Democratic Reform and Consolidation: The Cases of Mexico and Turkey - Paperback

by Evren Çelik Wiltse (Author)

According to Freedom House, 'partly free' societies account for roughly a quarter of the world's population, across around 60 countries. Such countries pose interesting challenges to researchers: they are not blatantly authoritarian regimes, because they have rather established, competitive elections. Yet their political systems suffer significant democratic deficiencies. What are the conditions for democratic improvement and consolidation? How do societies with some degree of development and democratic opening create free and open regimes? Which types of historical institutions and state-society relations help foster this? What is the role of international actors? Which forms of international engagement enhance the prospects of democratic progress and consolidation, and which hinder it? This book tackles those questions. By homing in on two pivotal countries, Mexico and Turkey, Evren Çelik Wiltse analyses the dynamics of democratic progress and consolidation from a comparative historical perspective.

Author Biography

Evren Çelik Wiltse is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the South Dakota State University (SDSU). Before SDSU, she worked at the TOBB University of Economy & Technology in Ankara, Turkey. She received Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Boğaziçi University in Istanbul. Her PhD is from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Her research is on political institutions, political economy, development and democratisation. Her works compare and contrast economic development and democracy in Latin America with the Middle East. Her article Globalization and Mexico is published in an edited volume on globalisation by the University Press of New England. Evren Çelik Wiltse contributes to policy-oriented discussions through policy papers published by think tanks (TEPAV) and popular academic journals, such as Economy and Society (İktisat ve Toplum). Her articles were published in South European Society and Politics, and Perceptions. She was the guest editor of the Winter 2014 Special International Political Economy Issue of Perceptions.