This thesis is a case study who analyzes the democracy in North Macedonia during the period2008-2018. The method which was applied in this study was an ideal-type of democracy.Democracy is defined on the grounds of Robert Dahl’s polyarchy and its seven institutionswhich are; elected representatives, free and fair elections, universal suffrage, the right tocandidate in elections, freedom of speech, alternative information and the right to organize.The material on this work includes reports from the European Commission, Freedom House,the Swedish Government Offices and CountryWatch.The results of this study showed that regarding the four institutions; elected representatives,universal suffrage, the right to candidate in elections and alternative information there havebeen no significant changes during the period 2008-2018. The institution the right to organizeis the only institution where we can see a positive change during the period 2008-2018. Onthe contrary the institutions; free and fair elections and freedom of speech was thoseinstitutions that became more restricted during the period 2015-2018. The institution free andfair elections became more restricted because of the political crisis in recent year, for examplethe wire-tapping scandal which took place in 2015. To sum up, we can both see positive andnegative changes between the period 2008-2018. One thing that we can note is that NorthMacedonia does not fulfill the seven institutions that characterize an polyarchy and that NorthMacedonia has some work left to do, to achieve a more democratic and independent politicalsystem.

This is a master thesis centering around democratization in Taiwan and South Korea. The aim has been to reach a greater understanding of how Taiwan and South Korea could democratize and their respective democratization process. Related to the research gap, two theories were applied in the analysis. The theories are also reflected in the two research questions. The theories are modernization theory and Dahl’s democracy theory concerning the concept of polyarchy.  The thesis is comparative in its nature, and it is a two-case study. For the treatment of material, qualitative content analysis has been used. Following the literature review, a concise historical background to the two countries was written to provide context for the readers and as a background to the analysis which covered the period after World War Two.  In the analysis, the two theories were applied to Taiwan and South Korea. First, the four variables of economic growth from modernization theory and then the seven institutions of polyarchy from Dahl’s democracy theory. The analysis showed steady progress in both countries during the application of modernization theory. The seven institutions of polyarchy have been reached in both states, and the time for that is spelled out in the analysis. The conclusion found that modernization theory is facilitating understanding of the democratization in the countries and that Dahl’s democracy theory provided a framework for the timeline of democratization. It also showed that other perspectives such as culture, external influence, strategic culture, geopolitics, and in the Taiwanese case, ethnicity, are providing a greater knowledge of this subject.

<p>This study explores different actors’ perceptions on how the democratization process is being influenced in Kosovo. It is based upon empirical facts gathered during a field study in Kosovo. The material was mainly gathered through interviews with different representatives from international organizations present in Kosovo and with members of the Kosovar political elite.</p><p>The theoretical standpoint in the study draws on the theory of polyarchy for defining the concept of democracy, and the two-level game. The interaction between domestic and international actors within the democratization process is highlighted.</p><p>The conclusions are that different actors are influencing the ongoing democratization process in Kosovo, mainly international external ones acting in several ways and on different levels. This influence is considered by the international community and the domestic political elite to be necessary both for the continued development of democracy and for the preservation of stability. However as the influence has more or less become institutionalized, problems occur when responsibility is handed over to domestic authorities without accountability being made clear.</p>

This study explores different actors’ perceptions on how the democratization process is being influenced in Kosovo. It is based upon empirical facts gathered during a field study in Kosovo. The material was mainly gathered through interviews with different representatives from international organizations present in Kosovo and with members of the Kosovar political elite. The theoretical standpoint in the study draws on the theory of polyarchy for defining the concept of democracy, and the two-level game. The interaction between domestic and international actors within the democratization process is highlighted. The conclusions are that different actors are influencing the ongoing democratization process in Kosovo, mainly international external ones acting in several ways and on different levels. This influence is considered by the international community and the domestic political elite to be necessary both for the continued development of democracy and for the preservation of stability. However as the influence has more or less become institutionalized, problems occur when responsibility is handed over to domestic authorities without accountability being made clear.

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to examine what actually makes Russia an incomplete democracy, despite of all the formal democratic institutions and legal democratic rights. The research method used for this essay has been qualitative case study, which strives to answer two research questions: Which democratic principles are not respected in Russia? How does the executive power control the political arena? The theoretical framework used for this study consists of a model based on Dahls Polyarchy theory and the Rule of Law concept. The conclusions points out that very little have formally changed in Russia regarding democratic rights and the constitution. The democratic decline is due to political manoeuvres and undue political influence. There is no proper division of power and the executive powers are not controlled by a system of checks and balances. All democratic principles studied within the analytical framework are manipulated and formal rights are no longer respected by authorities and the executive power.

