Obstacles to democratization: the role of civil societies

Abstract

The objective of this research is to develop a set of criteria that might be used to highlight the obstacles with which many nations have had to deal after they started to restore, or build democracy. The research is focused on historical conditions that shaped the development of civil societies in four countries (Czech Republic, Poland, Botswana and Kenya) before these countries decided to restore or build their democracies. The study of these four countries from different parts of the world shows essential obstacles that, to some extent, shaped the process of the transition and could be taken into account to predict its length, success, or failure. These pre-existing obstacles are sometimes overlooked or underestimated at the beginning of the transformation, and, consequently they could cause not only the failure of the democratic process, but also increasing tension in society.