The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the democratization process in Kurdistan on the basis of consolidation democracy with focus on arenas defined by Linz and Stepan (1997), namely economic, political, legal, civil society and arenas of state bureaucracy. Furthermore, I intend to explain Kurdistan’s road toward democratization in Kurdistan from 1991 until today, with a focus on the years 2003-2012. The main results are that Kurdistan has developed conditions that support a future consolidation of democracy. However, there are weaknesses in the economic situation, rule of law and the arena of bureaucracy. The arena of the political and civil society grew stronger after the US war on Iraq in 2003 and as effect new institutions such as political parties, opposition, election, political governance and alliances arose.

Georgia is one of the few post-Soviet states that has shown ambitions to become a democratic country and a closer ally to the west. Since their peaceful revolution, the country has had issues with consolidating democracy. The purpose of this thesis is to understand the faltering consolidation factors behind Georgia's democratization. The research questions in this study were the following: Why hasn't Georgia succeeded to consolidate its democracy 2013 and 2018 based on Linz & Stepan's five consolidated arenas? The second research question was, have there been significant changes between the five arenas the years 2013 and 2018? In order to do so, this study has used Linz & Stepan's five consolidating arenas as theory. Their theory says that a country must fulfil each of these arenas to become a consolidated democracy. The arenas are the political society, civil society, rule of law, constitutional state, and economic society. This study is based on a theory-consuming qualitative case study. The results of this study showed that there were numerous factors behind Georgia`s faltering consolidation process. Such as polarised media, weak civic society, polarised political society, corruption, nepotism, and lack of meritocracy. Also, there has not been any significant differences between the years 2013 and 2018 that were studied except for the economic society.

The focus of this study is on South Africa's transition to democracy. It is argued in this thesis, that an analysis of the transition to democracy in South Africa and the transformation of the con ict that prevailed in this divided society could generate new avenues for theorising about transitions to democracy in divided societies amidst con ict. The aim with this thesis is to contribute towards a more comprehensive understanding of the complex nature of the process of transition to democracy, and the relevant theory involved, particularly with regard to transitions in divided societies. One consequence of the deep divisions within South African society has been the increase in violence, which followed liberalisation. The transition to democracy in South Africa, as a result, was characterised by continuing and escalating violence. In South Africa, the authoritarian regime deteriorated mainly because of internal factors, but external factors also played an important role. The analysis of the transition has been guided by the hypothesis that the democratisation of South Africa was accomplished through a compromise that was negotiated between the major political actors and which re ected the intra-, as well as the inter-dynamics in the domains of, state - political society - civil society. Thus, the main theme of this thesis is, that in the analysis of the dynamics of the tran- sition to democracy in South Africa, a basic framework in which the domains of, state - political society - civil society, are the domains where structural variables (such as culture, economic development, class structures, increased education and the international environ- ment) and behavioural variables (such as major political actors, elite factions, organisations from civil society) interact. Thus, in the diachronic analysis of South Africa's transition, an interactive approach, that seeks to relate structural constraints to the shaping of contingent choice, is followed. At the same time, the institutional substitution of a new democratic political dispensation is examined. In conclusion, democracies are complex phenomena, and they are caused by many di er- ent forces and synthesizing the relevant theoretical approaches to political change provides a more cogent and comprehensive explanation of democratic transition in South Africa. / (D. Litt. et Phil. (International Politics))

