Democracy and Neoliberalism in the Developing World

This study of comparative political development provides insights into the likelihood that the liberal-democratic system of government will become institutionalized in industrializing and non-industrialized countries in the wake of neoliberalism - the global economic and political changes currently underway. It argues that over the near to medium term, liberal-democratic governance will plant roots of systematic stability only in that subset of developing countries in which preconditions for democracy already exist. In addition, the author argues that some liberal-democratic governmental institutions and processes, such as parliaments, legislatures, and general elections, will become established in other developing countries such as Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and eventually Cuba - countries in which the cultural and attitudinal preconditions for democracy remain absent or underdeveloped, and undermined by the fragile base upon which these new democracies rest.