Explain the Significance of Democratisation to Challenges of Development That Have Been Reised in the Course so Far.
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- Date Submitted: 09/25/2010 10:48 PM
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A)Explain the significance of democratisation to challenges of development that have been raised in the course so far.
It is widely accepted that a liberal democracy is a desirable political model particularly since the collapse of the former Soviet Union. Democracy is a state of being and democratization is a transition en route to that state. But how the process by which this change to democracy occurs is much debated in all spheres. The french political historian Alexi Detocqueville noted that a regime is at its most vulnerable when it is trying to change, and therefore many countries have seen the adoption of democracy fail and end in military coups or civil war, and have had to suffer years of an authoritarian dictatorship instead. For instance the 1973 military coup which overthrew the democratically elected Allende in favour of or Pinochet or the military coup of 1980 in Turkey led by the grey wolves and General Evren.
The process by which a democracy becomes legitimate and institutionalized are through the development of trust and tolerance. The transition does not always run smoothly. It is a process of complete transformation; of cumulative social change and development which redraws the social contact between people government and state.
Development is inextricably bound to the institution of democracy. David Potter poses the question,’ Does democratization stimulate development?’(Potter p382) He maintains it doesn’t; at least not necessarily. But this depends on the definition and measurement of development. If development is solely measured by GDP per capita then the answer is probably not; not in the short term. But if we look at development in its broadest terms or adopt Sen’s view as development as freedom, then the evidence is more compelling.
Potter (op cit) also asserts that ‘severe economic underdevelopment, as in many parts of sub-saharan africa, has not been a promising context for development’. There is no doubt that illiteracy...
It is widely accepted that a liberal democracy is a desirable political model particularly since the collapse of the former Soviet Union. Democracy is a state of being and democratization is a transition en route to that state. But how the process by which this change to democracy occurs is much debated in all spheres. The french political historian Alexi Detocqueville noted that a regime is at its most vulnerable when it is trying to change, and therefore many countries have seen the adoption of democracy fail and end in military coups or civil war, and have had to suffer years of an authoritarian dictatorship instead. For instance the 1973 military coup which overthrew the democratically elected Allende in favour of or Pinochet or the military coup of 1980 in Turkey led by the grey wolves and General Evren.
The process by which a democracy becomes legitimate and institutionalized are through the development of trust and tolerance. The transition does not always run smoothly. It is a process of complete transformation; of cumulative social change and development which redraws the social contact between people government and state.
Development is inextricably bound to the institution of democracy. David Potter poses the question,’ Does democratization stimulate development?’(Potter p382) He maintains it doesn’t; at least not necessarily. But this depends on the definition and measurement of development. If development is solely measured by GDP per capita then the answer is probably not; not in the short term. But if we look at development in its broadest terms or adopt Sen’s view as development as freedom, then the evidence is more compelling.
Potter (op cit) also asserts that ‘severe economic underdevelopment, as in many parts of sub-saharan africa, has not been a promising context for development’. There is no doubt that illiteracy...