Elites and Democratic Transitions by Regime Transformation in Southern Europe
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Beschreibung
This book examines three cases of democratic transitions by self-transformation of the non-democratic regimes in Southern Europe—the Spanish reforma pactada-ruptura pactada of 1976-77, the Greek “Markezinis experiment” of 1973, and the Turkish democratic transition of 1983—in a comparative perspective. The author argues that a democratic transition initiated by the regime elites is, in contrast to widely held assumptions and notwithstanding some reservations on whether democracy can be (re-)introduced by non-democrats, worth viewing as a “window of opportunity” for democratisation. It is up to the democratic counter-elites to respond to it, using the civil society and the international factor as allies to achieve their goal of acquiring more concessions from the regime.
Ioannis Tzortis is Teaching Fellow in the Department of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Birmingham, UK.
This book examines three cases of democratic transitions by self-transformation of the non-democratic regimes in Southern Europe—the Spanish reforma pactada-ruptura pactada of 1976-77, the Greek “Markezinis experiment” of 1973, and the Turkish democratic transition of 1983—in a comparative perspective. The author argues that a democratic transition initiated by the regime elites is, in contrast to widely held assumptions and notwithstanding some reservations on whether democracy can be (re-)introduced by non-democrats, worth viewing as a “window of opportunity” for democratisation. It is up to the democratic counter-elites to respond to it, using the civil society and the international factor as allies to achieve their goal of acquiring more concessions from the regime.
Based on use of British and US archives on all three cases Provides new insights of democratic transitions by self-transformation of the non-democratic regimes in Southern Europe Ties three case studies into the context of current cases of democratization around the globe
Autor*in
Ioannis Tzortzis
Themen in »Elites and Democratic Transitions by Regime Transformation in Southern Europe«
Spanish reforma pactada-ruptura pactada Greek Markezinis experiment Turkish democratic transition emergence of democracy democratic consolidation authoritarianism weak democracy regime elites democratisation democratic transition theory dictatorship Mediterranean politics difficult democracy
Stimmen zu »Elites and Democratic Transitions by Regime Transformation in Southern Europe«
“Under what conditions do dictators initiate democratic regime transitions? When do these attempts succeed and why do they sometimes fail? In this meticulously researched book, Tzortzis seeks answers to the counter-intuitive question of authoritarian elite transitions to democracy. The book revisits the varied cases of Spanish, Greek and Turkish transitions by reforma in the 1970s and 1980s and their legacies. In his novel approach to the question, Tzortzis compares the successful Spanish transition with the failed attempt of liberalisation in Greece in 1973 and the imposed transition to a weak democracy in Turkey in 1983. The book focuses on three areas of contestation (inter-elite bargaining, elite and non-elite relations, and the international dimension) to explain divergent outcomes. In an era of democratic backsliding and rising populist authoritarianism, the book urges us to rethink past transitions and what the academic community has learned empirically and theoretically from them. In doing so, it shows the path to a peaceful and successful return to stable democracies in global politics.” (Prof. Yaprak Gursoy, Chair in Contemporary Turkish Studies of the European Institute of LSE, UK.)
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