Advanced Democracies

•Defining

•Paths

•Freedom and equality

•States and sovereignty

•Social change and conflict

•Economic Change

Quiz

• How are Postmodern values different from Modern values?

• What is the major dilemma facing Advanced Democracies in regard to the welfare state and an aging population?

Defining Advanced Democracies

• Which countries are these?

• Past definitions: first, second, third worlds

• Problems with these terms: democracy and capitalism, end of Cold War

• Countries move between different categories!

• Definition: institutionalized democracy and high level of economic development

Paths of Advanced Democracies

• How did they get to where they are today?• Various paths of democratization and

industrialization• Early democratization and industrialization

(US, Canada)• Late democratization, early industrialization

(Germany)• Late industrialization, late democratization

(Japan)

Freedom and Equality in the Advanced Democracies

• All share:– institutionalized liberal democracy

– Private property and free markets

– High level of economic development

• Differences, though, in how freedom and equality reconciled– Civil liberties

– Participation and competition

– State role in the economy (liberal, social democratic, mercantilist)

States and Sovereignty

• Hallmarks of modern politics

• Changing in the advanced democracies?

• Pull of authority upward: Integration

• Pull of authority downward: Devolution

• Both challenge state power

Integration and the European Union

• Created after World War Two

• Idea to prevent war through interdependence

• Pool resources to have greater authority in international system (Cold War)

• Slow development from 1951 to present

• Transfer of sovereignty incrementally

Institutions of the EU

• Bodies that reflect domestic political institutions, with some differences

• European Commission: representatives appointed from member states, make legislation

• Council of Ministers: ministers from member states’ cabinets, approve legislation

• European Parliament: directly elected members that approve legislation

• European Court of Justice: interprets EU law

From Intergovernmental to Supranational?

• EU has gained more power over time

• No longer intergovernmental

• Now supranational—like a state of its own

• Monetary Union—most member states gave up own currency in 2002 for euro

• Major loss of sovereignty—countries’ central banks lost many of their traditional powers

• How good has been euro for EU members?

Enlargement of the EU

• In 2004, took on ten new members• Most post-communist countries of Eastern

Europe, former Soviet Union• How will this affect EU?

– Decision making in a larger body– Costs of subsidies and benefits for poorer new

members causes conflict– Former Soviet States’ Skepticism – Far from over

Rejection of the EU Constitution

• Why?

• - Fear of loss of Sovereignty (Too Liberal and too Socialist)

• - Too long and too difficult to understand

• - Democratic Deficit

Supranationalism and Democracy

• Who controls the EU?

• Absence of direct popular control

• Notion of the “democratic deficit”

• Recent rejection of EU constitution by some members has led to confusion over future of EU and what changes are needed

Devolution and Democracy

• Power not just moving up, as with EU

• Also moving down

• Devolution: powers and resources are transferred away from central state institutions and vested at a lower level

Why Devolution?

• Counter public mistrust of “distant” government and state

• Greater flexibility and local participation

• Resolve ethnic or national identity conflicts by giving more power to discontent groups

• Helps reinvigorate politics or simply undercuts state sovereignty?

Limits of Devolution

• Post-September 11, move back toward centralization

• State power increased, devolution seen as a possible threat to security

Social Change and Conflict: Postmodern Values

• Changes at societal level as well

• Traditional modern values:– Rationality and science– Individualism and autonomy– Materialism

• Growing skepticism of these values by 1960s– Environmentalism– Criticism of nationalism and patriotism

The Content of Postmodern Values

• Less focused on idea of progress • Quality of life issues more central

– Health– Environment– Leisure– Personal equality– Diversity– Hostility to centralized power (devolution,

integration)

Diversity, Identity, and the Challenge to Postmodern Values

• Are postmodern values really taking hold?

• Affected in part by wave of immigration across advanced democracies– Large numbers– Diverse groups of peoples within and between

advanced democracies

Identity and Migration

• Assimilation or multiculturalism?

• Will migration undercut postmodern values?

• Will advanced democracies become more different from each other due to migration?

Economic Change: Postindustrialism

• Modern economies built upon industrialization, away from agriculture

• Now moving from industry and toward service sector: non-tangible goods– Finance, insurance– Communication, education– Legal, health care

• Majority of people in advanced democracies now work in service sector

Postindustrialism’s Effects

• Greater devolution of industry? – Less hierarchical

– More virtual

– More international

– More flexible and autonomous

• Reinforces postmodern values?• Marginalization of those without education?• Shapes new political struggles?• How much of this is over-exaggerated?

Maintaining the Welfare State

• Important element of most advanced democracies• Wide array of social expenditures enjoyed by society• But problems as well:

– Increasingly expensive, such as health care, pensions

– Populations getting older!

– Who will pay for this?

• Migration as a way to solve? Will people accept?

Future Issues

• States face integration and devolution

• Societies face new values and old ideologies

• Economies face changing workplace and aging workforce

• How will these areas in combination transform freedom and equality in the coming decades?