Democracy versus Authoritarian Regimes Essays - 2898 Words

Democracy and Authoritarian regimes have been at odds with each other as long as one can remember. Authoritarian regimes have been the oldest and most common form of government, while the world’s oldest democracy began in Athens, which was around 40 B.C. The effects of authoritarian regimes and transitional authoritarian re-gimes have been a very interesting and telling read, with many subtle details that one would not expect. I have come into this research project with the main question: What are the effects of civil society under an authoritarian government versus a democratic government and how is an authoritarian civil society affected if it transitions into de-mocracy? Upon reading and researching to create my hypothesis, I felt that†¦show more content†¦Many of our moves governmen-tally are dictated with careful thought that link our past triumphs and missteps, to ensure that we do not repeat the same mistakes twice. Although many people and governments are maki ng strides to push authoritarian governments away and to pull in democratic governments, that is not to say that authoritarian regimes are all in the past, there are many regimes still notably thriving which include Cuba, North Korea, Kampuchea, Vietnam to some extent, and China. This is all while saying that new authoritarian regimes are still emerging across the planet. Upon my research I have realized that the best way to measure the effects of civil society is as they tran-sition out of their old authoritarian regimes into a new, democratic government. These transitional periods have a critical effect on the societal fabric on countries with an authoritarian history, and if done correctly, can facilitate the transitional period into a democratic regime, however if done incorrectly, can make the transi-tional period all the more difficult and even more volatile. According to Anatoly M. Khazanov and Stanley G. Payne, the approaches and methods discussed are meth-ods that have alre ady been through its paces by a number of countries, so these methods aren’t merely theories. The first method consists of â€Å"an honesty reckoning and repentance, with extensive consequences that may include judicial prosecution and political cleansing of the culprits, officialShow MoreRelatedExplanation For Third Wave African Democracy After The Cold War1736 Words   |  7 Pages Explanations for ‘Third Wave’ African Democracy After the Cold War The end of the Cold War marked a turning point for democracy promotion in Africa. As if overnight, somewhere between nine and 18 African states claimed to be democracies (depending on which definition of democracy one accepts) in only a span of six years (Diamond 1997, 2). 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