Aurel Croissant - Böcker

This book examines the conditions under which new democracies succeed or fail in establishing firm and lasting civilian control of the military. David Kuehn and Aurel Croissant introduce a multi-dimensional conceptual framework to evaluate the degree of civilian control in new democracies and to trace developments over time. The theory of civilian control in new democracies that they propose integrates rationalist, structuralist, and institutionalist arguments into a coherent model to explain when, how, and through which causal mechanism new democracies succeed or fail in establishing and sustaining civilian control over the military. This theory is tested on an original dataset on civilian control over the military in 66 countries that have made the transition from authoritarian to democratic rule at least once in the period from 1974 to 2010. The study traces the effects of different degrees of civilian control on the survival and democratic quality of third wave democracies, combining large-N statistical analyses with detailed case study narratives of several countries. The book establishes a comprehensive understanding of the conditions and processes under which third wave democracies succeeded or failed in establishing firm and lasting civilian control of the military-and its consequences for the survival and quality of the new democratic structures, processes, and practices.

Dictators' Endgames examines the political role of the military in “dictators' endgames”: large-scale nonviolent mass protests in autocracies that demand the regime leader's removal from office. It addresses the question why some militaries defend an embattled autocrat by violently cracking down on the protestors, whereas others side with the opposition or decide to stage a coup d'état. The book introduces a systematic definition and operationalization of the “dictator's endgame” as a situation of non-violent mass mobilization, in which the dictator's political survival depends on the loyalty of the military leaders. The theoretical argument proposed in this book focuses on the strategic calculations of military leaders and offers a systematic explanation why the armed forces opt for repression of the demonstrators, shift their loyalty from the dictator to the opposition, or remove the autocrat in a coup during the mass protests. The theory's predictions are empirically tested in a multi-method research design that combines statistical analyses and case studies, drawing on the original Dictator's Endgame Dataset of all 40 endgames that took place between 1946 and 2014. The study identifies the conditions and processes through which militaries determine the outcome of dictators' endgames, and thus affect the survival and future political development of authoritarian regimes.

Democracy in Southeast Asia seems to be in crisis. The contributors to this volume argue that this is a crisis of democratic governance. They look into its causes, consequences and prospects, comparing themes of democratic governance in Southeast Asia such as political culture, civil society, political parties and institutions and human rights

This book explores the historical origins, contemporary dynamics and future challenges of social cohesion in South, Southeast and East Asia—one of the most dynamic and at the same time heterogeneous regions in the world, in terms of economic, political and human development. The comparative case studies in this volume develop a better understanding of social cohesion in Asia by exploring how social cohesion is understood, analyzed and sometimes politically instrumentalised. Examining different dimensions and qualities of social cohesion and how they are linked together, it also discusses the challenges of social cohesion in individual societies. The case studies include examples from Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Myanmar, Singapore, South Korea and Mainland China and building on the conceptual work and empirical findings of the Asian Social Cohesion Radar, this book provides detailed cross-country analyses over the past 15 years. Combining rigorous conceptual and theoretical reasoning with a systematic empirical analysis of trends across the region, Social Cohesion in Asia will be of great interest to students and scholars of Asian politics, international relations, political sociology, comparative politics and Democratization Studies.

Authoritarianism research has evolved into one of the fastest growing research fields in comparative politics. The newly awakened interest in autocratic regimes goes hand in hand with a lack of systematic research on the results of the political and substantive policy performance of variants of autocratic regimes. The contributions in this second volume of Comparing Autocracies are united by the assumption that the performance of political regimes and their persistence are related. Furthermore, autocratic institutions and the specific configurations of elite actors within authoritarian regime coalitions induce dictators to undertake certain policies, and that different authoritarian institutions are therefore an important piece of the puzzle of government performance in dictatorships. Based on these two prepositions, the contributions explore the differences between autocracies and democracies, as well as between different forms of non-democratic regimes, in regard to their outcome performance in selected policy fields; how political institutions affect autocratic performance and persistence; whether policy performance matter for the persistence of authoritarian rule; and what happens to dictators once autocratic regimes fall.This book is an amalgam of articles from the journals Democratization, Contemporary Politics and Politische Vierteljahresschrift.

