Search results

The debate on political transitions as applied to the Arab world (see volumes one and two of this series) is ongoing, and the applicability of one or the other of the extant models to this region is a lively one, as the present set of studies demonstrates. Most of the arguments advanced below are based on historical and descriptive data, but theoretical considerations are not absent, in particular those that tend to call into question the universality of democratic transitions while stressing their importance as guides to analysis and even to behavior. It is in this spirit that the authors, in addition to the first chapter dealing with the key political transition in the Arab Mashreq during the late Ottoman period, examine the cases of Egypt, Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority

We develop a theory of political transitions inspired by the experiences of Western Europe and Latin America. Nondemocratic societies are controlled by a rich elite. The initially disenfranchised poor can contest power by threatening revolution, especially when the opportunity cost is low, for example, during recessions. The threat of revolution may force the elite to democratize. Democracy may not consolidate because it is redistributive, and so gives the elite an incentive to mount a coup. Highly unequal societies are less likely to consolidate democracy, and may end up oscillating between regimes and suffer substantial fiscal volatility. (JEL D72, D74, O15, P16)

This article examines some of the inadequacies of dominant Western perspectives, especially those originating from the US for studying political transitions in Africa, by focusing on the current democratic transitions. It attributes the major flaws to the hegemonic and ideological interests which these transitions are designed to serve and which underlie approaches made popular by Western scholars, to a 'periodic' conceptualisation of the process of transition itself, to the consequent treatment of transition in an ahistorical manner and the abandonment of previous perspectives of social and political change, and to the failure to relate transitions to the developmental needs of countries involved as determined by the peoples themselves. It discusses how these weaknesses can be overcome and outlines the requirements for a more adequate framework for studying transitions.

When it was formed in September 1999, the middle axis coalition was not seen as a serious political player. However, within a month, the political constellation had shifted in favour of this coalition emerging as a major player in deciding the fate of the next Indonesian government. This article addresses the question of whether there is an emerging Islamic faction with strength, unity and cohesion to affect Indonesia's political transition. It contends that pre-existing tensions and cleavages within Indonesia's Muslim community make such an alliance unlikely beyond the immediate consensus of blocking a Megawati predicency. In the final analysis, this article suggests that the contribution of Muslim groups to a democratisation process in Indonesia remains minimal. (AS J Pol Sc/DÜI)

This article discusses political transitions in Brazil in the context of globalization. It focuses on the political legacies that offered resistance to external processes & on the emergence of "new checks & balances" that constituted the relevant conditions for processes of political decision-making from the 1980s to 2002. It also shows that the management of economic policies, combined with the broader political process, was an important dimension of these political transitions. The article concludes by emphasizing the challenges that exist in the treatment of social issues & the connections between the domestic & the international agendas. 6 Tables, 3 Figures, 53 References. [Copyright 2003 Sage Publications Ltd.]