Democracy and Human Rights in Developing Countries - Softcover

Arat, Zehra F.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1555875009 ISBN 13: 9781555875008

Publisher: Lynne Rienner, 1993

Synopsis

The 1980s saw a wave of democratisation sweeping the globe. Similar transformations were evident in the early 1950s, when modernisation theorists were optimistic about the future of democracy in newly emerging states; these new democracies, however, failed to maintain stability and vacillated between democratic and authoritarian regimes. Through a synthesis of the theories of modernization, dependency and bureaucratic authoritarianism, Arat explains this instability in terms of the imbalance between two groups of human rights: civil-political and socioeconomic. Arguing against those who believe that socioeconomic rights are group rights that can be maintained only at the expense of individual civil-political rights - and that a trade-off between liberty and equality is inevitable - Arat demonstrates that the stability of democracy requires a balance between the two groups of human rights. A historic review, an empirical analysis of more than 150 countries, and case studies of Costa Rica, India and Turkey support her thesis that developing countries that recognise civil-political rights and establish democratic systems fail to maintain them if they neglect socioeconomic rights.

About this title

About the Author

Zehra F. Arat is a professor of Political Science and Women?s Studies at Purchase College of SUNY since 1989. She publishes on topics including democracy, human rights, women?s rights, and development issues. She is the founding president of the human rights section of the American Political Science Association.

Edition details

• Publisher: Lynne Rienner
• Publication date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1555875009
• ISBN 13: 9781555875008
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 217