Christopher M. Brown

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Professor (Assistant) at Georgia Southern University

The type of consolidation that a regime undergoes is often linked to those forces that serve to provide the basis for democracy during the period of transition. As a result of the legitimacy and effectiveness afforded to democratic regimes, it is possible that consolidated democracy can exhibit a paradox of democratic purgatory. Democratic Purgator...

This chapter outlines the trajectory of democracy as a desired and coordinated policy goal, particularly in the wake of the Second World War. It discusses the expectations of early policymakers and the responses to these early experiments. The field expands to include a preference for diverse explanations for how and when democracies emerge and the...

This chapter provides the heuristic case study, and it offers a link to the larger theoretical issues that can be teased from the Venezuelan case. Beginning in the late-1950s and early 1960s, Venezuela was seen as the model for Latin American democracy and was promoted as the benchmark to which other failed Latin American political systems could be...

The entire history of Nicaragua could well be captured by the word: division. From its earliest days as an independent republic, the country has been divided by geography, livelihood, social status, and political ideology. There may not have been a political system in Latin America with a lower expectation of producing a democracy in the wake of th...

This chapter outlines the process of institutionalization and the social forces that engaged in cultivating the democratic regimes in the case study. This chapter utilizes a comparative case study method to demonstrate the similarities across the different political systems that have served to promote problems of regime flexicurity. Despite local v...

This opening chapter serves as an introduction to the overall scope and trajectory of the book. This chapter discusses the need for rethinking of our current understanding of advanced democratic stability. It begins with a prelude to the employed case study of Venezuela’s democratic breakdown to frame the general context of the remainder of the boo...

This chapter discusses the need for a rethinking of our current understanding of advanced democratic stability. It begins with a prelude to the employed case study of Venezuela’s democratic breakdown and in doing so, not only does it seek to draw in the reader but it also frames the general context of the remainder of the book. A preliminary explan...

The chapter discusses the evolution of the current democratization research specifically as it projects a linear developmental paradigm (“The Blueprint”). The contemporary assumed trajectory is useful, albeit incomplete, as the concept of democratic purgatory is introduced as a late-stage breakdown of democracies through democratic means. Thus, the...

Colombia’s historical development stands in contrast to the experience of its neighbors. Despite shared Spanish cultural influences, the way colonial institutions infiltrated society helped to create a unique political economy. Colombia has long maintained two related and persistent themes that define it: a surprisingly long tradition of civic poli...

The concluding chapter offers new possibilities for research and understanding given the new reconceptualization of democratic purgatory as a phenomenon to be confronted. By way of conclusion this chapter illuminates the contemporary concerns of democratization scholars, such as “democratic rollback” and “democratic deepening” through the lens of d...

To fully prepare college graduates to function competently and productively in their career, it is important to examine employers’ views of technology competency and graduates’ readiness. Using a qualitative approach by interviewing employers in South-eastern United States across a range of fields, the authors describe the major functions and dimen...

What is the most prudent way for small, developing states to address threats to human security in the post-modern global environment? Resilience demands that vulnerable states proactively embrace good governance and public service reforms to mitigate imminent security threats. The keystone of good governance is representation-driven policies that a...

This chapter outlines the utility for employing case study methodologies to provide sufficient external validity upon which to craft policy relevant to maintaining healthy democratic politics. The broader theoretical context is an investigation into the conditions that might structurally condition democracies to fail via democratic means. Venezuela...

This research provides an understanding of the conditions that presage the failure of consolidated democratic political regimes through constitutional processes. In seeking to answer the question of how democracy might fail through democratic means, this study has revealed a gap in the literature on democratization. Venezuela was selected as a heur...