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By accessing this password protected document, you are verifying that you are enrolled in this course and are using this document for coursework. The complete text of the U.S. copyright law is on Reserve at both the Main Library and Science Library Reserve Desks. 1. DEMOCRATIZATION AND PUBLIC OPPOSITION Given a regime in which the opponents of the government cannot openly and legally organize into political parties in order to oppose the government in free and fair elections, what conditions favor or impede a transformation into a regime in which they ·can? That is the question with which this book is concerned. Concepts Since the development of a political system that allows for opposition, rivalry, or competition between a government and its opponents is an important aspect of democratization, this book is necessarily about one aspect of democratization. But the two processes--democratization and the develop­ ment of public opposition-are not, in my view, identical. A full description of the differences could lead us into a tedious exploration of a semantic bog. To avoid this detour, I hope I may be allowed to indicate rather summarily some of my assumptions without much in the way of defense or elabora­ tion. I assume that a key characteristic of a democracy is the continuing responsiveness of the government to the prefer­ ences of its citizens, considered as political equals. What 2 POLYARCHY DEMOCRATIZATION AND PUBLIC OPPOSITION 3 other characteristics might be required for a system to be opportunities are sufficiently evident to need no further strictly democratic, I do not intend to consider here. In elaboration here. 1 this book I should like to reserve the term "democracy" for a political system one of the characteristics of which is the Table 1.1. Some Requirements for a Democracy quality of being completely or almost completely responsive among a Large Number of People to all its citizens. Whether such a system actually exists, has For the opportunity to: The following institutional guarantees are existed, or can exist need not concern us for the moment. required: Surely one can conceive a hypothetical system of this kind; I. Formulate preferences 1. Freedom to form and join organizations 2. Freedom of expression such a conception has served as an ideal, or part of an ideal, 3. Right to vote for many people. As a hypothetical system, one end of a 4. Right of political leaders to compete for scale, or a limiting state of affairs, it can (like a perfect support 5. Alternative sources of information vacuum) serve as a basis for estimating the degree to which II. Signify preferences 1. Freedom to form and join organizations various systems approach this theoretical limit. 2. Freedom of expression I assume further that in order for a government to con­ 3. Right to vote tinue over a period of time to be responsive to the preferences 4. Eligibility for public office 5. Right of political leaders to compete for of its citizens, considered as political equals, all full citizens support must have unimpaired opportunities: 6. Alternative sources of information 7. Free and fair elections 1. To formulate their preferences III. Have preferences 1. Freedom to form and join organizations 2. To signify their preferences to their fellow citizens weighted equally in 2. Freedom of expression and the government by individual and collective conduct of government 3. Right to vote 4. Eligibility for public office action 5. Right of political leaders to compete for 3. To have their preferences weighed equally in the support conduct of the government, that is, weighted with 5a. Right of political leaders to compete for votes no discrimination because of the content or source 6. Alternative sources of information of the preference 7. Free and fair elections 8. Institutions for making government poli­ These, then, appear to me to be three necessary conditions cies depend on votes and other expres­ for a democracy, though they are probably not sufficient. sions of preference Next, I assume that for these three opportunities to exist Now from examination of the list of eight institutional among a large number of people, such as the number of guarantees, it appears that they might provide us with a people who comprise most nation-states at the present time, theoretical scale along which it would be possible to order the institutions of the society must provide at least eight guarantees. These are indicated in table 1.1. 1. Some of the relationships are discussed in my A Preface to Demo­ cratic T~eory (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1956), pp. 63- I am going to make the further assumption that the connec­ 81, and m Robert A. Dahl and Charles E. Lindblom, Politics, Eco­ ]I tions between the guarantees and the three fundamental nomics and Welfare (New York: Harper, 1953), chaps. 10 and 11. 4 POLYARCHY DEMOCRATIZATION AND PUBLIC OPPOSITION 5 different political systems. Upon closer examination, however, it until after the expansion of the suffrage in 1867 and 1884. it appears that the eight guarantees might be fruitfully in­ Switzerland has one of the most fully developed systems of terpreted as constituting two somewhat different theoretical public contestation in the world. Probably few people would dimensions of democratization. challenge the view that the Swiss regime is highly "demo­ 1. Both historically and at the present time, regimes vary cratic." Yet the feminine half of the Swiss population is still enormously in the extent to which the eight institutional con­ excluded from national elections. By contrast, the USSR still ditions are openly available, publicly employed, and fully has almost no system of public contestation, though it does guaranteed to at least some members of the political system have universal suffrage. In fact one of the most striking who wish to contest the conduct of the government. Thus a changes during this century has been the virtual disappear­ scale reflecting these eight conditions would enable us to ance of an outright denial of the legitimacy of popular par­ compare different regimes according to the extent of per­ ticipation in government. Only a handful of countries have missible opposition, public contestation, or political compe­ failed to grant at least a ritualistic vote to their citizens and tition. 2 However, since a regime might permit opposition to to hold at least nominal elections; even the most repressive a very small or a very large proportion of the population, dictators usually pay some lip service today to the legitimate clearly we need a second dimension. right of the people to participate in the government, that is, 2. Both historically and contemporaneously, regimes also to participate in "governing" though not in public contesta­ vary in the proportion of the population entitled to partici­ tion. pate on a more or less equal plane in controlling and con­ Needless to say, in the absence of the right to oppose the testing the conduct of the government: to participate, so to right to "participate" is stripped of a very large part of the speak, in the system of public contestation. A scale reflecting significance it has in a country where public contestation the breadth of the right to participate in public contestation exists. ~ country with universal suffrage and a completely would enable us to compare different regimes according to repressive government would provide fewer opportunities for their inclusiveness. oppositions, surely, than a country with a narrow suffrage The right to vote in free and fair elections, for example, b~t a highly tolerant government. Consequently, when coun­ partakes of both dimensions. When a regime grants this right tries are ranked solely according to their inclusiveness, not to some of its citizens, it moves toward greater public con­ taking into account the surrounding circumstances, the re­ testation. But the larger the proportion of citizens who enjoy ~ults _are anomalous. Nonetheless, as long as we keep clearly the right, the more inclusive the regime. m mmd the fact that the extent of the "suffrage" or, more Public contestation and inclusiveness vary somewhat in­ ge~e~ally, the right to participate indicates only one charac­ dependently.
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