Sammanfattning Turkiet är ett land som, i takt med en stärkt ekonomi, fått ett ökat inflytande i omvärlden. Landet står dessutom i egenskap av kandidatland till EU på Europas tröskel. Men hur stark är egentligen demokratin i Turkiet och vad har landet för utsikter att utvecklas mot en konsoliderad demokrati? Genom analysfrågan:Har demokratin i det turkiska samhället stärkts under perioden 2002 till 2013? ämnar denna uppsats svara på frågeställningen: Vilka förutsättningar har samhället i Turkiet att utvecklas i riktning mot demokratisk konsolidering, sett utifrån Juan J. Linz och Alfred Stepans teori? I denna uppsats utgörs demokratisk konsolidering av tre antaganden: De demokratiska institutionerna och principerna åtnjuter ett utbrett samhälleligt stöd. Alla beslut som fattas och alla åtgärder som vidtas i samhället genomsyras av de demokratiska principerna och ett demokratiskt agerande. De demokratiska principerna och institutionerna är så starka att de inte låter sig påverkas av större samhällsomvandlingar eller av landets ekonomiska status.  Med det turkiska samhället avses valda delar av landets civil- samt politiska samhälle. Tidsaspekten som berörs är 2002 till 2013. Uppsatsen kommer fram till att demokratin i det turkiska samhället till del har stärkts. Samtidigt som det politiska samhället upplevt breda demokratiska reformer har civilsamhället i landet gått bakåt. Detta leder fram till slutsatsen att det turkiska samhällets förutsättningar för en demokratisk konsolidering i närtid bedöms som minimala. Däremot anses det turkiska samhället på sikt ha goda möjligheter till demokratisk konsolidering. Detta givet att en fortsatt vilja avseende demokratisk konsolidering finns hos landets politiker, samtidigt som EU och andra demokratiska krafter stöttar Turkiet i denna strävan.

The wave of protests that swept over Middle East and North Africa in 2011, known as Arab spring, has failed to bring democracy to the regions. However, only in Tunisia the Arab spring led to a transition to democracy in 2011. After the democratic transition, Tunisia has been facing multiple challenges, such as political instability and terroristattacks. The aim of this study is to examine the political development in Tunisia in the period 2011-2022 to investigate obstacles and opportunities to democratic consolidation in Tunisia. Using case study as method and Samuel P Huntington’s theory of democratic consolidation, the study has identified that the democratic governments failure to deliver reforms to Tunisia’s economic problems and the lack of cooperation between political elite to find solutions to Tunisia’s economic problems , as two obstacles to the democratic consolidation. Moreover, the study explains the failure of democratic consolidation with the lack of development of a democratic political culture in the country since Tunisia’s economic problems have been exploited by the political elite to undemocratically increase their power. Despite a widespread support for democracy between the people, there is a risk for autocratization in Tunisia as country's current political system promotes one-man rule.

This essay aims to explain why Colombia has not consolidated into a liberal democracy between the years 1991 to 2015. To examine the purpose of this essay five interactive arenas are analyzed in order to describe to which extent Colombia is affected by the various arenas. Three questions are being discussed and answered; to which extent have the political society and civil society affected the consolidation of a liberal democracy, to which extent have rule of law and the state bureaucracy affected the consolidation of a liberal democracy and, to which extent have the economic society affected the consolidation of a liberal democracy.The theoretical framework is based upon theories regarding different types of democracy and democratic consolidation. The essay is a theory consuming case study, with descriptive questions and explanatory approach. The framework is used to qualitatively illuminate empirical material to the study research questions. The conclusions of this essay shows that Colombia has not consolidated into a liberal democracy because of large illegal activities, physical attacks from non-state groups, widespread distrust of the political system and absence of conflict resolution through a democratic process.