Democratization emerged at a time of epochal change in global politics: the twin impacts of the end of the Soviet Union and the speeding up and deepening of globalisation in the early 1990s meant a whole new ball game in terms of global political developments. The journal’s first issue appeared in early 1994. Over time, the editorial position has been consistently to focus on ‘the third wave of democracy’ and its aftermath. The third wave is the most recent exemplar of a long-term, historical trend towards more democratically viable regimes and away from authoritarian systems and leaders. In short, the journal wants to promote a better understanding of democratization – defined as the way democratic norms, institutions and practices evolve and are disseminated both within and across national and cultural boundaries.Over the years, the many excellent articles that we have featured in the journal have shared our focus on democratization, viewed as a process. The journal has sought – and continues to seek – to build on the enduring scholarly and of course popular interest in democracy, how and why it emerges, develops and becomes consolidated. Our emphasis over the last 20 years has been contemporary and the approach comparative, with a strong desire to be both topical and authoritative.We include special reference to democratization in the developing world and in post-communist societies. In sum, just as 20 years ago, the journal today aims to encourage debate on the many aspects of democratization that are of interest to policy-makers, administrators and journalists, aid and development personnel, those involved in education, and, perhaps above all, the tens of millions of ordinary people around the world who do not (yet) enjoy the benefits of living under democratic rule. The two dozen articles collected in this ‘virtual’ special issue are emphatic proof of the power of the written word to induce debate, uncertainty, and ultimately progress towards better forms of politics, focused on the achievement of the democratic aspirations of men and women everywhere.

Despite the so-called Third Wave of Democratization, many autocracies have been resilient in the face of political change. Moreover, many of the transition processes that could be included in the Third Wave have reached a standstill, or, at the very least, have taken a turn for the worse, leading sometimes to new forms of non-democratic regimes. As a result of these developments, the research on autocracies has experienced a revival in recent times. This unique two-volume work aims at taking stock of recent research and providing new conceptual, theoretical, and empirical insights into autocratic rule in the early twenty-first century. It is organized into two parts. The contributions in this first volume analyse the trajectories, manifestations and perspectives of non-democratic rule in general and autocratic rule in particular. It brings together some of the leading authoritarianism scholars in Europe and North America who address three broad questions: How to conceptualize and measure forms of autocratic regimes? What determines the persistence of autocratic rule? What is the role of political institutions, legitimation, ideology, and repression for the survival of different forms of autocratic rule?This book is an amalgam of articles from the journals Democratization, Contemporary Politics and Politische Vierteljahresschrift.

Authoritarianism research has evolved into one of the fastest growing research fields in comparative politics. The newly awakened interest in autocratic regimes goes hand in hand with a lack of systematic research on the results of the political and substantive policy performance of variants of autocratic regimes. The contributions in this second volume of Comparing Autocracies are united by the assumption that the performance of political regimes and their persistence are related. Furthermore, autocratic institutions and the specific configurations of elite actors within authoritarian regime coalitions induce dictators to undertake certain policies, and that different authoritarian institutions are therefore an important piece of the puzzle of government performance in dictatorships. Based on these two prepositions, the contributions explore the differences between autocracies and democracies, as well as between different forms of non-democratic regimes, in regard to their outcome performance in selected policy fields; how political institutions affect autocratic performance and persistence; whether policy performance matter for the persistence of authoritarian rule; and what happens to dictators once autocratic regimes fall.This book is an amalgam of articles from the journals Democratization, Contemporary Politics and Politische Vierteljahresschrift.

