Politics of Democratic Breakdown

Democratic breakdown is an event in political history affecting the fate of millions, if not hundreds of millions of people by changing a country's political regime. This book attempts to systematically explain why democracies collapse.

The author's main theoretical argument is based on the examination of two factors. One is the political cleavages among voters. A high degree of political cleavages among voters is likely to cause serious political conflicts, which may lead to fierce political confrontations and conflicts. The other is the type of political institutional arrangements under democratic regimes. Centrifugal democratic regimes are likely to weaken government capacity or state capacity, rendering governments incapable of effectively resolving political conflicts. When these two factors come together, political conflicts are less likely to be controlled effectively. These situations will evolve into serious political crises and eventually lead to the collapse of democratic regimes. The empirical research of this book is based on a comparative historical analysis of Germany, Nigeria, Chile, and India.

Examining democratic collapses from both theoretical and empirical perspectives, this book will be of interest to those engaged in the study of democracy, Political Science, Comparative Politics, and Political Theory.