When the Soviet union collapsed at the beginning of the 1990s, a democratization began to develop. During the Jeltsin years, democracy in Russia was developing steadily, but since Putin became president at the turn of the century it has started to move back towards authoritarian rule. The purpose of this study is to explore the reasons for why the democracy in Russia never became consolidated and to understand why the country again has moved towards an authoritarian rule, like the one during the Soviet union. In order to fulfill the aim of this study, two theories were used. These were Linz and Stepan's consolidation theory, about the five arenas that have to be developed, and Samuel P. Huntington's theory about authoritarian nostalgia. In order to answer the questions that this study puts forward, these theories were used against empirical material about Russia. The results of the study show that Russia does not live up to the requirements in any of the five arenas and therefore could not possibly develop a consolidated democracy. It also seems as if the return to authoritarianism in Russia can be blamed on a combination of nostalgia for the Soviet union, which developed during the economic crisis of the 1990s, and an increasing nationalism amongst the population.

This essay aims to investigate and analyse the extent to which there are conditions in Guatemala and Honduras to introduce liberal democracy, how the countries conditions differ and to draw conclusions about which country  that has the most conditions and thus is the most likely to introduce liberal democracy. The theoretical framework that this essay is based on is Juan J. Linz and Alfred Stepan's four arenas; civil society, political society, the rule of law and the state bureaucracy. In order to reach the purpose, a comparative case study was done. The  conclusions  of  this  essay shows that both countries have, to some extent, conditions to introduce liberal democracy, however they also lack conditions within other areas.

Botswana's democracy has been labeled as ‘the African Miracle’ by the international community. However, in its 50 years of independence, there has been no change in government from the ruling party and the opposition is institutionally weak. The purpose for this study is to analyze the extent of democratic consolidation in Botswana and to try to analyze the challenges in the processes of democratic consolidation. In order to answer the research questions that are put forth in this study, Linz and Stepan’s theoretical framework were used against empirical evidence about Botswana from its independence in 1965 to 2015. The results show that in Botswana the democracy is not consolidated and point toward a more stable democracy than a deeply consolidated democracy. Stable democracy is centered upon the actual functions rather the depth of democracy. The main challenges for further democratic consolidation is the constitutional framework that lack accountability for the executive, the longevity of a dominant party system, the uneven ‘playing field’, the weak opposition, the restrictions and limitation upon the independent media and the civil society. Botswana’s exceptional reputation is exaggerated, while the country have had uninterrupted elections, the depth and quality of the democracy is shallow.

As our world globalizes and grows smaller, there is increasing concern about questions related to the future of liberal democracy. Following the breakdown of communism on the European continent and the ensuing emphasis on the universalization of liberal democratic values as ‘the end of history’, much research has been centered on understanding the crafting of stable democratic systems in East-Central Europe. Recently, the widely observed phenomenon of ‘illiberal backsliding’ has evoked considerable scholarly attention. However, the research community lacks a deeper understanding of the factors determining the prospects of sustainable democratic consolidation in a post-authoritarian environment. This case study therefore relates the problems associated with anchoring democratic governance in the post-communist states of East-Central Europe to a broader framework of democratization theories. It is argued that consolidating democracies is a far more complex task than has earlier been acknowledged, as it depends on a multitude of interrelated socio-cultural and political determinants. As is further proposed, the post-communist countries have largely been entrapped in an unsustainable state of incomplete democratic consolidation, evident specifically in the prevalent lack of civic culture and a deficient process of citizenship formation, entailing a serious risk of authoritarian backlash. A somewhat paradoxical hypothesis is suggested: that periods of illiberal government actually could be instrumental to generate the kind of social community needed for a long-term sustainable democratic society. In a concluding discussion on the prospects of consolidating democracy on a global scale, it is stated that the liberal democratic endeavor may be facing two future trajectories: while the first one is that of a global democratic decline in the face of authoritarian reaction, the opposite trajectory implies that liberal democracy may well have a universal future, although to accelerate to that point, it needs to overcome an initial state of instability requiring some setbacks.