Democratic Consolidation (PDF)

SEPTEMBER 23, 2023) (Civil society) What is democratic consolidation? Consolidation, to make something stronger or better; refers to the process by which a newly established or transitioning democracy becomes firmly established and stable. It involves the institutionalization of democratic norms an...

SEPTEMBER 23, 2023) (Civil society) What is democratic consolidation? Consolidation, to make something stronger or better; refers to the process by which a newly established or transitioning democracy becomes firmly established and stable. It involves the institutionalization of democratic norms and practices, the development of a strong democratic culture, and the creation of durable democratic institutions. In essence, it signifies that a country has reached a point where democracy is the accepted and entrenched form of governance, and there is minimal risk of a return to authoritarian or non-democratic rule. Consolidated democracy is having the life expectancy of democratic ideals last for the longest time possible; your society now is immune to authoritarianism; you are not vulnerable to this, you are stable, you have no oppositional force, no vulnerable segments (less ngos) Why is it hard so us to consolidate despite the fact that we have all the elements of the state? The North-West Passage (Przeworski); theoretical passage to the democratic worls; most of our new demo have good intentions and they have the right to seek economic wealth from north and the market based democratic of the West to strengthen citizenry. North = economic wealth West = market-based democratic ideals = citizen autonomy and security With this formula —-> help build democracy that you enhance citizen economy to produce their own economic output; gioving citizen the liberty to choose among several preferences thus increasing production, strengthen democratic state as it guarantees basic civil rights and liberties =creates a future that fosters peace and affluence or economic development Is it wrong to want these things? No Venn diagram: Main observation: there is no start nor end. Our normative point of view is once you have the state, the society and economy you can already function as a democracy and be consolidated. (Przeworski); this not confirmed If you develop market first it might be a better foundation Early democratization can promote economic growth. Expected synergy and bounded certainty = we like to duplicate north and west because of their affluence What we did wrong is that we had expected synergy that once you have all the material and forces of democracy; you will trigger democratization. We also have bounded certainty where we assume that state, economy, and civil society under the guise of liberal ideas can bereft the chance. There is no beginning and end; and we made the wrong move True consolidation coems form the fact that you don’t assume that these obstractions are able to mange themselve. Ther has to be a certain degree of control or a framework to strengthen or represent your state as democratic state. Don’t let state, economy, civil society overlap = no sense of political legitimacy From this notion, as we progress, we still keep on duplicating both ; china developmental authoritarian Civil society has a normative function- checks and balance What is our common belief in civil society? The current norm is that they are the Guardians of the state Watchdogs Perform checks and balance Make up for the weaknesses Forms of Civil Society in the Philippines ▰ NGOs (community development, think tanks, charitable orgs) ▰ POs (are able to organize further into coalitions or federations) ▰ Religious Institution church, cathlic groups) ▰ Academe ▰ Media ▰ Business ▰ Social and Political Movements ▰ Communities (including family and clans) Example: 2001 issue of Joseph Estrada being charged by corruption which resulted to EDSA 2 How can the Philippines consolidate democracy? 2 perspectives 5 Interconnected Conditions to Consolidate a Democratic State (Linz & Stepan, 1994) 1. A relatively autonomous political society) 2. Effective enforcement of the rule of law for all actors 3. The functioning of a usable state bureaucracy and non-monist economy 4. Existence of a free and active civil society 4 Levels of Consolidation of a Democratic State (varying degrees of democratization) (Merkel, 1996) Institutional: structures (consti; government system) Representative: (parties and interest groups); would require party systems to be balnced, Behavioral: Military &strong economic actors; Veto actors; why do we need to behave in a unified way?; there might be oppositional forces that may make the state vulnerable and this might lie on military groups and they become terrorist group; recurrent military coup is a sign of fargmentation; Consolidation of civic society: this is the longest to develop so he phased this at the last part; goal is thriving and healthy civic culture Why do we have lot of ngos but we are still in the process of consolidating? Why is the last phase always focus on establishing civil society? It is the longest to develop so make it the least priority, consolidation happens if you canuse your institutions to better represent your party system, after manage your state in the way that you are to able control political decent or anything that will make democratic culture vulnerable. The ph we have the necessary windows of opportunity to consolidate. If it was clear to them back then, that would have been a game changer. During the 1987 constitution, the lawmakers back then, theta re aware that we are a society starting to collect civil organization and we have elites that are dumbfounded too. We are alos vulnerable to milf of muslim mindanao and we didn’t try to address this. Society vs. Civil Society What makes a society civil? The main difference: I hva ethe inclination to pressure the state. Even 2 individuals and can make change, you are already a civil society, a form of participation already; policy or advocacy goal to foster change The society is the netirety of the political landscape Do I need a state to create my own civil society? Yes Normative and Functional definition of civil society (Viterna et al.) A normative dimension: Civil society is defined by its civilized character. Different authors Have different ideas about what constitutes civility, but the common thread is that civil Society (and the associations it encompasses) carries a positive normative valence and Promotes a more enlightened society: for example, a society characterized by virtues like Solidarity, equity, or justice. A functional dimension: Civil society is defined by its effects, and specifically its effects on Democracy. It mobilizes citizens, advocates on their behalf, generates social trust, and Safeguards against government corruption or abuse. Civil society (and the associations it Encompasses) in this sense helps generate democracy, consolidate democracy, and then Safeguard democracy once it is in place. Democratization, participation, and trust A structural dimension: Synonymous with the third sector, the structural idea of civil Society denotes a sector of organized human action composed of collective actors beyond The family and distinct from the state and the market. Third sector: operating ina independent way that do not overlap with economy and state; it should be autonomous. Is civil society unique to democracy? No We have separate it into the idea of orgaizations and look at it as an activity or process because civil society have differnet meanings in authoritarian regimes; which means it has the potential to thrive still. Is a communist regime able to create equally thriving civil societies? It starts of discourse in a very limiting society = blossoming social movement . In communist regimes, indpendent society regims are stronger than ind emocratice because they contribute to amore stronger discourse. What makes society uncivil? If there are instances of third sector corruption and disconnect to the society. No accountability for our political actors. Is it okay to transition from having civil to be uncivilized? 2 definitions of an uncivil society: Lack of commitment in the pre established democratic rules Lack of spirit of civi mindedness