Democratization emerged at a time of epochal change in global politics: the twin impacts of the end of the Soviet Union and the speeding up and deepening of globalisation in the early 1990s meant a whole new ball game in terms of global political developments. The journal’s first issue appeared in early 1994. Over time, the editorial position has been consistently to focus on ‘the third wave of democracy’ and its aftermath. The third wave is the most recent exemplar of a long-term, historical trend towards more democratically viable regimes and away from authoritarian systems and leaders. In short, the journal wants to promote a better understanding of democratization – defined as the way democratic norms, institutions and practices evolve and are disseminated both within and across national and cultural boundaries.Over the years, the many excellent articles that we have featured in the journal have shared our focus on democratization, viewed as a process. The journal has sought – and continues to seek – to build on the enduring scholarly and of course popular interest in democracy, how and why it emerges, develops and becomes consolidated. Our emphasis over the last 20 years has been contemporary and the approach comparative, with a strong desire to be both topical and authoritative.We include special reference to democratization in the developing world and in post-communist societies. In sum, just as 20 years ago, the journal today aims to encourage debate on the many aspects of democratization that are of interest to policy-makers, administrators and journalists, aid and development personnel, those involved in education, and, perhaps above all, the tens of millions of ordinary people around the world who do not (yet) enjoy the benefits of living under democratic rule. The two dozen articles collected in this ‘virtual’ special issue are emphatic proof of the power of the written word to induce debate, uncertainty, and ultimately progress towards better forms of politics, focused on the achievement of the democratic aspirations of men and women everywhere.

Democratization emerged at a time of epochal change in global politics: the twin impacts of the end of the Soviet Union and the speeding up and deepening of globalisation in the early 1990s meant a whole new ball game in terms of global political developments. The journal’s first issue appeared in early 1994. Over time, the editorial position has been consistently to focus on ‘the third wave of democracy’ and its aftermath. The third wave is the most recent exemplar of a long-term, historical trend towards more democratically viable regimes and away from authoritarian systems and leaders. In short, the journal wants to promote a better understanding of democratization – defined as the way democratic norms, institutions and practices evolve and are disseminated both within and across national and cultural boundaries.Over the years, the many excellent articles that we have featured in the journal have shared our focus on democratization, viewed as a process. The journal has sought – and continues to seek – to build on the enduring scholarly and of course popular interest in democracy, how and why it emerges, develops and becomes consolidated. Our emphasis over the last 20 years has been contemporary and the approach comparative, with a strong desire to be both topical and authoritative.We include special reference to democratization in the developing world and in post-communist societies. In sum, just as 20 years ago, the journal today aims to encourage debate on the many aspects of democratization that are of interest to policy-makers, administrators and journalists, aid and development personnel, those involved in education, and, perhaps above all, the tens of millions of ordinary people around the world who do not (yet) enjoy the benefits of living under democratic rule. The two dozen articles collected in this ‘virtual’ special issue are emphatic proof of the power of the written word to induce debate, uncertainty, and ultimately progress towards better forms of politics, focused on the achievement of the democratic aspirations of men and women everywhere.

Democratization emerged at a time of epochal change in global politics: the twin impacts of the end of the Soviet Union and the speeding up and deepening of globalisation in the early 1990s meant a whole new ball game in terms of global political developments. The journal’s first issue appeared in early 1994. Over time, the editorial position has been consistently to focus on ‘the third wave of democracy’ and its aftermath. The third wave is the most recent exemplar of a long-term, historical trend towards more democratically viable regimes and away from authoritarian systems and leaders. In short, the journal wants to promote a better understanding of democratization – defined as the way democratic norms, institutions and practices evolve and are disseminated both within and across national and cultural boundaries.Over the years, the many excellent articles that we have featured in the journal have shared our focus on democratization, viewed as a process. The journal has sought – and continues to seek – to build on the enduring scholarly and of course popular interest in democracy, how and why it emerges, develops and becomes consolidated. Our emphasis over the last 20 years has been contemporary and the approach comparative, with a strong desire to be both topical and authoritative.We include special reference to democratization in the developing world and in post-communist societies. In sum, just as 20 years ago, the journal today aims to encourage debate on the many aspects of democratization that are of interest to policy-makers, administrators and journalists, aid and development personnel, those involved in education, and, perhaps above all, the tens of millions of ordinary people around the world who do not (yet) enjoy the benefits of living under democratic rule. The two dozen articles collected in this ‘virtual’ special issue are emphatic proof of the power of the written word to induce debate, uncertainty, and ultimately progress towards better forms of politics, focused on the achievement of the democratic aspirations of men and women everywhere.

