Political Leaders’ Decision-Making Strategies During Democratization

When a country embarks upon the transition from an autocratic regime to a democracy, political leaders’ have to make important decisions despite prevailing uncertainty. The present study analyzed the decision-making strategies of four political leaders from two countries that peacefully consolidated a democracy: Spain and Lithuania. In-depth interviews were conducted with 65 people involved in their respective transitions, including the main leaders themselves (King Juan Carlos I, Adolfo Suárez, Algirdas Brazauskas, and Vytautas Landsbergis). These political leaders tended to make decisions in a consultative manner, and their decision-making was guided by their vision to peacefully establish a democracy and bring power to the different groups involved; this meant that sometimes leaders also took seemingly paradoxical decisions to ensure the changes towards democracy. This paper contributes insights on how political leaders may make dynamic decisions during periods of political change and uncertainty.