The Third Wave of Democracy

By David, Alex, and Emma

What is democratization?

Democratization is the transition to a more democratic political regime. Democracy, by definition, is a form of government in which all eligible citizens participate equally in the proposal, development, and creation of laws.

Third Wave of Democracy

According to Samuel P. Huntington, a political scientist at Harvard University, the third wave of democracy refers to the third major surge of democracy in the world. The democratic waves are followed by ebbs, in which some of the newly democratic nations revert to non-democratic forms of government.

First Wave Background

It began in the early 19th century when suffrage was granted to the majority of white males in the US. At its peak, there were 29 democracies; this number grew until 1922 when Mussolini came to power in Italy. The first wave reversal lasted until 1942 when there were only 12 democracies in the world.

Second Wave Background

The second wave, began after the Allied victory in WW2, and peaked in 1962 with 36 democracies in the world. Then second wave reversed, and the number of democracies dropped to 30 until the mid 70s.

Third Wave Background

The third wave began with the Carnation Revolution in Portugal in 1974 and continued through the democratic transitions in Latin America in the 80s , Asia Pacific countries from 1986-1988, and Eastern Europe after the collapse of the USSR. After this wave, there were well over 100 democracies in the world. Former Soviet states who had clamored for democracy didn’t know how to deal with it and regressed.

Past Waves

1st wave: 1828-19261st reverse wave: 1922-1942

2nd wave: 1943-19622nd reverse wave: 1958-1975

3rd wave: 1974-present (according to Huntington)

Where are we now?

Just kidding!

Where are we actually?

We humbly propose our world is now in the beginnings of the fourth wave, having seen the Arab Spring in late 2010-2011 and the continued unrest in other countries, such as Brazil and the Ukraine. The third wave ended around the early 90s as many of the countries that became democratic reverted, but the explanation given was that many of them weren’t properly educated as to how a real democracy is run. It remains to be seen if this fourth wave will be the start of something or if it was only a false start.

Works Cited

"Democracy Index 2012: Democracy Is at a Standstill." Democracy Index 2012. The Economist Group, n.d. Web. 28 Jan. 2014. <https://www.eiu.com/public/topical_repo rt.aspx?campaignid=DemocracyIndex12>.

“http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/6786 2/larry-diamond/a-fourth-wave-or-false- start”