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Democratisation's Third Wave and the Challenges of Democratic Deepening

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Democratisation's Third Wave and the Challenges of Democratic Deepening Good Governance, Aid Modalities and Poverty Reduction: Linkages to the Millennium Development Goals and Implications for Irish Aid Research project (RP-05-GG) of the Advisory Board for Irish Aid Working Paper 1 Democratisation’s Third Wave and the Challenges of Democratic Deepening: Assessing International Democracy Assistance and Lessons Learned Lise Rakner (Chr. Michelsen Institute), Alina Rocha Menocal (ODI) and Verena Fritz (ODI) August 2007 Disclaimer and acknowledgements The views presented in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Advisory Board for Irish Aid or those of any of the organisations in the research consortium implementing the project. The authors thank Bill Morton of the North-South Institute for comments on a previous draft, and Tammie O’Neil and Jo Adcock (ODI) for excellent editorial assistance. Responsibility for the content of published version remains with the authors. Overseas Development Institute 111 Westminster Bridge Road London SE1 7JD, UK Tel: +44 (0)20 7922 0300 Fax: +44 (0)20 7922 0399 www.odi.org.uk ii Contents Executive summary ...........................................................................................................v 1. Introduction....................................................................................................................1 1.1 The emergence of democracy assistance............................................................................... 1 1.2 Democracy assistance and the broader ‘good governance’ agenda ...................................... 1 1.3 Democracy assistance and ‘fragile states’ .............................................................................. 2 1.4 Assessing democratic developments and democracy assistance .......................................... 3 2. Understanding democracy: A review of key debates.................................................6 2.1 Defining democracy: Minimalist vs. more substantive definitions............................................ 6 2.1.1 Minimalist definitions of democracy .................................................................................. 6 2.1.2 More substantive definitions of democracy....................................................................... 6 2.2 The ‘Third Wave’ of democratisation....................................................................................... 7 2.2.1 Understanding the different stages of democratisation .................................................... 7 2.2.2 Transitions to democracy: Why and how do they happen? .............................................. 8 2.2.3 Democratic consolidation: An elusive goal? ................................................................... 11 2.3 Democratic reforms on the African continent: Three trajectories .......................................... 15 2.3.1 Consolidating democracies in sub-Saharan Africa ......................................................... 17 2.3.2 Democratic processes ‘stuck in transition’...................................................................... 18 2.3.3 Political meltdown ........................................................................................................... 19 2.4 Explaining democratic trajectories......................................................................................... 21 2.4.1 The interplay between formal structures and informal power relations .......................... 21 2.4.2 Declining economies and weak private sectors.............................................................. 22 2.4.3 The role of external actors .............................................................................................. 22 3. Democracy assistance: Lessons learned and remaining challenges.....................23 3.1 Overview of actors and approaches...................................................................................... 23 3.1.1 US vs. European approaches to democracy assistance ................................................ 23 3.1.2 Democracy promotion: For what?................................................................................... 25 3.1.3 Measuring the effects of democracy assistance............................................................. 27 3.2 Forms of democracy assistance............................................................................................ 28 3.2.1 Electoral assistance........................................................................................................ 28 3.2.2 Assistance to political parties.......................................................................................... 32 3.2.3 Justice sector assistance................................................................................................ 35 3.2.4 Assistance to civil society ...............................................................................................38 3.2.5 Assistance to media........................................................................................................ 43 4. Democracy assistance: Lessons and implications ..................................................47 4.1 Key lessons and implications for democracy assistance ...................................................... 47 References .......................................................................................................................52 iii List of acronyms APRM Africa Peer Review Mechanism AU African Union CCM Chama Cha Mapinduzi (Tanzanian ruling party) CIDA Canadian International Development Agency CSO Civil society organisation CUF Civic United Front (Tanzania) DANIDA Danish International Development Agency DFID UK Department for International Development DPP Democratic Progressive Party (Malawi) EISA Electoral Institute of Southern Africa FDC Forum for Democratic Change (Uganda) GTZ German Agency for Technical Co-operation HIPC Heavily Indebted Poor Countries IDEA International Institute of Elections and Democracy Assistance IFES International Foundation for Election Systems INGO International Non-governmental organisation IRI International Republican Institute JLOS Justice Law and Order Sector (Uganda) MDB Multilateral development bank MDC Movement for Democratic Change (Zimbabwe) NDI National Democratic Institute NEC National Executive Committee (Tanzania) NED National Endowment for Democracy NEPAD New Partnership for Africa’s Development NGO Non-governmental organisation NIMD Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy NRM National Resistance Movement (Uganda) OAS Organisation of American States ODA Official development assistance OSCE Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper SAPS Structural Adjustment Programmes Sida Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency TPLF-EPRDF Tigray People’s Liberation Front-Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (Ethiopia) UDF United Democratic Front (Malawi) UPC Uganda Peoples Congress ZANU PF Zimbabwe African National Union (Patriotic Front) iv Executive summary This study focuses on democratisation and democracy assistance in the developing world. It provides an overview of the democratisation processes that have swept across the developing world since the 1980s and explores some of the main challenges facing many of these incipient democratic regimes. Moving from theory to practice, the paper also analyses some of the most important forms of democracy assistance that donors have undertaken to support democratisation processes over the past two decades. The report is divided into four main chapters. Chapter 1 defines the parameters of this study and situates democratisation processes and democratisation support in the wider context of governance changes and donor policy choices. Democratisation evolved from a trickle into a wave in the developing world with the end of the Cold War. Democratisation assistance has become a substantial element in the development agenda of many donors, especially the US and a number of European bilateral agencies. Post 9/11, new challenges have emerged. While donors have been increasingly engaged in state-building and democratisation efforts in ‘fragile states’, this report focuses on states in the developing world more generally and, hence, does not provide specific guidance on these more ‘extreme’ environments. Chapter 2 reviews the academic literature on the Third Wave of democratisation and explores the specific democratisation trajectories found in African countries, namely democratic consolidation, democratic processes ‘stuck in transition’ and ‘political meltdown’. The chapter covers fundamental conceptual debates about democratic transitions and the challenges of democratic consolidation. It analyses the emergence of ‘hybrid regimes’ – political systems where a formal transition to democracy has taken place but where authoritarian practices and (informal) institutions continue to persist. Chapter 3 examines why and how donors have sought to support democratisation processes. It provides an overview of some of the main approaches that donors have taken to democracy promotion, the main actors and institutions involved, and the objectives that such assistance has sought to achieve. In particular, the chapter compares US and European approaches to democracy assistance and discusses five key avenues of democratisation assistance: support to i) elections, ii) political parties, iii) judicial reform, iv) civil society, and v) the media. It also identifies the various
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