Democratisation in the 21st century : reviving transitology / edited by Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou and Timothy D. Sisk.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 185-204) and index.

Introduction : turbulent transitions into the 21st century / Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou and Timothy D. Sisk -- Reviving transitology : democratisation then and now / Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou and Timothy D. Sisk -- Divergent and partial transitions / Kateryna Pishchikova and Richard Youngs -- Electoral transitions : stumbling out of the gate / Pippa Norris -- Democratisation in the Asia-Pacific : two steps forward? / Benjamin Reilly -- The transition in East Central Europe / André Liebich -- Successes and breakdowns : democratisation in sub-Saharan Africa / Julien Morency-Laflamme -- Thirty years past : transitology in the Southern Cone / Diego Abente-Brun and Ignacio González-Bozzolasco -- Transitology à l'arabe : confirmation and challenge / Bahgat Korany -- From transitology to consolidology / Philippe C. Schmitter.

The 2010's was a critical period in the continuing, established trend of the spread of democracy worldwide: from the Arab Spring countries of Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Yemen to the unfolding turmoil of Myanmar and Ukraine, by way of the upheavals in Burkina Faso, Senegal and Ivory Coast, social mobilisation against autocratic, corrupt, or military regimes has precipitated political transitions that are characteristic of "democratisation." This book examines the state of democratisation theory and practice that reopens and revives the democratic transition debate, exploring the factors that lead to the demise of autocracy, the pathways and processes of change, and the choice for an eventual consolidation of democracy. For all its insights and shortcomings, the framework of transitology - a body of literature that has comparatively and through case-study analysis, examined common patterns, sequences, crises and outcomes of transitional periods - has been largely eschewed. The essays, written by international democratisation specialists, tackle the series of questions raised by a body of literature that remains highly useful to understand contemporary political turbulence and transformation, considering numerous crucial issues. This work will be of key interest to scholars, students and practitioners of governance, democratisation, comparative politics, international relations, political science and more broadly, history. -- Provided by publisher.