Democratization
Attempts to “create” democracy and beyond
by UETANI Naokatsu
Political
campaigning
in
a
rural
area
(Indonesia)
There
is
a
general
tendency
to
assume
that
"democracy"
refers
to
a
fairly
static
concept
and,
by
corollary,
that
"democratization"
represents
the
process
of
approaching
this
"democracy."
Taking
this
into
consideration,
when
explaining
democratization,
it
is
first
necessary
to
answer
the
question,
"what
is
democracy?"
From
the
time
of
the
ancient
Greeks
to
present
day,
the
concept
of
"democracy"
has
been
presented
in
a
variety
of
forms,
evoking
a
multitude
of
emotional
responses
ranging
from
fear
or
adoration
to
envy.
However,
particularly
in
the
context
of
modern
political
science,
there
is
a
desire
to
be
able
to
evaluate
democracy
as
a
political
phenomenon
occurring
in
a
specific
social
group,
be
that
a
nation
state
or
(local)
community,
as
objectively
and
as
scientifically
as
possible,
ultimately
enabling
researchers
to
make
cross-group
comparisons.
The
concept
of
democracy,
thus,
has
also
come
to
be
defined
with
this
goal
in
mind.
Among
the
various
proposed
definitions
of
democracy,
perhaps
the
most
refined
and
widely-disseminated
conceptualization
of
democracy
is
that
presented
by
Robert
A.
Dahl.
First,
Dahl
limits
the
scope
of
his
concept
of
"democracy"
to
a
description
of
the
"the
fundamental
principle
of
a
political
regime
."
According
to
him,
the
degree
of
democracy
is
formally
defined
based
on
two
measurable
factors:
namely,
the
degree
of
citizen
participation
in
the
political
process
(political
equality)
and
the
degree
of
acceptance
of
public
contestation
(political
freedom).
Emphasis
is
placed
on
"free
and
fair
elections "
as
one
opportunity
in
which
the
various
civil
liberties
and
political
rights
(freedom
of
expression,
freedom
of
association,
freedom
of
the
press,
suffrage,
eligibility
for
candidacy,
etc.),
which
represent
components
of
the
two
above-mentioned
factors
are
tested.
In
addition,
the
manner
in
which
elections
are
held
contributes
to
the
overall
evaluation
of
whether
a
given
regime
is
democratic
or
not.
If
we
accept
this,
or
similar,
definition
of
democracy
(we
call
this
"procedural
democracy"),
then,
the
goal
of
"democratization"
is
the
establishment
of
free
and
fair
elections,
and
"democratization"
can
be
considered
the
process
by
which
the
civil
liberties
and
political
rights
necessary
to
achieve
this
goal
are
realized
and
maintained.
The
"crafting"
of
democracy
Now,
let’s
us
discuss
the
reason
(why)
and
the
process
(how)
by
which
democratization
is
achieved.
In
the
past,
when
the
emphasis
of
discussion
was
conditions
required
for
establishment
of
a
"democratic
society,"
rather
than
"democracy,"
it
was
believed
that
the
necessary
conditions
included
such
things
as
the
existence
of
a
sizeable
middle
class
with
a
certain
amount
of
wealth
and
education
as
well
as
a
civil
and
political
culture
characterized
by
tolerance
and
moderation.
Following
this
reasoning,
"democratization"
means
that
a
given
society
has
achieved
these
conditions.
If
this
is
the
case,
then,
only
certain
societies
that
have
experienced
the
economic
and
social
structure
transformation
known
as
modernization
and
have
achieved
a
certain
degree
of
wealth
(i.e.,
developed
nations)
have
the
opportunity
to
become
democratized.
However,
the
"wave
of
democratization"
which
swept
the
globe
in
the
middle
of
the
1970s
(S.
Huntington)
forced
a
drastic
revision
of
this
traditional
view
of
"democratization."
In
some
countries
where
it
was
believed
that
"conditions"
for
democratization
did
not
exist,
for
example
in
many
developing
countries,
not
only
civil
liberties
and
political
rights,
which
had
been
prohibited
or
restricted,
were
gradually
permitted,
but
also
free
and
fair
elections
became
a
goal.
That
is,
this
wave
of
democratization
changed
the
perception
of
"democracy"
as
"state
of
society"
that
is
achievable
only
by
countries
that
have
historically
developed
certain
conditions
but
rather
that
it
is
an
artificial
"institution"
created
by
people.
Furthermore,
the
successive,
unexpected
democratization
of
countries
around
the
world
also
had
an
impact
on
the
field
of
modern
political
science.
Since
then,
in
addition
to
"study
of
the
causes
of
democratization
(why?),"
practical/strategic
issues
related
to
the
"democratization
process
(how?)"
have
been
come
under
the
purview
of
the
field.
For
example,
the
joint
research
of
G.
O’Donnell
and
P.
Schmitter
introduced
a
new
area
of
study
called
"Transitology"
that
emphasizes
the
strategic
interactions
among
political
actors
involved
with
democratization,
providing
a
framework
in
which
to
analyze
the
relatively
quick
transition
from
authoritarian
to
democratic
regimes.
This
line
of
research
is
further
developed
in
"Consolidology,"
which
address
questions
of
how
societies
that
have
experienced
"democracy"
in
the
form
free
elections,
then,
work
to
consolidate
this
institution.
Beyond
"procedural
democracy"
In
this
way,
the
"wave
of
democratization"
in
the
latter
half
of
the
20th
century
brought
about
discussions
in
which
many
developing
countries,
at
least
with
respect
to
political
regimes
and
structures,
were
on
comparable
footing
with
the
industrialized
countries.
The
starting
point
for
such
comparison
can
be
said
to
be
the
concept
of
"procedurally
defined"
democracy
and
the
corresponding
concept
of
democratization.
However,
it
is
important
to
remember
that,
if
we
define
"politics"
as
"decisions
that
impact
all
members
of
a
given
social
group,"
the
democracy
and
democratization
discussed
above,
which
are
related
to
"how
things
are
decided"
and
are
embodied
in
"elections,"
can
be
distilled
simply
to
the
process
of
"choosing
of
those
who
decide."
Although
it
may
go
without
saying,
rapid
technological
advances
and
specialization
of
information
result
in
an
increasingly
complex
society
in
which,
within
the
political
domain,
it
is
necessary
to
be
able
to
deal
rapidly
and
effectively
with
an
enormous
number
of
policy
proposals
covering
a
wide
range
of
policy
areas.
In
this
situation,
there
is
ample
opportunity
for
bureaucrats,
technocrats,
and
special
interest
groups
(lobbyists)
to
play
a
significant
role
in
the
political
process,
creating
the
possibility
of
putting
the
political
domain
outside
of
the
reach
even
of
the
representatives
elected
by
the
public,
to
say
nothing
of
being
out
of
reach
of
individual
citizens
who
are
supposed
to
be
the
main
political
actors.
In
other
words,
if
we
consider
the
countless
possibilities
in
a
diverse
society
of
what
decisions
are
made
(political
issues),
how
these
are
made
(radical,
gradual,
high-handed,
coordinated,
compromising,
confrontational,
binary,
etc.),
and
the
manner
of
involvement
(direct
or
indirect),
"democracy"
or
"democratization,"
which
tends
to
be
reduced
simply
to
"elections,"
captures
only
one
of
the
many
important
political
aspects
of
a
society.