Comparative Democratization and Peaceful Change in Single-Party-Dominant Countri

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Overview

One of the more positive international trends as of late has been the transformation of several countries from authoritarian-based dictatorships and single party systems into multi-party democracies characterized by peaceful political transitions. In this volume, a group of experts are gathered to analyze this progression on a comparative level. The essays reveal how the dramatic collapse of the USSR functioned as a crucial catalyst in allowing pent-up domestic pressures for change to emerge in a less charged international environment. In addition, the chapters study the historical and current evolution of these countries, focusing on their success in developing long-term pluralistic structures, and gauging whether these recent trends are more overnight fads than long lasting advancements.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780312165956
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan US
Publication date:	03/18/2000
Edition description:	1999
Pages:	454
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.05(d)

About the Author

Marco Rimanelli is Associate Professor of European and Security Studies at Saint Leo College in Florida.

Table of Contents

Peaceful Democratization Trends in Single-Party-Dominant Countries--Marco Rimanelli
• Part I: Single-Party-Dominant Systems and Western Pluralist Democracies
• Political Immobilism, Clientelism, Collapse and Democratic Renewal in Italy--Marco Rimanelli
• Greece: The Perils of Incorporation--Platon N. Riggs
• The Portugese Case--Alfred G. Cuzàn
• Neo-Liberal Renovación, Democratic Transition and the Politics of Fragmentation: The Loss of Socialist Hegemony in Spain--Anthony N. Celso
• Political Polarization and Electoral Change in Israel--Jack McTague
• Politics, Culture and Democratic Reform in Japan--Jack P. Horgan
• Part II: Pluralist Democratization in Ex-Marxist Regimes
• The Russian Case: Elite Self-Emancipation--Robert V. Barylski
• Peaceful Democratization in Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic--Beat Kernen
• Evolution and Demise of One-Party Rule in Nicaragua--Harry Vanden
• Part III: Democratization Among Third World Single-Party Systems
• Mexico: Revolution in the Revolution?--Waltraud Q. Morales and Corinne B. Young
• Peaceful Democratic Change in Brazil and Argentina--Franco Mazzella
• The Political Party System of India--Renu Khator
• Local and Regional Elections in Taiwan--James Robinson
• South Africa--Charles W. Arnade and Keith Tankard
• Dilemmas of Democracy in Nigeria--Festus Ugboaja Ohaegbulam

Editorial Reviews

Rimanelli (European and security studies, St. Leo College, Florida) and several other American scholars of government, explore how the collapse of the USSR was a catalyst to the bursting forth of internal pressures in a variety of contexts. Essays examine countries such as Italy, Japan, Russia, Hungary, Mexico, Taiwan, and Nigeria, and their historical and current political evolution. Organization is in three sections covering countries that have democratized or pluralized from Western single party-dominant systems, Marxist regimes, and Third World single-party systems. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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