**5. Building democracy: international factors**

as the transitology or the transition paradigm by stressing the importance of individual political actors in the transition to democracy. Previous studies about political explanatory factors had been foremost focused on structural conditions, while these new studies shed light on political actions taken by formal political actors and societal forces beyond the political system. O'Donnell et al. provided several studies in *Transitions from Authoritarian Rule*—*Prospects for Democracy* [41], *Transitions from Authoritarian Rule*—*Southern Europe* [42], *Transitions from Authoritarian Rule*—*Latin America* [43], *Transitions from Authoritarian Rule*—*Comparative Perspectives* [44] and *Transitions from Authoritarian Rule*—*Tentative Conclusions about Uncertain Democracies* [45] and focused on political actors and their preferences in the political and societal system. These studies identified different fractions of the political elite; two of these fractions within the dictatorial regime were the hardliners and softliners. Hardliners referred to the core of politicians against democracy and who viewed such a system as something that could bring chaos and disorder by undermining the existing privileges of the elite. It was further assessed how one group of hardliners firmly believed in the prevailing dictatorial system, but how softliners within the elite were less ideologically oriented and more pragmatic, foremost concerned with selfish political motives. The dictating political elite were therefore divided into two groups: hardliners and softliners. Where the hardliners were prepared to use their authority through repression and violence to keep stability and status quo, the softliners were open to limited political change to satisfy citizen demands or to increase quality of performances and receive legitimacy, as long as such political changes did not jeopardize the political survival of the elite. Therefore, softliners may be favorable for initiating democracy, but only if they believe that popular elections would result in a legitimate re-election of the same elite. These studies concluded that democracy could be built if there was a growing division between hardliners and softliners within the dictatorial elite and if softliners were able to

The role of softliners was, to some extent, dependent on the role of societal forces beyond the political system. Studies on political actors and their preferences for building democracy also focused on two more groups of actors in the moderates and the radicals (revolutionaries) within the society outside the formal political system. It was argued that the radicals wanted to overthrow the illegitimate elite of hardliners and softliners, while the moderates were open to forging alliances with softliners within the elite to see democratic change. It was stressed in in these studies that the transition phase to democracy often began with a division between hardliners and softliners within the authoritarian regimes, but strategic linkages between elites and the societal masses were important. This combination of alliances within the political elite and the societal groups outside the political system was referred to as the game of transition. The game of transition to democracy could take different paths. Democracy may result based on a pact between the dominating elite and the opposing elite to build democracy, through a reform when the societal masses are stronger than the elites and would build democracy from the bottom up, but without using violence; through imposition when one group of the political elite mobilizes and uses violence to overthrow the regime (such elite is often the military); and finally, through revolution, when the societal masses (revolutionaries) are strong enough to overthrow the traditional ruling elite by violence. Most studies on the

convince or force the hardliners to democratize the system.

186 Globalization

The above-identified domestic-oriented perspectives on socioeconomic, cultural and political factors have provided explanations for democratization. The complementary perspectives of explanatory factors for democratization shed light on important driving engines for building democracies around the world and have enlightened the public and those in academic life regarding when democracy is likely to happen. The bulk of studies have been comprehensive, but these perspectives have contained one important flaw: the neglect to focus on international factors for democracy building. Until the 1990s, most research on how to build democracy focused on domestic factors. The dominance of domestic factors was primarily due to two phenomena. One explanation for the domestic bias in research on democratization is the construction of separating academic disciplines in comparative politics and international relations where research on how to build democracy belonged to the former. The tradition of comparative politics was to focus on domestic structures and actors to explain political situations and changes. Scholars in international relations, however, were less interested in domestic politics and focused on how states and other powerful actors engage in diplomatic, economic and political relationships with others and with what motives and impact they do so. Another explanation for the domestic bias in research has concerned the fuzzy idea of what really constitutes the international factors, reaching for any structures and/or actors in the world beyond the state's territory. This has made potential international explanatory factors to democracy hard to pin down, which has left many scholars abandoning international perspectives on democracy building.

Some significant research efforts for identifying the international dimension to political change began in the 1960s. In a time of decolonization, a large number of studies focused on political and economic linkages and dependencies between developed and less-developed states. It was argued that international political and economic structures penetrated state borders and provided links between powerful and less-powerful actors. The notion of links and penetrated systems was especially explored among scholars within the dependency school, arguing that third-world states were influenced by rich states in the West based on an unjustified and unequal world economic structure. The criticism, however, pointed out the lack of specificity of how to analyze and understand international factors and how and when domestic politics and economics were influenced by or dictated by external forces.

identifying powerful actors, such as the European Union, the Organizations of Security and Cooperation in Europe and the United States, among others, and the declining power of Soviet Union. These actors promoted democratic ideas and encouraged governments and people around the world to launch democratic reforms, which led to transitions and, in the long run, snowballing effects on a growing number of states. The links between international democracy promotion and transitions were clarified through important research, such as in Pridham's study: *Encouraging Democracy*—*the international context of regime transition in Southern Europe* [52] and *Building Democracy*—*The International Dimension of Democratization in Eastern Europe* [53]. Pridham argued that international factors played a significant role in democracy building and discussed how such factors had had an increased role in explaining the transitions to

Building Democracy: National and International Factors http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.71984 189

