The Democratic Rollback: The Resurgence of the Predatory State

A.     Main Hypotheses of Relevance to PDT

Definition of democracy

Diamond argues that an electoral democracy is not sufficient for a successful democratization of a country. Elections must not only be free and fair, they must also be accompanied by a neutral electoral administration, a free media, and an independent vote monitoring system.

Political Institutions

- Parties

Unlike many, Diamond argues that political parties must be internally democratic, that is transparent, accessible, and representative of their constituents.

- Rule of law

A country’s capacity to establish legal institutions, that in turn control and penalize corruption, can aid significantly in the consolidation of democracy.

Political Dynamics

- The role of elites

Undemocratic elites in new democracies are creating a predatory state that is corrupt and governs badly. Elites must make public good their priority, instead of personal profit.

- Political Culture 

Diamond is one author who believes that democratization requires the right political culture where citizens are law abiding, politically active, and hold the public good to be a priority. Public confidence in the government is key to the democratization of a country.

- Economic reform

A predatory state full of corrupt elites is the very antithesis of a market economy that protects the property rights of its citizens.

External Influences

Foreign assistance programs and funding can significantly aid in democracy consolidation if the funds are correctly targeted at fixing the fundamental problems. Western leaders can help by speaking out about abuses, even in the countries of their allies.

B.     Article Summary

A “democratic recession?” 

Though numerous countries have experienced the transition to democracy in the last few decades, some have been slipping back into authoritarianism. Diamond emphasizes the fact that many key states like Russia, are gradually rolling backward, even if smaller countries may remain democratic. Before it can thrive, democracy must be deeply rooted in the society. This is possible only when emerging democracies demonstrate that they can solve many of the existing problems. 

The fundamental cause

Diamond states that the ultimate cause of the democratic rollback is bad governance. In much of the post-communist world, corrupt bureaucracies and judiciaries, as well as unlawful elites and abusive police forces have thwarted democracy. Superficially democratic elections mean nothing to citizens disillusioned by bad government, which in turn causes them to turn to authoritarian rulers like Putin in Russia.

Improving governance

Diamond lists several ways to reverse the trend of the democratic recession.

1. Public confidence.

Many struggling democracies today are experiencing a decline in public confidence in their governments. Because corruption is so widespread, many do not believe that politicians, political parties, or any government officials are prioritizing public good over their own profit.

One widely accepted example of corrupt government officials in action is electoral fraud, which citizens tend to associate with disregard for the law by the very people who should be enforcing it. In Russia, “the expansion of executive power, the intimidation of the opposition, and the rigging of the electoral process have extinguished even the most basic form of electoral democracy,” (2). Diamond points out that one way to restore public confidence and help solve the problem of bad governance is to turn away from electoral fraud by securing truly free and fair elections. This can only be done when the citizens are free to advocate and campaign, while being supported by neutral governmental institutions such as vote monitoring systems.

Another way to amend bad governance is to promote civic communities. Diamond states that a sustainable democracy requires civic communities in which the citizens are law abiding and have trust in others. Predatory states are unable to maintain democracy because it “requires constitutionalism, compromise, and a respect for law,” all of which a civil society must respect and participate in (5).

1.      Legal institutions.

In order to escape the predatory state, rulers must be restricted by laws and institutions. This can be done via independent judiciaries, creating vertical and horizontal accountability, and generating rules for the rulers.

In most predatory states today, political actors do not respect the law and constantly break it in order to achieve personal gains. “Presidents silence dissent with threats, detentions, show trials, and murder,” while the law continues to be disregarded by the police, judges, and other government officials (5). Creating strict rules for the government and holding it accountable is one significant way to move away from a predatory state.

Independent and impartial institutions such as judiciaries are key in working to bring accountability to the rulers. Effective institutions will restrict the unlimited power that rulers tend to take advantage of in the predatory state, subject them to public criticism and hold them responsible before the law. Judiciaries, specifically, must be able to penalize corruption, while countercorruption agencies remain independent of the government and help monitor, restrain, and punish it.

Effective institutions require both vertical and horizontal accountability for the rulers. Vertical accountability can be seen in the form of a truly democratic election, supplemented by an impartial administration capable of maintaining it. Horizontal accountability is seen in agencies of the state, which monitor the actions of their counterparts, such as countercorruption agencies.

3. Political parties and market economy.

Diamond briefly mentions political parties as having a significant enough role in the process to reverse the democratic rollback. Though not crucial for democratization, transparent and accessible parties can help consolidate a democracy. Similarly, an open market economy can limit government corruption and give more freedom to citizens, further helping stall the effects of the democratic rollback and even reverse the trend.

Aiding democratization efforts        

Diamond states that the West plays a large role in reversing the world democratic recession. One way to help is through the principle of conditionality or aid selectivity, instead of indiscriminate financial support for corrupt governments. Bush’s Millennium Challenge Account is an example of the way governments can be rewarded with aid for fulfilling certain criteria relevant to the democratization process.

C. Comments

The Arab Spring uprisings of 2011 have eclipsed Diamond’s argument that the immediate challenge of democracy promotion today is improving the quality of new democracies rather than spreading democracy to authoritarian regimes. From a global perspective, the end of democratic rollback could be taking place now in the Arab World. That unexpected development may even cast doubt on Diamond’s otherwise plausible argument that the role of Western aid may be crucial in the process of democratization of various countries in North Africa and the Middle East. Furthermore, though Diamond gives several suggestions for reversing the democratic rollback, he fails to identify specific steps that countries need to take in order to be successful. Though he says what needs to be done, he does not say how to achieve those goals.

(Summarized by Tetyana Ivanishena 06/17/2011)