Democratization and Human Rights

Democratization and Human Rights

Waves of democracy

tends to be a trend of lots of democratization, then a reverse wave then more democratization again

“Third Wave” of Democracy

• Samuel Huntington

• Began with fall of a regime in Protugal

• accelerated through Cold war in Latin America, Africa and eastern Europe

Fukuyama’s “the end of history”

• As democracy spreads, it will bring a global era of peace and prosperity

• once everyone is democratized, there will be no more history to be made

• Democratic: exists only with the consent to be governed

• “liberal democracy in the political sphere combined with easy access to VCRs and stereos in the economy”

evolution of democratization theory

50s-60s - economic development needs to come first, if not messy outcome

90s-now - education and welfare for the state are consequences from democracy, not preconditions

Democracy with adjectives

newer democracies haven’t reached consolidation phase yet

• still have authoritarian traits

• have qualifying adjectives (prodecural democ., electoral democ.)

• stretching concept of democracy too far makes it meaningless

“Games semi-authoritarians play” - Ottaway

• semi-authoritarian regimes keep some aspects of democracies but are still governed by leaders that don’t use democratic rules

• political playing field exists but its tilted in favour of ruling party

• seek to prevent competition that might threaten their hold on power

Tactics of semi-authoritarians

• prevent emergence of new political organizations

• control flow of information to sway public opinion

• manipulate institutions and consitution

Competitive authoritarianism

• Imprisoning opposition figures

• using excessive force against protesters

• suspected electoral fraud

• claims of foreign destabilization plots

Venezuela - Hugo Chavez

• launched failed coup then was elected

• popular in some sectors because he’s was willing to spend state resources on the poor

• referendums to increase presidential power

  • judges, legislators lost power

• spent oil wealth on services for the poor

  • known as “Robin Hood”

After Chavez:

• oil-dependent economy shrinks

• widespread poverty, refugee flows

competitive authoritarianism’s slide to disorder

• Prices of goods increase

• massive protests

  • hundreds killed and arrested

• rigged elections for special legislative body to supplant parliment

The “Gray Zone”

• The transition may not be slow and are often rlly slow

• may not be in transition, in a category of their own

• elections may not deepen democratic participation and accountability

Sources of human rights violations: Rational incentives

state repression = biggest human rights abuser

• product of rational incentives and exclusionary ideologies

incentives

• past repression, low levels of democracy, poverty, war, social threats or dissent

Sources of human rights violations: exclusionary ideologies

• conditions where it seems appropriate to violate human rights norms

• ideologies of discrimination

  • racism, sexism

Argentina

• transitioned to civilian democracy

• President Alfonsin elected - prosecuted high-level military officials and implemented democratic reforms

• President Menem - pardoned everyone who was prosecuted

• The Supreme Court revoked the pardon

• war criminals imprisoned for life

takeaways:

• human rights changes take time

• state-society revolve need to evolve to accommodate human rights norms

• changes come in stages: pressures internationally and domestically

  • deny abuses, small concessions; broaden reforms; alter behaviour

• armed conflict and deep societal divisions inhibit this

Duterte - Philippines

• long suspected of running death squads

• crime-ridden country, he campaigns on law-and-order reforms to kill criminals and dump their bodies

• endorses sexual violence

• homophobic

• wage war on drug dealers

  • most of the ppl killed had nothing to do with the drug trade

• slogan “kill, kill, kill”

• International Criminal Court opens investigation into extra-judicial killings

• kills and silence journalism and freedom of speech

Preventing human rights abuses

• states resist high costs of protecting societu’s most marginalized groups

• have to target roots of abuse, not just promoting human rights standards

  • weak democracies, militarization, poor development, exclusionary ideologies

Ottaway - key points

• manipulation of electoral processes

  • strategic scheduling of elections, selective voter registration, and tactics to undermine the fairness of the election

• control of political competition

  • suppressed opposition to maintain a monopoly on political power

  • opposition allowed but controlled

• suppression of independent media

  • limit ability for citizens to make informed political decisions

• manipulation of political institutions

  • altering the legal framework to favour the incumbent and make sure the opposition cannot challenge status quo

• control of succession processes

Types of games regimes play

• electoral games

• multiparty games

• constitutional games

• Civil society games

• international games

Mimic democracy without being one

Semi-authoritarian regimes aren’t always in transition, self sustaining and indefinitely adapting