Suchergebnisse

Cover -- Contents -- List of Boxes -- Preface -- Introduction -- Democratization Today -- The Meaning of Democratization -- Democratization and Democracy -- The Global Politics of Democratization -- The Purpose and Structure of This Book -- 1 Democracy -- Democracy: A Simple Concept? -- From Direct to Liberal Democracy -- Empirical Democratic Theory -- Critiques of Empirical Democratic Theory -- Alternative Approaches to Democracy -- Conclusion -- 2 Democratization in Historical Perspective -- Democratization as Waves -- Explaining Democratization in History -- Contemporary Democratization -- Conclusion -- 3 Explaining Democratization -- Traditional Approaches -- Modernization Theory -- Historical Sociology -- The Agency Approach -- An Alternative Approach: The State, Civil Society and the Global Political Economy -- Conclusion -- 4 Democratization and the State -- Democratization of the State -- Institutional Transformation -- The Limitations of Institutional Change -- Obstacles to the Democratization of the State -- Conclusion -- 5 Democratization and Civil Society -- Civil Society and Democracy -- Conceptualizing the Role of Civil Society in Democratization -- Civil Society Organizations and the Making of New Democracies -- The International Dimensions of Civil Society -- Conclusion -- 6 The Global Politics of Democratization -- The Changing International System and Democracy -- Discourses of Democratization -- Democracy Assistance, Promotion and Policing -- The Securitization Agenda -- Conclusion -- 7 Democratization in Europe -- Southern Europe -- East and Central Europe -- The Balkans -- The Russian Federation and its Neighbours -- Theorizing the Transitions -- The State -- Democratization and Civil Society -- Global Factors -- Conclusion -- 8 Democratization in Latin America -- Latin American Politics in Historical Perspective.

In der Entwicklung demokratischer Staats- und Gesellschaftsstrukturen in Osteuropa kann Belarus als Sonderfall bezeichnet werden. Trotz demokratischer Anfänge hat Belarus seit 1996 eine Demontage der demokratischen Institutionen erlebt. Dieser vermeintliche Demokratisierungsprozess in Belarus bildet den Gegenstand der Untersuchung. Dabei setzt sich die Studie mit folgenden Fragen auseinander: Hat überhaupt ein Demokratisierungsprozess in Belarus stattgefunden? Inwiefern ist der angefangene Demokratisierungsprozess in Belarus gescheitert? Wie lässt sich dieses Scheitern erklären? Wie stark sind die westlichen Einflüsse auf den Demokratisierungsprozess in Belarus? Die Beantwortung berücksichtigt sowohl politische und soziale als auch juristische Aspekte des dortigen Demokratisierungsprozesses. In das Thema einführend wird zunächst die Entstehung eines demokratischen Staates und seiner Eckpfeiler Unabhängigkeit, Rechtsstaatlichkeit und demokratische Verfassung beschrieben. Im Anschluss folgt die antidemokratische Entwicklung Belarus', die durch das Lukaschenka-Regime, das Referendum von 1996 sowie die Festigung des autoritären Staates forciert wird. Den Abschluss bildet das Scheitern des Demokratisierungsprozesses, wobei hier die Rolle der Zivilgesellschaft und die wenigen Ergebnisse der Demokratieförderung beleuchtet werden. (ICG2)

Any country which attempts to establish accountability for past abuses of human rights during the process of democratization faces political, judicial, and ethical problems. With regard to politics, the question of which transitional justice measures are appropriate, functional, and feasible has to be decided for every individual case. A judicial approach has to decide which judicial standards to apply and how to justify prosecution. Finally, the ethical dilemmas of dealing with historical injustices have to be understood. There are no ready-made concepts to define guilt and justice. In many cases it is even difficult to tell the victims from the perpetrators. This study examines the different strategies subsumed under the term 'transitional justice' used by emerging democracies to deal with a legacy of human rights abuses. It explores the problems and challenges posed by different mechanisms of reconciliation and societal reintegration. While existing analyses of the contribution that transitional justice measures make to the process of social re-integration stress the importance of consensus among citizens and social groups for the emergence of trust and solidarity, this study suggests also thinking about how conflicts over competing 'truths' can help to build social capital and reconciliation. Noting a global diffusion of international legal norms, which means at least formal universal acceptance of basic rights and judicial procedures, it is argued that international justice cannot be a substitute for transitional justice measures taken by the domestic regime itself. Adapted from the source document.

This exciting new handbook provides a global overview of the process of democratization, offering chapter by chapter discussion at both the country and regional levels and examining the interaction between the domestic and external factors that affect the progression of countries from authoritarian to democratic rule. Bringing together 29 key experts in the field, the work is designed to contrast the processes and outcomes of democratic reform in a wide range of different societies, evaluating the influence of factors such as religion, economic development, and financial resources.It is struct