ELITES AND CIVIL SOCIETY ACTORS: THE INSTRUMENTS FOR A SUCCESSFUL DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION.
ELITES AND CIVIL SOCIETY ACTORS: THE INSTRUMENTS FOR A SUCCESSFUL DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION.Because of its uniqueness in every case, predicting the importance of elites and popular actors in a successful democratic transition from authoritarian rule is as impossible as trying to predict the day in which a baby will take its first steps. But despite the unpredictability of their nature, elite and popular actors share a vital role in the fight towards democracy: they are the force that incites and pushes the transition. Both actors may not be present in every transition, and their interests and type of action may not be the same, but their importance stems from the fact that they represent the desires of the oppressed. Elites and popular actors either independently or in conjunction bring about transition and democratization with their consistent opposition and their will to overcome an oppressive regime.According to O'Donnell and Schmitter, when an authoritarian regime begins to redefine and extend rights that protect individuals and social groups from arbitrary or illegal acts committed by the state or third parties, liberalization has begun. This liberalization may be the result of elite negotiations and pacts, popular oppositi
Initially, it is their dispositions, calculations and pacts what determine whether or not a transition will occur at all because they are the ones that determine the extent of possible liberalization and eventual democratization. In Panama the case was very similar. So much so that by late 1988 the communist regime allowed opposition groups to for and to organize demonstrations, in January of 1989 came legal guarantees of free assembly and association approved by parliament, in February the Party supported the transition to a "multi-party-system" and in April it formally abandoned the Leninist principle of "democratic centralism" (Garton, 14). The liberalization of the government allows for social movements to fire up as people realize that they have been victims of oppression by the authoritarian regime and so they begin to support the human rights organizations and push for liberation because of their new found personal dignity. It is very hard to predict what the relative importance of elite and popular actors will be but it has been shown that either one or both in conjunction will bring about the change because they represent the desires of the oppressed and the ideals that the majority is striving for. The Solidarity movement in Poland greatly exemplifies the power of popular actors in democratic transitions. As seen from the examples in Poland, Hungary and Panama, each of the transitions came about in a different way and different actors and actions characterized them; but in the end all three countries achieved the same outcome: democracy. An example of this case can be seen in Panama with the 1989 U. In May of 1989 Noriega agreed to hold elections, but when he was defeated, he declared the elections invalid and retained his control of the government and the military. Given the variance in each case it is more accurate to say that consistent opposition and the will to overcome an oppressive regime seem to be the main driving factor in democratic transition!s. Societal actors had much less influence than what they did in Panama or in Poland; the main popular demonstrations were mostly noticeable in the anniversaries of earlier Hungarian revolutions but even in these cases the major impact in the country came through media reports, especially through television broadcasts. In turn, these negotiations won General Jaruzelski's support that managed to force through the decision to accept the return of solidarity. There evolves an intense rejection of the authoritarian regime that includes the rage of many citizens and their repulsion against the abusive and corrupt means of the authoritarian regime; but the greatest rage and challenge to a transitional regime comes from the working class and low-rank employees.
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