Do Democracies Change?

Abstract

Do democracies change? Whereas the question may seem trivial, in that democratic regimes have to constantly adapt themselves to the internal preferences of their citizens and to react to external challenges, it can be understood even in a deeper sense. Beyond the dynamic equilibrium which characterizes political systems, do democracies undergo mutation even in their major institutional features, logic of interaction and political principles? Lijphart (1999), for example, found only minor changes among his 36 democracies comparing the 1945-71 to the 1971-1996 periods, and there is some further empirical evidence that even the successive fifteen years have not brought major transformations. The panel should investigate this topic: 1. Empirically - i.e. using pooled dataset in order to test the null hypothesis. 2. Analytically - i.e. questioning the utility of the analytical categories used in order to classify different "models of democracy" (intrinsically stable) for interpreting changes (intrinsically dynamic) 3. Theoretically - i.e. reflecting on the factoprs affecting "second order" changes and immobilism in democracies (eg. globalization vs. path dependency; emulation and learning vs. punctuated equilibrium).

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