Following the popular uprisings that swept across the Arab world beginning in 2010, armed forces remained pivotal actors in politics throughout the region. As demonstrators started to challenge entrenched autocratic rulers in Tunis, Cairo, Sana'a, and Manama, the militaries stormed back into the limelight and largely determined whether any given ruler survived the protests. In Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen, senior officers pulled away from their presidents, while in Algeria, Bahrain, and Syria, they did not. More important, military officers took command in shaping the new order and conflict trajectories throughout that region.Armies and Insurgencies in the Arab Spring explores the central problems surrounding the role of armed forces in the contemporary Arab world. How and why do military apparatuses actively intervene in politics? What explains the fact that in some countries, military officers and rank-and-file take steps to defend an incumbent, while in others they defect and refrain from suppressing popular protest? What are the institutional legacies of the military's engagement during, and in the immediate aftermath of, mass uprisings?Focusing on these questions, editors Holger Albrecht, Aurel Croissant, and Fred H. Lawson have organized Armies and Insurgencies in the Arab Spring into three sections. The first employs case studies to make comparisons within and between regions; the second examines military engagements in the Arab uprisings in Yemen, Bahrain, and Syria; and the third looks at political developments following the cresting of the protest wave in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, and the Gulf. The collection promotes better understanding not only of the particular history of military engagement in the Arab Spring but also of significant aspects of the transformation of political-military relations in other regions of the contemporary world.Contributors: Holger Albrecht, Risa A. Brooks, Cherine Chams El-Dine, Virginie Collombier, Aurel Croissant, Philippe Droz-Vincent, Kevin Koehler, Fred H. Lawson, Shana Marshall, Dorothy Ohl, David Pion-Berlin, Tobias Selge, Robert Springborg.

This book explores the historical origins, contemporary dynamics and future challenges of social cohesion in South, Southeast and East Asia—one of the most dynamic and at the same time heterogeneous regions in the world, in terms of economic, political and human development. The comparative case studies in this volume develop a better understanding of social cohesion in Asia by exploring how social cohesion is understood, analyzed and sometimes politically instrumentalised. Examining different dimensions and qualities of social cohesion and how they are linked together, it also discusses the challenges of social cohesion in individual societies. The case studies include examples from Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Myanmar, Singapore, South Korea and Mainland China and building on the conceptual work and empirical findings of the Asian Social Cohesion Radar, this book provides detailed cross-country analyses over the past 15 years. Combining rigorous conceptual and theoretical reasoning with a systematic empirical analysis of trends across the region, Social Cohesion in Asia will be of great interest to students and scholars of Asian politics, international relations, political sociology, comparative politics and Democratization Studies.

The Routledge Handbook of Autocratization comprehensively and systematically explores the current understanding, and unchartered research paths, of autocratization.With wide-reaching regional coverage and expert analysis from Asia, North and South America, Europa, the Middle East, and North Africa, this handbook reveals cross-country, and cross-regional, analysis and insights and presents in-depth explanations and consequences of autocratization. Arranged in five thematic parts, chapters explore the basic aspects of conceptualization, theorization, and measurement of autocratization; the role of various political and non-political actors as perpetrators, supporters, bystanders, or defenders of democracy against autocratization processes; and the consequences across various policy fields. Showcasing cutting-edge research developments, the handbook illustrates the deeply complex nature of the field, examining important topics in need of renewed consideration at a time of growing concerns for democracy and the global spread of authoritarian challenges to democracy.The Routledge Handbook of Autocratization will be a key reference for those interested in, and studying authoritarianism, democratization, human rights, governance, democracy and more broadly comparative politics, and regional/area studies.Chapter 2 and Chapter 11 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 International license (chapter 2) and Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 International license (Chapter 11).

