratic erosion

the gradual, often legalistic weakening of democratic institutions, norms, and accountability mechanisms

• recent scholarship emphasizes incremental change rather than abrupt breakdowns

Key mechanisms of democratic erosion:

• Executive aggrandizement (expanding power through legal reforms).

• Strategic harassment of opposition, media, and civil society.

• Norm decay, especially mutual toleration and institutional forbearance.

Polarization

especially identity‑based politics reduces cross‑party trust and increases tolerance for anti‑democratic actions.

Populism…

can accelerate erosion by framing institutions as obstacles to the “will of the people.”

Weak party systems and personalist leadership…

create openings for institutional manipulation

State capacity and economic shocks…

shape vulnerability but not determine outcomes

Disinformation is increased by…

Digital information systems

Autocratization in established democracies

Erosion is no longer viewed as a Global South phenomenon; advanced democracies show similar patterns

Legalism as a tool of decline

Courts, constitutions, and electoral rules become arenas for democratic backsliding

Subnational erosion

Local and regional governments can be early sites of democratic decline

International dimensions

Autocratic diffusion, foreign influence, and weakened democratic conditionality reshape incentives

Resilience research

Growing attention to what prevents erosion—civil society, bureaucratic autonomy, and elite pacts