The Democratic
Century,
by Seymour Martin Lipset and Jason Lakin,
University of Oklahoma Press, 2004, 480 pp.
Hazel Professor
Emeritus Seymour Martin Lipset and co-author
Jason Lakin examine the origins and reasons
for successful and unsuccessful democracies
in the 20th Century.
Analyzing the possible social,
cultural, economic and institutional characteristics
of various nations where adults vote, they
argue for a diffusion of power. According to
the book, this translates into competitive
parties, an independent civil society and federalist
arrangements. The authors argue that culture
plays a major role in the establishment of
democracy.
However, specific cultures
are not doomed to failing at democracy, according
to the book. Because cultures interact with
social, economic and political variables, they
can also change and become compatible with
democracy. Driven by this theory, Lipset and
Lakin write that democracy will continue to
spread and succeed in the 21st Century. |
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The
Democratic Century revisits theories from Lipset’s
earlier works, including the classics Agrarian
Socialism and Political Man. The book is the ninth
volume of
the Julian J. Rothbaum Distinguished Lecture Series.
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