The Routledge Handbook of Autocratization comprehensively and systematically explores the current understanding, and unchartered research paths, of autocratization.With wide-reaching regional coverage and expert analysis from Asia, North and South America, Europa, the Middle East, and North Africa, this handbook reveals cross-country, and cross-regional, analysis and insights and presents in-depth explanations and consequences of autocratization. Arranged in five thematic parts, chapters explore the basic aspects of conceptualization, theorization, and measurement of autocratization; the role of various political and non-political actors as perpetrators, supporters, bystanders, or defenders of democracy against autocratization processes; and the consequences across various policy fields. Showcasing cutting-edge research developments, the handbook illustrates the deeply complex nature of the field, examining important topics in need of renewed consideration at a time of growing concerns for democracy and the global spread of authoritarian challenges to democracy.The Routledge Handbook of Autocratization will be a key reference for those interested in, and studying authoritarianism, democratization, human rights, governance, democracy and more broadly comparative politics, and regional/area studies.Chapter 2 and Chapter 11 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 International license (chapter 2) and Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 International license (Chapter 11).

The book studies and compares causes, catalysts and consequences of democratic regression and revival in South, Southeast, and Northeast Asia.The Asia-Pacific presents social scientists with a natural laboratory to test competing theories of democratic erosion, decay, and revival and to identify new patterns and relationships. This volume combines conceptual and comparative research with single case studies. Overall, the collection of studies in this volume captures different forms of democratic regression and autocratization, examine how Asia-Pacific experiences fit into debates about democracy’s deepening global recession and what the Asia-Pacific experiences contribute to the understanding of the causes, catalysts, and consequences of democratic regression and resilience in the comparative politics literature.The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Democratization.

The book studies and compares causes, catalysts and consequences of democratic regression and revival in South, Southeast, and Northeast Asia.The Asia-Pacific presents social scientists with a natural laboratory to test competing theories of democratic erosion, decay, and revival and to identify new patterns and relationships. This volume combines conceptual and comparative research with single case studies. Overall, the collection of studies in this volume captures different forms of democratic regression and autocratization, examine how Asia-Pacific experiences fit into debates about democracy’s deepening global recession and what the Asia-Pacific experiences contribute to the understanding of the causes, catalysts, and consequences of democratic regression and resilience in the comparative politics literature.The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Democratization.

This book examines the public health responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Asia-Oceania region and their implications for democratic backsliding in the period January 2020 to mid-2021.The contributions discuss three key questions: How did political institutions in Asia-Oceania create incentives for effective public health responses to the COVID-19 outbreak? How did state capacities enhance governments’ ability to implement public health responses? How have governance responses affected the democratic quality of political institutions and processes? Together, the analyses reveal the extent to which institutions prompted an effective public health response and highlights that a high-capacity state was not a necessary condition for containing the spread of COVID-19 during the early phase of the pandemic. By combining quantitative and qualitative analyses, the volume also shows that the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the quality of democratic institutions has been uneven across Asia-Oceania.Guided by a comprehensive theoretical framework, this will be an invaluable resource for scholars and students of political science, policy studies, public health and Asian studies.

