Democratization and Civil Liberties: The Role of Violence During the Transition

49 Pages Posted: 21 Mar 2011

See all articles by Matteo Cervellati

Matteo Cervellati

University of Bologna - Department of Economics; Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA); Instituto de Análisis Económic (IAE) Barcelona

Piergiuseppe Fortunato

United Nations - Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

Uwe Sunde

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU)

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Abstract

This paper investigates the role of violent civil conflicts during the process of democratization for the quality of emerging democracies, and in particular, the protection of civil (political and economic) liberties. A simple theory in which different groups may engage in violent conflict in order to become the ruler predicts a crucial role of the democratization scenario. A peaceful democratization leads to democracies with a high degree of civil liberties, reflecting a social contract according to which all groups are politically represented and the rulers deliberately abstain from wasteful rent extraction. A transition to democracy under a violent conflict is less likely to lead to a system with a high degree of civil liberties. Empirical evidence from the third wave of democratization based on a difference-in-difference methodology supports the theoretical predictions. The findings suggest that violent conflicts during the democratic transition have persistent negative effects on the quality of the emerging democracies.

Keywords: democratization, civil conflict, violent democratization, civil liberties

JEL Classification: H10, O20, N10

Suggested Citation

Cervellati, Matteo and Fortunato, Piergiuseppe and Sunde, Uwe, Democratization and Civil Liberties: The Role of Violence During the Transition. IZA Discussion Paper No. 5555, U. of St. Gallen Law & Economics Working Paper No. 2011-03, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1790666 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1790666

Matteo Cervellati (Contact Author)

University of Bologna - Department of Economics ( email )

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Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

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Germany

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Instituto de Análisis Económic (IAE) Barcelona

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Spain

Piergiuseppe Fortunato

United Nations - Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) ( email )

Palais des Nations
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Geneva, 1211
Switzerland

Uwe Sunde

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) ( email )

Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1
Munich, DE Bavaria 80539
Germany

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