Are some cultures inherently incompatible to democracy - Essay Example

However, there was a substantial drawback after Mussolini took power in Italy, and this led to reversal of gains made towards democracy. The number of democratic states reduced significantly in the world to 12 (Huntington, 1993). This was revived after allies won the World War II. This led to a second wave of democratization with 36 countries being governed democratically (Huntington, 1993). Likewise, there was a reverse wave, and the number of democracies came back to 30 (Huntington, 1993). Currently, the third wave is in operation.

There are crucial factors that have contributed to the occurrence and timing of third wave move to democracy. Firstly, it is caused by the deepening legitimacy problem of authoritarian regimes in a world where democratic principles are widely accepted. Many people depended on the success of such regimes, but they have been recently faced by the inability to achieve and present economic support. Secondly, the economic success of the 1960 prompted the development of urban middle class in the majority of the countries.

Thirdly, there was a modification of catholic ideologies from the maintenance of the status quo and condemnation of authoritarianism (Huntington, 1993). Fourth, there was external pressure mainly from European Community, the United States, and the Soviet Union (Owen 2002). Lastly, protest has played a key role for subsequent efforts at democratization (Ranker, L. et al. 2007). T