As the 29-year Duvalier dictatorship ended in 1986, the emergence of Mouvement Lavalas out of the grassroots organizations of Haiti's poor majority, and election of charismatic priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 1990, challenged efforts by Haitian political parties and the U.S. foreign policy establishment to contain the parameters of Haiti's democratic transition. This dissertation examines the politics of Lavalas to determine whether it held a particular conception of democracy that explains the movement's antagonistic relationship with the political parties and U.S. democracy promoters. Using the qualitative methodology of process-tracing outlined in the works of Paul F. Steinberg (2004) and Tulia G. Falleti (2006), this study analyzes primary and secondary sources associated with Aristide and the grassroots organizations across the period of contested democratization from 1986 to 1991, with emphasis on four critical junctures: 1) the rule of the Conseil National du Gouvernement; 2) the government of Leslie Manigat; 3) the military regimes of Henri Namphy and Prosper Avril; and 4) Aristide's 8 months in power before being overthrown on September 29, 1991. This study concludes that there were systematic differences in how Lavalas pursued democracy in Haiti, as contrasted to the political parties and U.S. foreign policy-makers. Evidence indicates that while Lavalas placed emphasis on popular mobilization to challenge Haiti's legacy of authoritarianism, the political parties and U.S. democracy promoters emphasized processes of negotiation and compromise with Haiti's anti-democratic forces. Lavalas was rooted in the long historic struggle of the country's poor masses to, not simply establish procedural democracy, what noted political scientist Robert Dahl calls polyarchy, but to expand the parameters of politics to guarantee the right of all Haitians to participate directly in the process of governing, in order to share more equitably in the distribution of national resources, in what critical scholar William I. Robinson calls "popular democracy."

Diploma thesis "Paradigma of Democracy in 20th. century" dissert upon modern theory of democracy. Thesis try to point differences in interpretation of the democracy conception on the basis of four modern theory democracy, which were interpreted in 20th century. Diploma thesis describe these doctrines: theory of competition democracy by J. A. Schumpeter; theory of pluralistic democracy and theory of polyarchy by R. A. Dahl; theory of justice by J. Rawls. At the close of thesis is short comparative analysis based on the main ideas these four democratic theory. Comparative analysis try to demonstrate main differences in the interpretation of democracy idea. It is necessary to understand, that "democracy" ins't exactly single valued definition, but democracy is wide spectrum of various doctrines. These various doctrines have very often divergencies of opinion about democracy. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

The goal of this paper is to analyze the influence of the EU on Turkish democracy. In order to achieve this aim, the paper concentrates on three areas, as representative institutions, opposition parties and freedom of expression. The impact of the EU on Turkey has been more explicit during the last decades. In particular since 1999 when the country became a candidate for membership, and that will eventually lead to Turkey joining the European Union. Thereby this paper will examine the demands EU set up for the country and how Turkey accomplishes these criteria. The first part of the analysis focuses on the conditions EU set up for Turkish membership, while the second part explains Turkey’s progress in meeting those demands.  The theories are Europeanization and the institution of freedom of expression which is part of Polyarchy. These will be used to answer the question: Which demands EU set up for Turkey and to what extent the country applies to those demands? The paper is based on qualitative method as a case study. Turkey has in some areas made progress regard to freedom of expression and representative institutions, however the country must continue with political reforms in those areas.

Hong Kong, the Special Administrative Region under “one country, two systems”, is also one region that have been under two different rulers, which returned to China 1997 after 150 years of British colonial rule. The purpose of this study is to examine if the democracy in Hong Kong differs between British and Chinese rule. The empirical material about Hong Kong will be analysed through civil society, political society and through the rule of law under British and Chinese governance. With 23 years each, from the period 1974-2020, and with a theoretical framework of criteria needed to fulfill a democracy, this study will reach a conclusion. Although the British and the Chinese had different ways of governing Hong Kong, they both received the same level of democracy. / Statsvetenskapliga institutionen, Umeå Universitet

<p>This thesis tries to evaluate the very large question of how globalization can be said to have an effect on democracy by reducing both concepts to a more usable format. In doing so it tries to evaluate how a special theory of democracy put forward by Robert Dahl in 1971 – polyarchy – could be said to be affected by the workings of contemporary globalization. When assessing the variables of the investigation, globalization is being represented by two constructed ideal images that are later measured against a set of seven variables extracted from Dahl’s theory.</p><p>By the use of qualitative text analysis the constructed ideal types help provide a framework for how one can measure the effects of globalization on polyarchy. The analysis ends in a result where it is clear that if globalization is understood as a neo-liberal ideal image it is making the circumstances for the creation of polyarchies in the future more favorable. However, if globalization is understood as an ideal image of world-system theory explanations then the circumstances for future polyarchies are less favorable. In a concluding discussion important implications of the results are highlighted when the thesis concludes that regardless of ideological starting point globalization can be said to affect the theory of polyarchy in such a way that it is in dire need of reevaluation. At the same time the essay concludes that whenever the concept of globalization is being used with scientific ambitions by politicians, they need to be aware of, and reflect, the different results that it brings depending on how it is explained.</p>