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The Future of Democracy
How democracies respond to globalisation can result in a challenge of both the effectiveness as well as the legitimacy of democratic rule.
Since the ‘Third Wave’ of democracy has swept through Southern Europe, Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe, Africa, and a number of South-East Asian countries, transitions to democracy have become a global phenomenon. Furthermore, liberal democracy appears to be the preferred form of government in most parts of the world. There are significant differences in these processes of transition and consolidation of democracy between countries. At the same time, there are many similarities that can only be understood by large scale comparative analyses across countries and time. Three decades have elapsed since the beginning of the ‘Third Wave’. Thus, it is now possible to assess the persistence of the institutional structures as well as the emerging democratic political culture of these young democracies. The quality of democracy has a direct bearing on a country’s ability to meet current and future challenges. These challenges are both external and internal. Most of the external challenges result from processes of globalization. Among these processes economic globalization is most important. Today nation states face a strong competition world-wide. Success and failure in this global competition largely determines the ability of countries to meet the expectations of their citizens regarding preferred outcomes such as social welfare, security, or environmental protection. Perceived failures to achieve this feeds a growing skepticism in the performance of institutions of representative government. This can result in a challenge of both the effectiveness as well as the legitimacy of democratic rule.
Against this background, STIAS welcomes research proposals aimed at exploring various aspects of this theme. The following are examples of subthemes in need of further investigation: