3 Review(s)

With the widespread movement towards democratization that characterized the first post- Cold War decade, why did some non democratic regimes undergo a transition toward a democratic political system, but other not? Why have some transitions succeeded completely, but others resulted in only limited political reform? Renske Doorenspleet addresses these questions, providing a systematic theoretical and empirical analysis of variations in transitions to democracy. Doorenspleet interweaves a discussion of key concepts, the major theoretical approaches to democratization, and statistical analyses to illuminate the influence of structural - primarily economic and social- factors on democratic transitons. She also explores the notion of waves of democratization. Though focusing on the 1989-2001 period, she offers a wealth of new evidence covering two centuries of democratic transitions around the globe. About the Author Renske Doorenspleet is a research fellow in the Department of Political Science at. Table Of Contents Introduction Defining and measuring democracy Describing the waves The theoretical approaches Development Dependency and the world-system Class structure Democratic diffusion Conclusion Appendixes The requirements of competition and inclusiveness, 1800-2001 Political regime changes, 1800-2001 Hyptheses and results