Pacted Transition To Democracy Essay

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Out of the democratic transition mechanisms we studied in class, I would argue that the best way to move out of an authoritarian regime is an actor-centered pacted transition. During this essay, I will first discuss three reasons why an actor-centered pacted transition is the best transition to democracy. I will then conclude with how these three reasons combined make this type of transition the best. The first reason why an actor-centered pacted transition is the best way to move from an authoritarian regime is that it is largely nonviolent. These transitions are largely nonviolent because they are perpetuated by the elites. These elites are the soft-liners who recognize that the regime needs electoral legitimation. These soft liners are elites in the …show more content…
These governments are stable because each group enters into compromises, no group is dominate to impose its ideals. This results in as O’Donnell describes as the second best solution wherein none of the actors get exactly what they wanted, but get something that all of them can agree to. A great example of this would be Chile, both sides wanted very different things however, they were able to compromise and this resulted in a stable government. This method results in a government that is less likely to revert to an authoritarian rule. According to O’Donnell, “all unpacted democracies existing at different times in Latin American countries were destroyed by authoritarian reversals.” Therefore, there is a higher probability that through an actor-centered pacted transition the government will become a stable democracy. This is evidenced by Brazil, Brazil had both a very clear military pact and a political pact this resulted in Brazil becoming a stable democracy, whereas other countries that did not have explicit pacts had democratic breakdowns and

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