Liberal Democracy as a Global Phenomenon

Liberal Democracy as a Global Phenomenon

America as a Model?

  • George Quester teaches at the University of Maryland.
  • Francis Fukuyama discusses the idea of liberal democracy and its global appeal, distinguishing it from the specific implementation in the United States.
  • He addresses four main topics:
    • The ongoing democratic revolution and its causes.
    • Cultural preconditions for democracy.
    • Democracy and international relations.
    • Democracy and nationalism.

The Worldwide Democratic Revolution and Its Causes

  • The failed coup in the Soviet Union serves as a reminder of the democratic idea's vitality for those under authoritarianism.

  • Global crisis of authoritarianism and the spread of liberal democracy is a remarkable macropolitical phenomenon.

  • Democracies count:

    • 1790: 3 democracies
    • 1900: 13 democracies
    • 1919: 27 democracies
    • Today: 62 democracies

  • The progress has not been linear, with democracies being overthrown in Latin America in the 60s and 70s.

  • Many new democracies are unstable, with a risk of reverting to authoritarian rule.

  • The 62 democracies have a combined population of 2.24 billion people, approximately 44% of the world's population.

  • If the Soviet Union or China democratize, a majority of the world's population could enjoy democratic rights and liberties.

  • Two broad explanations for democratizations:

    • Economic: strong correlation between economic development and stable democracy.
    • Countries that experienced democratic upheavals evolved from agricultural societies to modern industrial ones with urbanization, labor mobility, and education.
    • Examples include Spain, Portugal, Greece, South Korea, Taiwan, Brazil, Venezuela, South Africa, the Soviet Union, and China.
    • In Eastern Europe, the transition to democracy corresponds to socio-economic development levels.
    • Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan have thoroughly institutionalized democracy.
      Modernization theory seems to have been vindicated.

  • Modernization theory faced criticism from Marxists (dependency theory) and Nietzscheans (ethnocentricity).

    • Dependency theory has not explained East Asia's economic growth.
    • Nietzschean critics have not accounted for the increasing number of culturally disparate countries choosing liberal democracy.
    • There is emerging global economic and political culture.

  • Modernization theory needs modification.

    • Early phases of economic and social modernization can occur under capitalism or socialism, but the latter is inefficient for complex, information-intensive post-industrial societies.
    • Socialist central planning is a