Microscope or Telescope? The Study of Democratisation across World Regions
| Author | Matthijs Bogaards |
| Published date | 01 May 2018 |
| Date | 01 May 2018 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/1478929916645360 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1478929916645360
Political Studies Review
2018, Vol. 16(2) 125 –135
© The Author(s) 2016
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DOI: 10.1177/1478929916645360
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Microscope or Telescope?
The Study of Democratisation
across World Regions
Matthijs Bogaards
Abstract
This review article brings together six recent books on democratisation. They cover Africa, Latin
America, the Middle East, East Central Europe and the Balkans, Eurasia, and East and South East
Asia. The review asks what we can learn from reading about democratisation in different parts
of the world. The aim is twofold: to identify regionally specific processes of democratisation and
to explore cross-regional commonalities. When viewed in combination, these regional studies of
democratisation reveal the limitations of area studies and the need for comparative area studies.
Cheeseman N (2015) Democracy in Africa: Successes, Failures, and the Struggle for Political Reform.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hale H (2015) Patronal Politics: Eurasian Regime Dynamics in Comparative Perspective. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Hsin-Huang MH (ed.) (2014) Democracy or Alternative Political Systems in Asia: After the Strongmen.
London: Routledge.
Mainwaring S and Pérez-Liñán A (2013) Democracies and Dictatorship in Latin America: Emergence,
Survival, and Fall. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Petrovic M (2013) The Democratic Transition of Post-Communist Europe: In the Shadow of Communist
Differences and Uneven Europeanisation. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Sadiki L (ed.) (2015) Routledge Handbook of the Arab Spring: Rethinking Democratization. London:
Routledge.
Keywords
democratisation, area studies, world regions, comparative area studies
Accepted: 4 March 2016
This review brings together six studies of democratisation published in the last 3 years by
reputable academic publishers. The books are all written from a clear regional perspective
and were selected as typical examples of theoretically informed area studies. They cover
Department of Political Science, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary
Corresponding author:
Matthijs Bogaards, Department of Political Science, Central European University, Nador utca 9,
1051 Budapest, Hungary.
Email: Visbogaards@ceu.edu
645360PSW0010.1177/1478929916645360Political Studies ReviewBogaards
research-article2016
Article
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