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Political Institutions and Their Effect on Democracy in the Dominican Republic

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Political Institutions and Their Effect on Democracy in the Dominican Republic CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by NORA - Norwegian Open Research Archives Political institutions and their effect on democracy in the Dominican Republic -A critical assessment Leiv Marsteintredet Thesis Submitted for the Degree Candidatus Rerum Politicarum February 2004 The University of Bergen Department of Comparative Politics To Dixie Acknowledgments At the Department of Comparative Politics, I must thank my supervisor Einar Berntzen. His comments, critique, keen eye for details and advices have constantly pushed me forward in writing and improving this thesis. I must also thank Einar for opening my eyes for conceptual issues, and especially for making me look into the details of radial concepts. Mike Alvarez also deserves mentioning. His positive comments gave me the necessary confidence when Einar was far away, and his tips on relevant literature have been an important contribution. Financially, I should thank the Meltzer foundation for financing my research trip to the Dominican Republic. In particular I want to thank my parents (and the rest of the family in Ulvik and Oslo), without my parents’ support and extra funding, this project would not have been possible to finish. I also want to thank my family for their general support throughout my years at the University. Thank you for never doubting me. In the Dominican Republic, Jacqueline Jiménez Polanco was of tremendous help. She helped me understand the inner life and thoughts of the political parties in the Dominican Republic. I also appreciate the help I got from Carlos Pimentel at OECI. I also should thank all my friends in the Dominican Republic for not getting tired of my eternal need to discuss politics when I had taken a couple of Presidentes too many. I also appreciate the help and support from my family in Santiago, who welcomed me into their home in 93/94. This year was crucial for my interest in Dominican politics. In the United States, Rosario Espinal has been very kind and provided me with literature that was impossible to find. Her work is brilliant and has been a true inspiration. Peter Sánchez has also been very kind and sent me several articles…I am sorry for criticising them in my thesis. In particular I want to thank Luis José Brea Bazil for always letting me live with his family in Santo Domingo. He opened his house, let me become a member of his family and made me feel at home during my research trip. He gave me brilliant food, remarkable study and writing facilities, tips on literature, fresh newspapers and many interesting conversations. I can truly say: Without him this project would never have been possible. List of Contents: ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................................................. I LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS:........................................................................................................................................... II DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: CENTRAL FACTS ..................................................................................................................III CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.0 INTRODUCTION: THEMES OF THE THESIS....................................................................................... 1 1.1 WHY A SINGLE CASE STUDY?....................................................................................................................... 2 1.2 WHY THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC?............................................................................................................... 3 1.3 THE PLAN OF THE THESIS ............................................................................................................................. 7 CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS 1.0 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................... 9 2.0 DEFINITIONS OF CORE CONCEPTS ................................................................................................... 12 2.1 DEMOCRACY ............................................................................................................................................. 13 2.1.1 An expanded procedural definition of democracy................................................................................ 15 3.0 THE NEW INSTITUTIONAL DEBATE.................................................................................................. 19 3.1 THE FAILURE OF PRESIDENTIALISM: LINZ ................................................................................................. 19 3.1.1 Dual democratic legitimacy ................................................................................................................. 20 3.1.2 Fixed terms, rigidity ............................................................................................................................. 21 3.1.3 Presidentialism and weak parties......................................................................................................... 22 3.2 THE PARTY SYSTEM AND PRESIDENTIALISM .............................................................................................. 23 3.3 DEADLOCKS AND SURVIVAL OF DEMOCRACIES.......................................................................................... 24 3.4 A CONDITIONAL DEFENCE FOR PRESIDENTIALISM ..................................................................................... 25 3.4.1 The defence of presidentialism............................................................................................................. 26 3.4.2 Presidential powers.............................................................................................................................. 27 3.4.3 The party system................................................................................................................................... 28 3.4.4 Electoral rules and electoral cycles ..................................................................................................... 29 4.0 DEMOCRATIC REGIME STABILITY AND CONSOLIDATED DEMOCRACY............................. 30 4.1 REGIME STABILITY .................................................................................................................................... 30 4.2 VIRTUOUS/PERVERSE INSTITUTIONALISATION AND CONSOLIDATED DEMOCRACY ..................................... 32 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS 1.0 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 36 1.1 THE CASE STUDY ....................................................................................................................................... 36 1.2 MY DATA COLLECTION .............................................................................................................................. 37 2.0 CONCEPTUALISATION AND OPERATIONALISATION OF THE CORE CONCEPTS............... 39 2.1 RADIAL AND CLASSICAL CONCEPTUALISATION.......................................................................................... 39 2.1.1 Classifications of democracy and attributes of democracy.................................................................. 44 2.2 OPERATIONALISING DEMOCRATIC FEATURES ............................................................................................ 47 3.0 OPERATIONALISATION OF INSTITUTIONAL VARIABLES AND DEADLOCK........................ 50 3.1 THE INDEPENDENT VARIABLES .................................................................................................................. 50 3.1.1 Government party support in congress ................................................................................................ 50 3.1.2 Number of parties................................................................................................................................. 51 3.1.3 The veto situation ................................................................................................................................. 52 3.1.4 Presidential powers and party strength ............................................................................................... 52 3.1.5 The Electoral system ............................................................................................................................ 53 3.2 THE DEPENDENT VARIABLES...................................................................................................................... 53 3.2.1 Executive-legislative relations. Or: How to measure “Actual Deadlocks” ......................................... 54 3.2.2 How to measure presidential dominance ............................................................................................. 55 3.2.3 Regime change ..................................................................................................................................... 56 3.3 HOW TO TEST THE HYPOTHESES................................................................................................................. 57 4.0 REGIME STABILITY AND CONSOLIDATED DEMOCRACY.......................................................... 58 4.1 REGIME STABILITY .................................................................................................................................... 58 4.2 CONSOLIDATED DEMOCRACY ...................................................................................................................
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