Actors and Power

Abstract

The third intrinsic dimension of democratisation to be considered in the alternative assessment is the actors’ political capacity, primarily their capacity to alter the opportunity structure. This is, of course, another way of saying that power is important for what actors can do and how institutions are shaped and perform. The structure of power and opportunities for people to act are crucial in any explanation of democracy. But to really consider the problems and options of democratisation, one must also focus on the actors’ capacity to alter these opportunities in their own favour. In short, this is about their capacity to at least in part create their own preconditions.