The Fate of Young Democracies

Abstract

The recent backlash against democracy in such countries as Bolivia, Venezuela, Russia, and Georgia poses renewed concerns about the viability of this regime type in the developing world. Drawing on a unique data set of every democratization episode since 1960, this book explores the underlying reasons for backsliding and reversal in the world's fledgling democracies and offers some proposals with respect to what the international community might do to help these states stay on track toward political stability. Rejecting earlier scholarship on this topic, Kapstein and Converse argue that the core of the problem is found in the weak institutions that have been built in much of the developing world, which encourage leaders to abuse their power. Understanding the underlying reasons for democratic failure is essential if we are to offer policy recommendations that have any hope of making a difference on the ground.

Do Governance Indicators Explain Development Performance? A Cross-Country Analysis

“…The arguments advanced tend to be highly speculative, since the causal pathways are usually difficult to identify and test empirically (Bohara, Mitchell, and Mittendor 2004;Kapstein and Converse 2008;Keefer 2003;Lederman, Loayza, and Soares 2005;Montinola and Jackman 2002). This paper provides empirical evidence in supporting positive contributions of governance on economic development.…”

Electoral Democracy and Human Development

“…Third, democratization is often accompanied by conflict and instability (Mansfield & Snyder 2005), which presumably impairs human development. Fourth, newly democratized polities are, almost by definition, poorly institutionalized and thus may be inclined to adopt clientelistic or populist policies rather than to undertake long-term investments in human capital (Kapstein & Converse 2008;Keefer 2006). Finally, and relatedly, even if a democratically elected government enacts legislation in favor of human development, low state capacity may undermine efficient implementation.…”

Trade Governance and Intra-Commonwealth Trade

“…The arguments advanced tend to be speculative, since the causal pathways are usually difficult to identify and test empirically (Montinola and Jackman, 2002;Keefer 2003;Bohara et al, 2004;Lederman et al, 2005;Kapstein and Converse, 2008).…”