The Democratization Process

From the time our forefathers revolted against Great Brittan, democracy has been a critical aspect of the American way of life. It is through democracy and its exercising of political power through "either direct or indirect participation through participation, competition, and liberty" (1) that the United States has evolved into one of the world's superpowers. While the vast majority of countries do not begin as democracies, the number of democratic governments has and continues to increase. Throughout the years, one of the main reasons this number has increased, is the assistance from external (usually democratic) countries. While the United States has assisted several countries in their democratization process, "the traditional imperatives of U.S. economic and security interests that have long constrained U.S. pro-democratic impulses have persisted" (2). Despite these restraints, the United States, as well as others, have assisted countries in their democratization process. Although external help is not necessary, it clearly has illustrated it is an important part of the democratization process. With this in mind, I propose the United States change its foreign policy, so democratization is heavily influenced by external factors.

Democratization is not a simple process and will taken an extend period of time to complete, if it wishes to be prosperous. The three main elements in democratization are: "the removal of the authoritarian regime, installation of a democratic regime, and the consolidation, or long-term sustainability of the democratic regime" (3). Each element is a lengthy process and involves numerous factors. To successfully complete these three elements, it is absolutely necessary for external assistance. While Authoritarian regimes usually are usually much smaller than the population, their wealth and power have allowed them to control the country. This control has allowed them to institute policy that makes the authoritarians supreme to the population. Because of this supremacy, it is difficult for the population to overthrow the authoritarian regime. A powerful external actor, such as the United States, would assist populations in organizing and overthrowing the authoritarian regime. As the Iraqi people witnessed, "absent internal prerequisites to cause regime change, the prospects for democratizing Iraq are directly tied to the success of U.S. intervention in overthrowing the target regime and installing a democratic government" (3). Although there is no evidence to prove Iraq would not have been able to overthrow the authoritarian regime that ruled their country without the United States assistance, it is certain that the US support made the process easier. While this is only one example, it is important to note the positive influence of an outside actor on the situation.

Once the authoritarian regime has been removed, the installation of the democratic regime beings. After removing the authoritarian regime, there will be numerous views and ideologies within the society of how democratization should occur. With these differences, it should be noted that "the fundamental restructuring of power relations between the state and society as well as within the state itself--is itself often destabilizing and likely increases the danger of war" (4). This instability is critical to control early on in the democratization process. Numerous institutions will have to be created so the country can prosper as a democracy. These institutions take time to be created and installed and the importance of an outside factor during this time can be noted as "foreign intervention becomes more critical in the consolidation phase, as new democracies struggle to establish functioning political institutions, such as an effective legal system" (5). Once these political institutions are in place, the democratizing country will slowly become more stable. As a result, foreign intervention can decrease, allowing the country to function independently. Because strong foundation is required for a democracy to properly function, it is important for external assistance to stabilize and allow the instillation of the democratic regime.

The final element to democratization is the "long-term sustainability of the democratic regime" (3). The two significant aspects of this element are the political institutions installed and the financial state of the country. As a successful democracy, the United States can ensure the necessary institutions are in place. If these institutions are properly run, the country will have the ability to prosper. While the ability is present, external financial assistance will be required for newly democratized country to actually prosper. The newly installed democracy will need money to ensure the newly created democratic institutions properly function. Similar to what France did during and after the American Revolution, providing financial support will allow the country to create its economy. Once in place, the economy will slowly begin to prosper and the country will advance in trade and commerce. Thus, the country establishes itself on a national level and becomes stabilized. Although the process of democratization is extensive, external assistance allows for a more efficient transition.

Although it is the most effective way to democratize a country, the external process sponsored by outside actors has several potential drawbacks. Although the outside actors are vital to the democratization process, the democratizing country should be aware of the assisting countries motives. In an attempt to better themselves, the outside actors might attempt to install their ideologies into the democratizing country and it has been noted that "superpowers signal their client states, discouraging or supporting democratic reforms depending on their preferences" (5). With an increased awareness, the democratizing country will be able to use the outside actors' assistance effectively and efficiently, but will not conform to any of the outsiders underlying motives. Although the outside influence might sometimes try to benefit from the democratization process, it is not always the case. As a democracy the United States understands the importance of liberty and the population's direct or indirect influence. Knowing this, the United States would be supportive of the population's goals for democratization, rather than their own.

Despite the few negative aspects of democratization as an external process, it remains as the most efficient way for a country to democratize. While democratization as an internal process assures its roots amongst the native people, it is largely ineffective. In several instances, internal changes have shown to result in "one set of self-serving leaders has been replaced with another" (6) in which the population is truly no better off than they were in the authoritarian regime. With the assistance of the United States or another external actor, it can be assured that the new government allows liberty and participation from the population. Allowing the population to be granted these freedoms by the newly created government as well as the external actor, provides the country with optimal opportunity to be a successful democracy that is formed by its people. Democracy has allowed the United States to become the most powerful country in the world and have an extremely high standard of living for its people. Without help from external actors, this would not have been possible. The United States should now change its foreign policy to assist countries wishing to democratize, so those populations can enjoy the same freedoms and benefits of democracy as Americans do.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1.
O'Neil, Patrick. Essentials of Comparative Politics. W.W. Norton & Company, New York, 2007.

2.
Carothers, Thomas. "The democracy crusade myth.(Debating Democracy)." The National Interest 90 (July-August 2007): 8(5). Expanded Academic ASAP. Gale. Clemson University. 13 Nov. 2007

3.
Stradiotto, Gary A. "Democratizing Iraq: regime transition and economic development in comparative perspective." International Journal on World Peace 21.2 (June 2004): 3(34). Expanded Academic ASAP. Gale. Clemson University. 13 Nov. 2007

4.
Pei, Minxin. "Implementing the institutions of democracy *." International Journal on World Peace 19.4 (Dec 2002): 3(29). Expanded Academic ASAP. Gale. Clemson University. 13 Nov. 2007
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5.
Yeo, Andrew. "Signaling democracy: patron-client relations and democratization in South Korea and Poland." Journal of East Asian Studies 6.2 (May-August 2006): 259(29). Expanded Academic ASAP. Gale. Clemson University. 13 Nov. 2007

6.
Groo, Lawrence, and Parag Khanna. "The regime change we need." The National Interest 86 (Nov-Dec 2006): 67(6). Expanded Academic ASAP. Gale. Clemson University. 19 Nov. 2007