The Impact of Democratization on International Security

Abstract

In order to identify and explain the impact of democratization on international security it is necessary to analyse first the nature of the transitional process itself. The least controversial way of defining democratization is by listing its three consecutive stages: (1) the end of a non-democratic regime; (2) the inauguration of a democratic regime; and (3) the consolidation of a democratic system.1 It should be noted that democratization can be reversed at any point during the transitional process. Moreover, the very process of democratic transition can last for a long period of time — more than a generation — and its success is not assured. Among democratizing states of the third wave only a tiny minority (e.g. Spain, Portugal) has so far managed to consolidate successfully the nascent democratic institutions and norms. The vast majority of the third wave nations are still struggling to institutionalize their democratic procedures. Some of them (e.g. Nigeria, Sudan) have already failed and reverted to authoritarianism.2