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Non-violent resistance and the quality of democracy
[journal article]
Abstract Previous research has shown that successful non-violent resistance (NVR) campaigns promote democracy compared with violent revolutions and top-down liberalization. However, research to date has not examined the character and quality of the democratic regimes following NVR campaigns, or evaluated the... view more
Previous research has shown that successful non-violent resistance (NVR) campaigns promote democracy compared with violent revolutions and top-down liberalization. However, research to date has not examined the character and quality of the democratic regimes following NVR campaigns, or evaluated the mechanisms that produce this effect. In this paper, we address this gap by analyzing the effect of NVR on the quality of democracy, using the Polyarchy index from the Varieties of Democracies project and its sub-components: (1) elected executive; (2) free and fair elections; (3) freedom of expression; (4) associational autonomy; and (5) inclusive citizenship. Using kernel matching and differences-in-differences estimation we find that initiating a democratic transition through NVR improves democratic quality after transition significantly and substantially relative to cases without this characteristic. Our analysis of the Polyarchy index’s sub-components reveals that this positive effect comes about primarily owing to improvements in freedom of expression and associational autonomy. This finding speaks to the strength of NVR in promoting expressive dimensions of democracy.... view less
Keywords
quality; statistical analysis; freedom of opinion; resistance; democratization; non-violence; constitutional state; suffrage; transition; freedom of information; protest; political development
Classification
Basic Research, General Concepts and History of Political Science
Peace and Conflict Research, International Conflicts, Security Policy
Free Keywords
politischer Widerstand; politischer Protest
Document language
English
Publication Year
2019
Page/Pages
p. 1-21
Journal
Conflict Management and Peace Science (2019)
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/0738894219855918
ISSN
1549-9219
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed