POLC91H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Ideal Type, Structural Adjustment, Polyarchy
5 Dec 2012
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Hershberg; confines discussion of democracy to purely political realm. Does not get in to social realm at all. These are the qualifications of being a liberal democracy. Civil liberties, the right to associate, minority parties. Remove leaders from power: rule of law. Everyone is treated the same by the law, no one is above the law. Dispersal of power strong parties, civil society organizations. Power is shared amongst parties, organizations, etc. , it is not concentrated in one group of people. Assumption here is that no 1 group dominates; everybody has an opportunity to influence political outcomes. This characterization of lib democracy is an ideal type; probably doesn"t exist anywhere we formulate these ideal types to see how new countries measure up. Democratic consolidation; when democratic values become accepted by society and democratic politics. What is really crucial here is political rights and political liberties and the changing of political power through competitive elections.
