Democracy and its Determinants: A Critique
Abstract
Scholars of comparative politics have been concerned with the meaning of democracy as well as the pre-conditions for the emergence and consolidation of democracy. The commonly examined determinants include a set of cultural, ideological, economic and external assistance factors. This article engages one variant of democracy namely liberal democracy in order to understand whether or not it presupposes certain conditions to happen and consolidate. I argue that although liberal democracy is certainly the dominant kind of democracy in the world, it has worked differently across space and time to the extent that the precondition argument is progressively losing its explanatory power.
Keywords: Democracy, pre-conditions, culture, ideology, economy
Associate Professor, University of Dar es Salaam
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright © by Department of Political Science and Public Administration, University of Dar es Salaam
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher, except for short extracts in fair dealing, for research or private study, critical scholarly review or discourse with an acknowledgement.
The African Review: A Journal of African Politics, Development and International Affairs [ISSN 0856-0056 (Print) & ISSN 1821-889X (Online)] is published bi-annually, June and December by the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, University of Dar es Salaam, P.O. Box 35042 €“ Dar es Salaam €“ Tanzania
