Democratic consolidation in the Third World : Many questions , any answers ?

The paper is concerned with democratisation in the Third World since the 1980s, a period when dozens of Third World countries underwent at least some measure of democratic change. The paper, both general and comparative, rather than specific and focused on one or several countries, aims to try to help locate discussions in the workshopÕs analytical framework: to assess the extent of democratic progress across a range of Third World countries and to compare democratic experiences. I start from the following premises. First, democratisation has produced a large number of ÔelectoralÕ, but few liberal, democracies. Second, power often, but not always, remains broadly in the hands of pre-existing elites despite the existence of democratic systems. Third, after being an important factor in many democratic transitions a few years ago, many Third World countriesÕ civil societies are once again weak and/or fragmented. I anticipate these generalisations to be amended as a result of the other papers and our discussions.