This book examines the public health responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Asia-Oceania region and their implications for democratic backsliding in the period January 2020 to mid-2021.The contributions discuss three key questions: How did political institutions in Asia-Oceania create incentives for effective public health responses to the COVID-19 outbreak? How did state capacities enhance governments’ ability to implement public health responses? How have governance responses affected the democratic quality of political institutions and processes? Together, the analyses reveal the extent to which institutions prompted an effective public health response and highlights that a high-capacity state was not a necessary condition for containing the spread of COVID-19 during the early phase of the pandemic. By combining quantitative and qualitative analyses, the volume also shows that the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the quality of democratic institutions has been uneven across Asia-Oceania.Guided by a comprehensive theoretical framework, this will be an invaluable resource for scholars and students of political science, policy studies, public health and Asian studies.

Despite the so-called Third Wave of Democratization, many autocracies have been resilient in the face of political change. Moreover, many of the transition processes that could be included in the Third Wave have reached a standstill, or, at the very least, have taken a turn for the worse, leading sometimes to new forms of non-democratic regimes. As a result of these developments, the research on autocracies has experienced a revival in recent times. This unique two-volume work aims at taking stock of recent research and providing new conceptual, theoretical, and empirical insights into autocratic rule in the early twenty-first century. It is organized into two parts. The contributions in this first volume analyse the trajectories, manifestations and perspectives of non-democratic rule in general and autocratic rule in particular. It brings together some of the leading authoritarianism scholars in Europe and North America who address three broad questions: How to conceptualize and measure forms of autocratic regimes? What determines the persistence of autocratic rule? What is the role of political institutions, legitimation, ideology, and repression for the survival of different forms of autocratic rule?This book is an amalgam of articles from the journals Democratization, Contemporary Politics and Politische Vierteljahresschrift.

Democratization emerged at a time of epochal change in global politics: the twin impacts of the end of the Soviet Union and the speeding up and deepening of globalisation in the early 1990s meant a whole new ball game in terms of global political developments. The journal’s first issue appeared in early 1994. Over time, the editorial position has been consistently to focus on ‘the third wave of democracy’ and its aftermath. The third wave is the most recent exemplar of a long-term, historical trend towards more democratically viable regimes and away from authoritarian systems and leaders. In short, the journal wants to promote a better understanding of democratization – defined as the way democratic norms, institutions and practices evolve and are disseminated both within and across national and cultural boundaries.Over the years, the many excellent articles that we have featured in the journal have shared our focus on democratization, viewed as a process. The journal has sought – and continues to seek – to build on the enduring scholarly and of course popular interest in democracy, how and why it emerges, develops and becomes consolidated. Our emphasis over the last 20 years has been contemporary and the approach comparative, with a strong desire to be both topical and authoritative.We include special reference to democratization in the developing world and in post-communist societies. In sum, just as 20 years ago, the journal today aims to encourage debate on the many aspects of democratization that are of interest to policy-makers, administrators and journalists, aid and development personnel, those involved in education, and, perhaps above all, the tens of millions of ordinary people around the world who do not (yet) enjoy the benefits of living under democratic rule. The two dozen articles collected in this ‘virtual’ special issue are emphatic proof of the power of the written word to induce debate, uncertainty, and ultimately progress towards better forms of politics, focused on the achievement of the democratic aspirations of men and women everywhere.

Civil-Military Relations in Southeast Asia reviews the historical origins, contemporary patterns, and emerging changes in civil-military relations in Southeast Asia from colonial times until today. It analyzes what types of military organizations emerged in the late colonial period and the impact of colonial legacies and the Japanese occupation in World War II on the formation of national armies and their role in processes of achieving independence. It analyzes the long term trajectories and recent changes of professional, revolutionary, praetorian and neo-patrimonial civil-military relations in the region. Finally, it analyzes military roles in state- and nation-building; political domination; revolutions and regime transitions; and military entrepreneurship.

