No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.
Conclusion: Representing the General Will
Abstract
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 democratic purgatory regimes. This concluding chapter expands the concept of democratic purgatory beyond the Venezuelan case and demonstrates that the phenomenon is much more common among advanced democracies as well. Other political systems that are in a state of democratic purgatory are discussed in a brief comparative political study, with a near-future goal of expanding on these other cases in a forthcoming monograph. The work closes with a discussion of flexible representation of citizen interests as the most important requirement for assessing regime survivability.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.
The distinguished historian of the Renaissance, Jacob Burckhardt, once remarked that the true use of history is not to make men more clever for the next time but to make them wiser forever. Admittedly, it is not easy to learn from history, though almost every statesman and general has professed to have done so. In the first place, people often disagree as to the correct lesson to be drawn from a particular historical experience. For example, quite different lessons regarding military strategy for fighting limited wars were drawn from the frustrating experience of the Korean War and once again, quite ominously, from the failure of American military power in the Vietnam War. Second, even if people agree on the correct lessons to be drawn from a particular historical case, they often misapply those lessons to a new situation that differs from the past one in important respects.
The seizure of power by the National Socialist party and the dictatorial regime of Adolf Hitler demonstrate the self-destructive possibilities of a modern society. This change, revolutionary in its consequences, happened non-violently, observing the legal provisions of a democratic constitution in an economically developed, tightly socially organized, and highly culturally diversified country. Even without the threat of Hitlerism and the consequences of mass unemployment, the democratic parties were prepared to suspend the democratic procedures and resort to a presidential rule. However, the crisis of everyday-life mobilized the population to a higher extent than any propaganda could possibly achieve. This mobilization activated parts of the population who, under normal conditions, do not participate in the political process and are therefore not integrated through intermediary interest groups and parties. In general, non-integrated groups are more likely than the average population to turn to the most radical parties available. In such a case, the outcome of the rebellious stance of the population depends on the nature of the party-system. The willingness to support a radical party is determined by the power of the moderate parties to absorb the protest mood and how successful they provide a plausible interpretation of the situation.
After decades of historic gains, the world has slipped into a democratic recession. Predatory states are on the rise, threatening both nascent and established democracies throughout the world. But this trend can be reversed with the development of good governance and strict accountability and the help of conditional aid from the West.
In the first part of the book, Professor Kolb provides a clear historical narrative of the political, social, economic and cultural developments of the Weimar Republic, setting it within the international context of the inter-war period. In the second part he surveys and analyses scholarly research in the field which sheds light on the problems and controversies of the period in home and foreign affairs. This text, therefore, provides an excellent introduction to the history of the Weimar Republic and a guide to the state of research for more advanced students. The book contains a detailed chronology and an extensive and up-to-date bibilography, divided by subject, which includes recent English-language studies of the period and translation of German works.
Dilemmas of Political Development: An Introduction to the Politics of the Developing Areas
- Monte Palmer
The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad
- Fareed Zakaria