Another impressive study on the international factors for democratization was Whitehead's study, *The International Dimensions of Democratization*—*Europe and the Americas* [54], which conceptualized different methods or modes of democracy promotion in contagion, control and consent from a comparative perspective across the Atlantic. Schmitter [55] added a fourth mode in conditional cooperation and illustrated different actors, motives and processes that could shed light on the international factors for democracy. Conditional cooperation referred to the international influence on domestic democracy building based on the use of carrots and sticks. Democracy promotion was often implemented by offering political, economic and/or technological assistance and support (carrots) tied to formalized democratic demands on the reforms to be taken. Control, on the other hand, implies a mode based on coercive political, economic and/or military methods to see democratization without the necessary domestic consent through deliberate, forceful acts. Such a mode of influence could include intervention and isolation to enforce the transition to democratic institutions and political culture. In sharp contrast to control, contagion implies a mode of non-coercive impact where domestic democratic reforms are a consequence of the spirit of the time, the global surge of democracy and the domino effects from other states' transitions; that is, what was previously discussed in this chapter as the diffusion of democracy as a political idea and encouragement to dare to change domestic institutions in a democratic direction. In contemporary research on democracy building, international factors are systematically considered as explanatory factors, leaving national and international factors as equally important to take into consideration when trying to explain transitions to democracy around the world. In a globalized world order, national and international factors to democracy building are interwoven leaving scholars with a wide range of potential explana-

Democracy refers to the government by the people. It ensures contestation and participation and provides citizens with political rights and civil liberties that promote popular freedom. Democratic systems have been challenged by nondemocratic systems and ideas over time. In

democracy in Europe from the 1970s to the 1990s.

tory factors to be considered.

**6. Final remarks**

It was argued that states were open systems vulnerable for penetration and that developed and powerful states could have a political impact on democracy building [47]. For instance, Rosenaue identified the link politics between the international and national domains as "any recurrent sequence of behavior that originates in one system and is reacted to in another" [48] and focused on the potential impact such links could have on democracy. In the 1990s, the debate about the international dimension re-emerged in the scholarly debate on globalization. The quickly growing number of studies about globalization covered the diffusion of global characteristics within economics, technology, culture and politics and stated a growing notion of interdependence in the world. It was further argued that economic, technological, cultural and political transformations across borders of intensification of interactions, exchanges and meetings led to a de-territorialization of politics in favor of macro-regional, international and global actors and processes. Globalization and global politics were portrayed as enhanced interdependence where global changes were cutting through state borders by challenging the domestic political, economic and cultural domestic structures by decreasing geographical distances around the world [49].

Research on the international dimension on democracy building, triggered by the studies on globalization, peaked with the end of the Cold War and with the increased power within the West. It resulted in the conceptualization of the international dimension to democracy in democratic diffusion and democratic promotion. First, the diffusion of democracy was argued to happen between nearby locations and between geographical locations far away with similar political, economic and cultural structures (or historical ties). It was stated that the spread of democracy was facilitated by political, cultural and economic salience often provided by geographical proximity, but diffusion could happen as a global phenomenon in a world of decreasing geographical distances. Diffusion of democracy was one important dimension of globalization—aside from the spread of economic liberalism and technology—and embedded the growing popularity of installing democratic governance [50]. The diffusion of democracy from one state or region to another required diffusion agents to assist the spread of democratic rights and liberties. Diffusion agents acted as socialization agents within the transnational networks and domestic domain, interpreting and introducing global norms and values to domestic settings.

A second international dimension factor for building democracy has been democracy promotion. Research on democracy promotion has been based on traditional insights from international relations and foreign policy-making, focusing on international actors' motives and methods. The foreign policy analysis has displayed a growing interest in democracy promotion in which democracy promotion has referred to a foreign policy motivation to impact other governments and nations in a pro-democratic direction. Studies during the 1990s [51] argued that democracy promotion were essential factors for the global scope of democratization by identifying powerful actors, such as the European Union, the Organizations of Security and Cooperation in Europe and the United States, among others, and the declining power of Soviet Union. These actors promoted democratic ideas and encouraged governments and people around the world to launch democratic reforms, which led to transitions and, in the long run, snowballing effects on a growing number of states. The links between international democracy promotion and transitions were clarified through important research, such as in Pridham's study: *Encouraging Democracy*—*the international context of regime transition in Southern Europe* [52] and *Building Democracy*—*The International Dimension of Democratization in Eastern Europe* [53]. Pridham argued that international factors played a significant role in democracy building and discussed how such factors had had an increased role in explaining the transitions to democracy in Europe from the 1970s to the 1990s.

Another impressive study on the international factors for democratization was Whitehead's study, *The International Dimensions of Democratization*—*Europe and the Americas* [54], which conceptualized different methods or modes of democracy promotion in contagion, control and consent from a comparative perspective across the Atlantic. Schmitter [55] added a fourth mode in conditional cooperation and illustrated different actors, motives and processes that could shed light on the international factors for democracy. Conditional cooperation referred to the international influence on domestic democracy building based on the use of carrots and sticks. Democracy promotion was often implemented by offering political, economic and/or technological assistance and support (carrots) tied to formalized democratic demands on the reforms to be taken. Control, on the other hand, implies a mode based on coercive political, economic and/or military methods to see democratization without the necessary domestic consent through deliberate, forceful acts. Such a mode of influence could include intervention and isolation to enforce the transition to democratic institutions and political culture. In sharp contrast to control, contagion implies a mode of non-coercive impact where domestic democratic reforms are a consequence of the spirit of the time, the global surge of democracy and the domino effects from other states' transitions; that is, what was previously discussed in this chapter as the diffusion of democracy as a political idea and encouragement to dare to change domestic institutions in a democratic direction. In contemporary research on democracy building, international factors are systematically considered as explanatory factors, leaving national and international factors as equally important to take into consideration when trying to explain transitions to democracy around the world. In a globalized world order, national and international factors to democracy building are interwoven leaving scholars with a wide range of potential explanatory factors to be considered.
