The growth of democracies really
began in 1900 but then fell back again around 1940 with the onset of the Second
World War and the rise of Fascism. Yet this was followed by an explosion in the
number of democracies in the 1960's which has carried on till present
day. In my opinion, there are two prominent sets of explanations for why
there has been an increase in the number of democracies around the globe.
The first and possibly the most important of which is the demand for democratic representation by a mass majority of a population. I believe democracy finds its roots among politically aware citizenry and in recent times, the number of politically aware people has increased and that has led to the rise of democratic movements around the world calling for more equality in terms of representation, power and wealth. Such was the case in South Africa which transitioned from apartheid to a non-racial democracy due to the revolt against the oppression of 'black' people.
I also believe there is also a strong link between the rise in the number of democratic states and the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Due to the decline of the Soviet Union, funding for many dictatorships around the world ended and this weakened the state in those countries, paving the way for the democratic movements and therefore the establishment of democracies. For example, the democratization of Ghana and Suriname and the end of Chilean Military Dictatorship can be attributed to the Soviet Union’s decline.
1 comment:
Rashna - Your topic is of immense importance in the political discourse of today since almost more than half of the world lives under some form of democracy. It is crucial to look in to why this is so. You are seeing this trend of using democracy as a medium to revolt against repression even in the 21st century, the most prominent example of which is the Arab Spring.
Would you agree with Francis Fukuyama's thesis that democracy will or already has led to an 'end of history'?
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