Transnational Dimensions of Democratization

Abstract

Chapter 2 deals with two concepts.¹ The first two sections define democracy as a political system maximizing popular participation organized in periodic electoral contests. The rest of the chapter adds a transnational dimension to the comparative study of democratization. The transnational mobilization for democratic change is particularly relevant in challenging authoritarian rule. In later stages external influences combine with domestic factors to produce variation in the paths of regime change. Transnational mobilization not only decreases in importance during later stages of regime change, but also produces more ambiguous effects on democratic change. External actors find it easier to join domestic groups in challenges to authoritarian leaders than to contribute positively to the creation and consolidation of democratic practices.