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Democratisation’s third wave and the challenges of democratic deepening

How can the international donor community effectively promote democracy?

Authors: L. Rakner; A. Rocha Menocal; V. Fritz; CDD-Ghana; Economic and Social Research Foundation; Chr. Michelsen Institute
Publisher: Overseas Development Institute, London, 2007

Full text of document

This paper presents a study of democratisation and democracy assistance in the developing world. In particular, it provides an overview of the democratisation processes during the 1980s.

The paper situates democratisation processes and democratisation support in the wider context of governance changes and donor policy choices. It also analyses some of the most important forms of democracy assistance supported over the past two decades.

The main findings include:

  • the impetus for democratisation needs to come from within, and donors need to be realistic about what can be achieved from the outside 
  • donors have an impact on internal power dynamics, especially in poor, aid-recipient societies 
  • reliance on an idealised blueprint of democracy is not sensitive to context 
  • donor assistance needs to strike a careful balance, providing necessary support while avoiding any dominance of the key stakeholders.