Why did precarious and collapsed democracies in Europe develop into highly stable democracies? Gerard Alexander offers a rational choice theory of democratic consolidation in a survey of the breakdowns of and transitions to democratic institutions. Through an analysis of developments in Spain, Britain, France, Germany, and Italy, Alexander explores how key political sectors established the long-term commitment to democracy that distinguishes consolidated democracies. Alexander makes a highly accessible rationalist argument about the conditions under which such commitments emerge, arguing that powerful sectors abandon options for overthrowing democratic rules only when they predict low risks in democracy. The author's argument parallels established claims about the predictability essential to the development of modern capitalism. The Sources of Democratic Consolidation outlines Alexander's claim that a political precondition, rather than an economic or social precondition, exists for consolidated democracies. Drawing on interviews and archival research, the author links his argument to evidence from the five largest countries in Western Europe from the 1870s to the 1980s and also discusses the implications for the prospects for democratic consolidation in other regions. Political pacts, power-sharing, and institutional designs, he says, may help stabilize uncertain democracies, but they cannot create consolidation.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"Alexander takes on one of the important issues in the contemporary world: the transformation of failed regimes into stable democracies. His analytical sophistication is a model of social science. His approach provides answers to ongoing puzzles about the political and economic success of so many countries in Europe, and it offers guidance to understanding development worldwide."-Margaret Levi, Bacharach Professor of International Studies, University of Washington
"Despite the author's intention, he has produced a book of social science that turns into a fine rehabilitation of history."-Foreign Affairs, Vol. 81, No. 3
"Alexander offers an excellent contribution to the literature examining how and why new democracies become consolidated. In essence, the author argues persuasively the genuine consolidation occurs only when powerful segments of society have become convinced that their opponents will predictably refrain from using democratic rules to seriously harm their core assets or values."-J. M. Scolnick Jr., University of Virginia's College at Wise, Choice Magazine, 40:2, October 2002.
"This is an important work that should be of interest to everyone working in the field of democratic transition and consolidation."-Eddie Hyland, Trinity College Dublin, Democratization 10:2, Summer 2003
"Alexander has written a remarkable book that challenges some received wisdoms. Theoretically innovative, founded on solid research and much incontrovertible evidence, The Sources of Democratic Consolidation is a real and significant contribution to the existing literature. Indeed, it does so by going well beyond most of this literature."-Gianfranco Pasquino, University of Bologna, Perspectives on Politics 1:2, June 2003
"This book. . . . should command a wide audience. Students of democratization and Western European politics will find it a useful addition to their libraries. Indeed, it would also be a useful book to assign in graduate seminars on research design and comparative politics. The Sources of Democratic Consolidation nicely illustrates the strengths and limitations of the rational choice approach to comparative politics."-Christopher Kam, University of South Carolina, Canadian Journal of Political Science
"Despite the author's intention, he has produced a book of social science that turns into a fine rehabilitation of history."-Foreign Affairs, Vol. 81, No. 3
"Alexander offers an excellent contribution to the literature examining how and why new democracies become consolidated. In essence, the author argues persuasively the genuine consolidation occurs only when powerful segments of society have become convinced that their opponents will predictably refrain from using democratic rules to seriously harm their core assets or values."-J. M. Scolnick Jr., University of Virginia's College at Wise, Choice Magazine, 40:2, October 2002.
"This is an important work that should be of interest to everyone working in the field of democratic transition and consolidation."-Eddie Hyland, Trinity College Dublin, Democratization 10:2, Summer 2003
"Alexander has written a remarkable book that challenges some received wisdoms. Theoretically innovative, founded on solid research and much incontrovertible evidence, The Sources of Democratic Consolidation is a real and significant contribution to the existing literature. Indeed, it does so by going well beyond most of this literature."-Gianfranco Pasquino, University of Bologna, Perspectives on Politics 1:2, June 2003
"This book. . . . should command a wide audience. Students of democratization and Western European politics will find it a useful addition to their libraries. Indeed, it would also be a useful book to assign in graduate seminars on research design and comparative politics. The Sources of Democratic Consolidation nicely illustrates the strengths and limitations of the rational choice approach to comparative politics."-Christopher Kam, University of South Carolina, Canadian Journal of Political Science
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Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Inside This Book
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Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs):
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Gil Robles, World War, Third Republic, Second Republic, United States, Calvo Sotelo, Catholic Church, Primo de Rivera, Latin American, Franco Spain, Max Weber, West Germany, Juan Carlos, Low Countries, Fourth Republic, Guillermo O'Donnell, House of Lords, Weimar Germany, Barrington Moore, Christian Democrats, Civil Guard, Robert Dahl, Samuel Huntington, Bad Godesberg, Cold War New!
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Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Gil Robles, World War, Third Republic, Second Republic, United States, Calvo Sotelo, Catholic Church, Primo de Rivera, Latin American, Franco Spain, Max Weber, West Germany, Juan Carlos, Low Countries, Fourth Republic, Guillermo O'Donnell, House of Lords, Weimar Germany, Barrington Moore, Christian Democrats, Civil Guard, Robert Dahl, Samuel Huntington, Bad Godesberg, Cold War New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 100
books:
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5
books
cite this book:
- The Third Wave by Samuel P. Huntington on 4 pages
- Issues in Democratic Consolidation: The New South American Democracies in Comparative Perspective by Scott Mainwaring in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Communism in Italy and France by Donald Blackmer in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- The Breakdown of Democratic Regimes by Professor Juan J. Linz in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Hugh Gaitskill by Brian Brivati on page 215, and Back Matter
See all 100 books this book cites
- Contention and Democracy in Europe, 1650-2000 (Cambridge Studies in Contentious Politics) by Charles Tilly on page 260
- Democracy and Redistribution (Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics) by Carles Boix in Back Matter
- Russia Transformed: Developing Popular Support for a New Regime by Richard Rose in Back Matter
- Assessing the Quality of Democracy (A Journal of Democracy Book) by Larry Diamond on page 60
- New Institutionalism: Theory and Analysis (Studies in Comparative Political Economy and Public Policy) by Andr? Lecours on page 77
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