Democratization and state building are fundamental political processes, yet scholars cannot agree on which process should be prioritized in order to put countries on a positive path of institutional development. Where much of the existing literature on the state-democracy nexus focuses on quantitative cross-national data, this volume offers a theoretically grounded regional analysis built around in-depth qualitative case studies. The chapters examine cases of successful democratic consolidation (South Korea, Taiwan), defective democracy (Philippines, Indonesia, East Timor), and autocratic reversal (Cambodia, Thailand). The book's evidence challenges the dominant 'state first, democracy later' argument, demonstrating instead that stateness is neither a sufficient nor a necessary condition for democratic consolidation. The authors not only show that democratization can become trapped in path-dependent processes, but also that the system-level organization of informal networks plays a key role in shaping the outcome of democratic transitions.

Democratization and state building are fundamental political processes, yet scholars cannot agree on which process should be prioritized in order to put countries on a positive path of institutional development. Where much of the existing literature on the state-democracy nexus focuses on quantitative cross-national data, this volume offers a theoretically grounded regional analysis built around in-depth qualitative case studies. The chapters examine cases of successful democratic consolidation (South Korea, Taiwan), defective democracy (Philippines, Indonesia, East Timor), and autocratic reversal (Cambodia, Thailand). The book's evidence challenges the dominant 'state first, democracy later' argument, demonstrating instead that stateness is neither a sufficient nor a necessary condition for democratic consolidation. The authors not only show that democratization can become trapped in path-dependent processes, but also that the system-level organization of informal networks plays a key role in shaping the outcome of democratic transitions.

Democratization emerged at a time of epochal change in global politics: the twin impacts of the end of the Soviet Union and the speeding up and deepening of globalisation in the early 1990s meant a whole new ball game in terms of global political developments. The journal’s first issue appeared in early 1994. Over time, the editorial position has been consistently to focus on ‘the third wave of democracy’ and its aftermath. The third wave is the most recent exemplar of a long-term, historical trend towards more democratically viable regimes and away from authoritarian systems and leaders. In short, the journal wants to promote a better understanding of democratization – defined as the way democratic norms, institutions and practices evolve and are disseminated both within and across national and cultural boundaries.Over the years, the many excellent articles that we have featured in the journal have shared our focus on democratization, viewed as a process. The journal has sought – and continues to seek – to build on the enduring scholarly and of course popular interest in democracy, how and why it emerges, develops and becomes consolidated. Our emphasis over the last 20 years has been contemporary and the approach comparative, with a strong desire to be both topical and authoritative.We include special reference to democratization in the developing world and in post-communist societies. In sum, just as 20 years ago, the journal today aims to encourage debate on the many aspects of democratization that are of interest to policy-makers, administrators and journalists, aid and development personnel, those involved in education, and, perhaps above all, the tens of millions of ordinary people around the world who do not (yet) enjoy the benefits of living under democratic rule. The two dozen articles collected in this ‘virtual’ special issue are emphatic proof of the power of the written word to induce debate, uncertainty, and ultimately progress towards better forms of politics, focused on the achievement of the democratic aspirations of men and women everywhere.

Bringing together leading international scholars, this comprehensive Research Handbook analyses key problems, subjects, regions, and countries in civil-military relations. Showcasing cutting-edge research developments, it illustrates the deeply complex nature of the field and examines important topics in need of renewed consideration.Arranged in five thematic sections, chapters explore the role of armed forces in politics and society, the missions and roles of militaries, and crucial issues of control, compliance and effectiveness. Contributors present theoretically informed and empirically applied research asking novel questions and examining cutting-edge solutions to ongoing problems in the field. They demonstrate the wide range of research methodologies and meta-theoretical traditions in civil-military relations, spanning structuralism, behavioralism, institutionalism, and constructivism. Ultimately, the Research Handbook is a timely insight into the contemporary role of militaries, for example in democratization and autocratization processes and deployment during natural disasters and pandemics.The Research Handbook on Civil–Military Relations will be an invaluable resource for students and scholars of military, security, and strategic studies, as well as comparative politics and military sociology. It will also be an important read for policymakers seeking to better understand the role of the military in society.

This textbook provides a comprehensive introduction to the political systems of all ASEAN countries and Timor-Leste from a comparative perspective.