Understanding Third World Politics

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There is much convincing evidence that a ‘low’ level of political culture
can undermine democracy. A lack of commitment to democratic principles,
procedures and beliefs on the part of African political élites, for example,
has made it difficult to sustain democracy – even though some traditional
values support consensus, moderation, consultation, the rule of law and
controlled political authority. Similarly in Latin America democratic cul-
tures have helped to maintain democracy and make it more difficult to
consolidate and perpetuate authoritarian government, as in Uruguay in 1980
and Chile in 1988 where ‘both the fact of the plebiscites and the ultimate
popular rejections of the military at the polls reflected the continuing
vitality of democratic culture’ (Diamond, 1988, pp. 14–15; Diamond and
Linz, 1989, p. 13).
However, there is no simple, deterministic link between political culture
and democratic stability because experience of democracy is itself a power-
ful socializing influence. In Latin America democratic political cultures have
been strengthened by the successful performance of democratic government
in accommodating new interests, expanding the economy, developing educa-
tion and securing the welfare of the lower classes. The legitimacy created by
governmental success helps explain the strong correlation between the eco-
nomic performance of democratic regimes in Latin America and their stabil-
ity. Furthermore, studies of Asian society show that political cultures are
often mixed, with countries having ‘some significant values and orientations
that press in a democratic direction and others that press in an authoritarian
one’ (Diamond, 1989, p. 17; Diamond and Linz, 1989, pp. 11, 44).
The relationship between the ‘civic’ culture and democracy implies that a
set of values about the rightness of certain political structures, a high level
of political competence on the part of individuals, and a sense of trust in
other individuals and groups lead to stable democracy. But it could equally
be argued that all such values could be a consequence of the experience of
democratic government. When attitude surveys are carried out to determine
what the predominant political culture is, all that may be revealed are the
expectations that people have as the result of their experience of a political
system. If there is the possibility that the political culture is not cause but
consequence, it ceases to have theoretical significance for understanding
change or the loss of critical levels of support for democracy.
The secret is knowing what creates the critical level of consensus.
Following de Tocqueville, Lipset argued that democratic values are more
likely to be preserved at a time of great social change (such as when democ-
racy is first introduced) if all major social groups are given some access to the
political system early on, and the status of major pre-democratic institutions


266 Understanding Third World Politics

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