Synopses & Reviews
One of the more positive international trends as of late has been the transformation of several countries from authoritarian-based dictatorships and single party systems into multi-party democracies characterized by peaceful political transitions. In this volume, a group of experts are gathered to analyze this progression on a comparative level. The essays reveal how the dramatic collapse of the USSR functioned as a crucial catalyst in allowing pent-up domestic pressures for change to emerge in a less charged international environment. In addition, the chapters study the historical and current evolution of these countries, focusing on their success in developing long-term pluralistic structures, and gauging whether these recent trends are more overnight fads than long lasting advancements.
About the Author
Marco Rimanelli is Associate Professor of European and Security Studies at Saint Leo College in Florida.
Table of Contents
Peaceful Democratization Trends in Single-Party-Dominant Countries--Marco Rimanelli *
Part I: Single-Party-Dominant Systems and Western Pluralist Democracies * Political Immobilism, Clientelism, Collapse and Democratic Renewal in Italy--Marco Rimanelli * Greece: The Perils of Incorporation--Platon N. Riggs * The Portugese Case--Alfred G. Cuzàn * Neo-Liberal
Renovación, Democratic Transition and the Politics of Fragmentation: The Loss of Socialist Hegemony in Spain--Anthony N. Celso * Political Polarization and Electoral Change in Israel--Jack McTague * Politics, Culture and Democratic Reform in Japan--Jack P. Horgan *
Part II: Pluralist Democratization in Ex-Marxist Regimes * The Russian Case: Elite Self-Emancipation--Robert V. Barylski * Peaceful Democratization in Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic--Beat Kernen * Evolution and Demise of One-Party Rule in Nicaragua--Harry Vanden *
Part III: Democratization Among Third World Single-Party Systems * Mexico: Revolution in the Revolution?--Waltraud Q. Morales and Corinne B. Young * Peaceful Democratic Change in Brazil and Argentina--Franco Mazzella * The Political Party System of India--Renu Khator * Local and Regional Elections in Taiwan--James Robinson * South Africa--Charles W. Arnade and Keith Tankard * Dilemmas of Democracy in Nigeria--Festus Ugboaja Ohaegbulam