Stabilising Fragile Democracies

Political parties play a central, if not the central, political role in parliamentary democracies. They are also likely to play a key role in the establishment of new parliamentary democracies. This volume provides a systematic comparison of the democratic transitions in both Eastern and Southern Europe from this point of view. There are four main themes concerning the role of parties that are examined: coping with the past (party identities and inheritances),the formation and performance of new democratic political elites, parties and alliances and their electoral behaviour. These themes guide the case studies, (which are written in comparative perspective), in four countries in both Southern and Eastern Europe. The countries covered include Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Hungary, Romania, Poland and Bulgaria. Democratization is a very complex process, but what the study of political parties does is to focus on an area that links many of them. This book is intended to be a guide to students wishing to make sense of democratization and the role of political parties in that process.

This book provides a systematic comparison of the democratic transition in both southern and eastern Europe. The role of the parties is a crucial determinant as to whether a new democracy will put down deep and long-lasting roots. The book is directed towards four main themes - 'coping with the past' (party identities and inheritances); the formation and performance of new democratic political elites; parties and alliances/coalitions; and their electoral behaviour. These themes are discussed comparatively with the aid of four case studies from both southern and eastern Europe. The countries covered include Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Hungary, Romania, Poland and Bulgaria. Democratisation is a very complex process because it operates on so many levels, but by studying political parties you can focus on an area that covers many of them. Students of European politics will find this an invaluable guide to recent events in eastern Europe as well as a means to understanding the process of democratisation more generally.

The first book to provide a systematic comparison of the democratic transitions in both Eastern and Southern Europe, covering Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Hungary, Romania, Poland and Bulgaria.

For more than a generation now, there has been a competition between two alternative theories of the nature of power in Western democracies: the pluralist model and the critical or elite model (including Marxism). Etzioni-Halevy develops a third or democratic-elite model, based on historical and com

This book takes a powerful new approach to a question central to comparative politics and economics: Why do some leaders of fragile democracies attain political success--culminating in reelection victories--when pursuing drastic, painful economic reforms while others see their political careers implode? Kurt Weyland examines, in particular, the surprising willingness of presidents in four Latin American countries to enact daring reforms and the unexpected resultant popular support. He argues that only with the robust cognitive-psychological insights of prospect theory can one fully account for the twists and turns of politics and economic policy in Argentina, Brazil, Peru, and Venezuela during the 1980s and 1990s. Assessing conventional approaches such as rational choice, Weyland concludes that prospect theory is vital to any systematic attempt to understand the politics of market reform. Under this theory, if actors perceive themselves to be in a losing situation they are inclined toward risks; if they see a winning situation around them, they prefer caution. In Latin America, Weyland finds, where the public faced an open crisis it backed draconian reforms. And where such reforms yielded an apparent economic recovery, many citizens and their leaders perceived prospects of gains. Successful leaders thus won reelection and the new market model achieved political sustainability. Weyland concludes this accessible book by considering when his novel approach can be used to study crises generally and how it might be applied to a wider range of cases from Latin America, Africa, and Eastern Europe.

Stabilizing Fragile States: Why It Matters and What to Do About It is a masterclass on intervening to help fragile states stabilize in the face of internal challenges that threaten national security and how the United States can do better at less cost with improved chances of success. Written from the point of view of an on-the-ground practitioner after exceptional government and voluntary service abroad, Rufus C. Phillips III uses his experience to explain why US efforts to help fragile countries stabilize is important to national security. Helping stabilize fragile states has been too much of a poorly informed, impersonal, technocratic, and conflicted process that has been dominated by reactions to events and missing a more human approach tailored to various countries’ circumstances. In his book, Phillips explains why we have not been more successful and what it would take to make our stabilization efforts effective, sustainable, and less expensive. Recent US involvements have ranged in intensity and size from Colombia, which did not put US boots on the ground, to massive interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan, which did. The lack of success in Afghanistan and Iraq has tended to dominate the national conversation about dealing with fragile states. Stabilizing Fragile States provides a thorough analysis of what has gone wrong and what has gone right in US involvement. • Stabilizing fragile states is more of an unconventional political and psychological endeavor requiring an operational mindset rather than conventional war or normal diplomacy. • Defines the focus of counterinsurgency not as killing insurgents but as a positive effort to win local people’s support by involving them in their own self-defense and political, social, and economic development. • Americans must understand the religious, historical, political, and social context of the host country and be consistent, patient, and persistent in what they do. • Security-force training in host countries must include respect for civilians and the definition by their leadership of a national cause that the trainees believe is worth risking their lives to defend. • Recommends creating a dedicated cadre of expeditionary diplomacy and development professionals in Department of State/USAID and a special training school as an addition to the Global Fragility Act. This book is part of the ADST-DACOR Diplomats and Diplomacy series.