The theory of waves of democratization of S. Huntington

is a concept in political sciences, the essence of which is that the spread of democracy in the world occurred "waves", which affected different groups of countries at their stage. According to S. Huntington, the "wave" of democratization is "the aggregate of transitions from non-democratic to democratic regimes that take place in a certain period of time, when the number of such transit far exceeds the number of transitions in the opposite direction carried out in the same time period."

American and French revolutions, the emergence of "states-states" and the democratization of the British dominions. Characteristic features are: 50% of the adult male population should have the right to vote; the executive head of the executive branch must either retain the support of the majority in the elected parliament or be elected in the course of periodic popular elections.

War and the allied occupation influenced the establishment of democratic institutions in West Germany, Italy, Austria, Japan and Korea. Some countries returned to democracy, for example, Uruguay, who abandoned it during the rollback of the first "wave." The democratization of Africa began, Nigeria was the first.

begins with the fall of the Portuguese dictatorship and dictatorships in Southern Europe, Asia and Latin America. The end of decolonization, the fall of the communist world and the collapse of the USSR all led to the emergence of new democracies.

The concept of the "third wave" of democratization is based on the following basic assumptions:

Firstly, due to the global nature of the transition to democracy, the form and intensity of democratic processes in individual countries are increasingly influenced by the international factor. Democratization also covers the sphere of international relations, reducing the likelihood of wars between states.

instrumental goals. Democratic orientations are relatively stable even in conditions of economic crises.

Thirdly, there are factors like reverse movement (the recoil of a number of countries from a democratic system), and the creation of conditions for the emergence of a "fourth wave" of democratization, the emergence of new forms of democracy.

is the transition from the phase of expansion into the consolidation phase: the consolidation of democracy, the establishment of democratic institutions and the strengthening of their influence, the strengthening of international ties in the community of democratic nations. Consolidation of new democracies requires efforts in different directions - education of tolerance, ensuring the primacy of laws, reducing the power of the military and former communist leaders, enhancing the effectiveness of democratic institutions, preventing excessive concentration of powers in the hands of one of the branches of power, providing Western countries with all possible assistance to states that have become democratic way of development. The successful completion of the "third wave" of democratization, S. Huntington believes, will lay the foundations of a "fourth wave" that will bring democracy to the non-western and poorer regions of the world, where it does not exist yet.