The focus of this study is on South Africa's transition to democracy. It is argued in this thesis, that an analysis of the transition to democracy in South Africa and the transformation of the con ict that prevailed in this divided society could generate new avenues for theorising about transitions to democracy in divided societies amidst con ict. The aim with this thesis is to contribute towards a more comprehensive understanding of the complex nature of the process of transition to democracy, and the relevant theory involved, particularly with regard to transitions in divided societies. One consequence of the deep divisions within South African society has been the increase in violence, which followed liberalisation. The transition to democracy in South Africa, as a result, was characterised by continuing and escalating violence. In South Africa, the authoritarian regime deteriorated mainly because of internal factors, but external factors also played an important role. The analysis of the transition has been guided by the hypothesis that the democratisation of South Africa was accomplished through a compromise that was negotiated between the major political actors and which re ected the intra-, as well as the inter-dynamics in the domains of, state - political society - civil society. Thus, the main theme of this thesis is, that in the analysis of the dynamics of the tran- sition to democracy in South Africa, a basic framework in which the domains of, state - political society - civil society, are the domains where structural variables (such as culture, economic development, class structures, increased education and the international environ- ment) and behavioural variables (such as major political actors, elite factions, organisations from civil society) interact. Thus, in the diachronic analysis of South Africa's transition, an interactive approach, that seeks to relate structural constraints to the shaping of contingent choice, is followed. At the same time, the institutional substitution of a new democratic political dispensation is examined. In conclusion, democracies are complex phenomena, and they are caused by many di er- ent forces and synthesizing the relevant theoretical approaches to political change provides a more cogent and comprehensive explanation of democratic transition in South Africa. / (D. Litt. et Phil. (International Politics))

A literatura acadêmica sobre as novas instâncias de participação surgidas no Brasil, nas últimas duas décadas, foi marcada por estudos que colocavam a sociedade civil como elemento impulsionador e centro deste processo. A tese se estrutura a partir da crítica a esta perspectiva de análise, focalizando o modo como esta literatura conformou determinada visão sobre as experiências de orçamento participativo (OP). Defende-se que os estudos sobre tais experiências devem considerar menos a referência da sociedade civil e mais as dinâmicas sociopolíticas próprias dos partidos políticos e dos governos, reunidas no conceito de sociedade política. Assim, o OP é analisado enquanto: a) uma estratégia de mobilização e ampliação da base social de apoio de governos e de partidos; e b) um novo espaço de interação de agentes sociopolíticos, permeado pela lógica das disputas eleitorais. Apresenta-se um estudo de caso do orçamento participativo de Osasco SP, voltado, sobretudo, para os aspectos político-institucionais da experiência e para a análise do conselho do OP e do perfil sociopolítico de seus conselheiros. A pesquisa indica a predominância de um alto envolvimento dos conselheiros com a sociedade política, o que se combina com as funções estratégicas do orçamento participativo, de movimentação permanente e formação de novos quadros militantes. / The academic literature related to the new instances of participation in Brazil over the last two decades has been characterized by studies that considered the civil society both as a triggering element and center of this process. The thesis is based on the critic of this kind of analysis, and focuses on the way this literature generated a certain view on the experiences of participatory budget (PB). It advocates the idea that the studies about such experiences should focus less on the reference of the civil society and more on the sociopolitical dynamics that characterize the political parties and governments and that are comprised in the concept of political society. Thus, the PB is analyzed as being: a) a strategy for the participation and increase of the social basis of support given by governments and parties; and b) a new space where sociopolitical agents can interact and which is permeated by the logics of electoral disputes. It presents a case study of participatory budget in the city of Osasco SP aimed at the political and institutional aspects of the experience, and at the analysis of both the PB council and the sociopolitical profile of the counselors. The research points to the significant involvement of the counselors with the political society, which relates to the strategic roles of the participatory budget, permanent movement and formation of new party militants.

This research study is about the process of democratization currently taking place in Libya. For decades, the now dead dictator Muammar Gaddafi has ruled Libya, himself as the central power. Under his rule, he led a policy that deinstitutionalized the country. When the dictatorship was overthrown, there were hopes that the country would begin its democratization. Now when democratization has started, free and known elections have taken place and a constitution has been formed. The constitution guarantees the most basic human rights and that the country will eventually become a democracy. New data show that the civil war and the absence of institutions makes it impossible to achieve the goal of democracy. This study aims to problematize the absence of institutions in order to achieve consolidated democratization. The starting point for the study is to assume the basis of the theoretical framework's criteria on what a consolidated democratization is. One assumption in the study is that public institutions are absolutely necessary in order for a consolidated democratization to be achieved.

