Democratization and Social Movements

The chapter presents three paths of democratization of authoritarian regimes. While in eventful democratization protests develop from the interaction between growing resources of contestation and closed opportunities, social movements are not irrelevant players in the other two paths. First of all, when a strong (or strengthening) civil society meets opening opportunities, participated pacts might develop from the encounter of reformers in institutions and moderates among social movement organizations. Protest, although rarely used, is nevertheless important here as a resource to threat or use on the negotiation table. More troubled democratization paths ensue instead when very repressive regimes thwarted the development of any autonomous associational form. In these cases violence often escalate from the interactions of suddenly mobilized opposition and brutal regime repression. Especially when there are divisions in and defections from security apparatuses, skills and resources for military action contribute to coups d’état and civil war dynamics.