How Geography Makes Democracy Work
Why are some countries more democratic than others? Two dominant approaches characterize how scholars have answered this question: economic development or modernization theory and the vibrancy of civil society. But these explanations often face the critique of endogeneity, and have difficulty acc...
Saved in:
Main Author: | |
---|---|
Other Authors: | |
Format: | Working Paper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2016
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/88103 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/40200 |
Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
Institution: | Nanyang Technological University |
Language: | English |
id |
sg-ntu-dr.10356-88103 |
---|---|
record_format |
dspace |
spelling |
sg-ntu-dr.10356-881032020-11-01T08:44:10Z How Geography Makes Democracy Work Carney, Richard W. S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies DRNTU::Social sciences::Political science Why are some countries more democratic than others? Two dominant approaches characterize how scholars have answered this question: economic development or modernization theory and the vibrancy of civil society. But these explanations often face the critique of endogeneity, and have difficulty accounting for countries that are wealthy yet are nondemocratic (e.g., Brunei and Kuwait), or exhibit strong civil societies without corresponding democratic institutions (e.g., Bangladesh and Morocco). This paper offers a different approach. It argues that a country’s geographical attributes underlie and influence both economic development and civil society, and in turn affect democratic outcomes. Statistical evidence from over 100 countries offers evidence consistent with the argument. Case studies on twelfth century Italy, modern Malaysia, Malawi, and Paraguay illustrate the mechanisms at work. 2016-03-03T03:30:03Z 2019-12-06T16:56:03Z 2016-03-03T03:30:03Z 2019-12-06T16:56:03Z 2009 Working Paper Carney, R. W. (2009). How Geography Makes Democracy Work. (RSIS Working Paper, No. 190). Singapore: Nanyang Technological University. https://hdl.handle.net/10356/88103 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/40200 en RSIS Working Papers, 190-09 Nanyang Technological University 62 p. application/pdf |
institution |
Nanyang Technological University |
building |
NTU Library |
continent |
Asia |
country |
Singapore Singapore |
content_provider |
NTU Library |
collection |
DR-NTU |
language |
English |
topic |
DRNTU::Social sciences::Political science |
spellingShingle |
DRNTU::Social sciences::Political science Carney, Richard W. How Geography Makes Democracy Work |
description |
Why are some countries more democratic than others? Two dominant approaches
characterize how scholars have answered this question: economic development or
modernization theory and the vibrancy of civil society. But these explanations often face
the critique of endogeneity, and have difficulty accounting for countries that are wealthy
yet are nondemocratic (e.g., Brunei and Kuwait), or exhibit strong civil societies without
corresponding democratic institutions (e.g., Bangladesh and Morocco). This paper offers
a different approach. It argues that a country’s geographical attributes underlie and
influence both economic development and civil society, and in turn affect democratic
outcomes. Statistical evidence from over 100 countries offers evidence consistent with the
argument. Case studies on twelfth century Italy, modern Malaysia, Malawi, and Paraguay
illustrate the mechanisms at work. |
author2 |
S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies |
author_facet |
S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies Carney, Richard W. |
format |
Working Paper |
author |
Carney, Richard W. |
author_sort |
Carney, Richard W. |
title |
How Geography Makes Democracy Work |
title_short |
How Geography Makes Democracy Work |
title_full |
How Geography Makes Democracy Work |
title_fullStr |
How Geography Makes Democracy Work |
title_full_unstemmed |
How Geography Makes Democracy Work |
title_sort |
how geography makes democracy work |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/10356/88103 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/40200 |
_version_ |
1688665351932346368 |