A literatura acadêmica sobre as novas instâncias de participação surgidas no Brasil, nas últimas duas décadas, foi marcada por estudos que colocavam a sociedade civil como elemento impulsionador e centro deste processo. A tese se estrutura a partir da crítica a esta perspectiva de análise, focalizando o modo como esta literatura conformou determinada visão sobre as experiências de orçamento participativo (OP). Defende-se que os estudos sobre tais experiências devem considerar menos a referência da sociedade civil e mais as dinâmicas sociopolíticas próprias dos partidos políticos e dos governos, reunidas no conceito de sociedade política. Assim, o OP é analisado enquanto: a) uma estratégia de mobilização e ampliação da base social de apoio de governos e de partidos; e b) um novo espaço de interação de agentes sociopolíticos, permeado pela lógica das disputas eleitorais. Apresenta-se um estudo de caso do orçamento participativo de Osasco SP, voltado, sobretudo, para os aspectos político-institucionais da experiência e para a análise do conselho do OP e do perfil sociopolítico de seus conselheiros. A pesquisa indica a predominância de um alto envolvimento dos conselheiros com a sociedade política, o que se combina com as funções estratégicas do orçamento participativo, de movimentação permanente e formação de novos quadros militantes. / The academic literature related to the new instances of participation in Brazil over the last two decades has been characterized by studies that considered the civil society both as a triggering element and center of this process. The thesis is based on the critic of this kind of analysis, and focuses on the way this literature generated a certain view on the experiences of participatory budget (PB). It advocates the idea that the studies about such experiences should focus less on the reference of the civil society and more on the sociopolitical dynamics that characterize the political parties and governments and that are comprised in the concept of political society. Thus, the PB is analyzed as being: a) a strategy for the participation and increase of the social basis of support given by governments and parties; and b) a new space where sociopolitical agents can interact and which is permeated by the logics of electoral disputes. It presents a case study of participatory budget in the city of Osasco SP aimed at the political and institutional aspects of the experience, and at the analysis of both the PB council and the sociopolitical profile of the counselors. The research points to the significant involvement of the counselors with the political society, which relates to the strategic roles of the participatory budget, permanent movement and formation of new party militants.

The aim of this thesis is to examine whether Venezuela's democratic decline could be explained by the consolidation theory of Juan Linz and Alfred Stepan. Between the years 2005 – 2017, the organization Freedom House concluded that Venezuela’s political and civil rights declined, resulted in that Freedom House classified Venezuela from “partly free” in 2005 to “not free” in 2017, and several scientists classified Venezuela year 2017 as an autocracy. The method is to apply the consolidation theory and its five arenas (the civil society, the political society, rule of law, state bureaucracy and economic society) in the case Venezuela between the years 2005 – 2017. Each arena contains different qualifications which are all needed for a state to transition from democracy to consolidated democracy. However, in this thesis the aim is to study if the consolidation theory is able to explain a state’s transition from democracy to autocracy. By using material as scientific articles and reports, it is concluded that each arenas’ qualifications have deteriorated between the years 2005 - 2017. Therefore, it is found that the consolidation theory works very well in explaining a state’s transition from democracy to autocracy, which in this case is Venezuela.

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This thesis addresses the level of democratic consolidation in South Africa. The study aimed to provide a deeper understanding of the current political situation and the general state of democracy. As a method, a single case study was used where the political situation in post-apartheid South Africa was applied upon the concept of democratic consolidation by using five distinctive consolidation arenas: civil society, political society, judiciary, bureaucratic society and economic society. The results of the analysis show a variance in the degree of democratic consolidation in the country. The judiciary is very much well-functioning and independent and can therefore be classified as consolidated. The civil society and some elements of the political society are mostly functioning and can be classified as mostly consolidated with some reservations, while the bureaucratic and economic societies are deemed to be not consolidated. However, South Africa also possesses several obstacles for genuine consolidation that applies to all arenas, namely high degrees of violence, low social trust, and institutional weakness. The democratic system in South Africa is not currently considered to be under serious existential threat and has proven itself capable of withstanding high degrees of pressure. Nevertheless, it is found to be suffering from a type of democratic fatigue and transformation stagnation, which could have the potential to result in more serious implications in the future. South Africa can therefore be classified as a partly consolidated democracy.