Editing Modernization theory (section)

{{short description|Explanation for the process of modernization within societies}}
{{distinguish|Modernity}}
'''Modernization theory''' or '''modernisation theory''' holds that as societies become more economically modernized, wealthier and more educated, their political institutions become increasingly [[Liberal democracy|liberal democratic]] and [[Rationalism|rationalist]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Acemoglu |first1=Daron |last2=Robinson |first2=James |date=2022 |title=Non-Modernization: Power–Culture Trajectories and the Dynamics of Political Institutions |journal=Annual Review of Political Science |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=323–339 |doi=10.1146/annurev-polisci-051120-103913 |issn=1094-2939|doi-access=free |hdl=1721.1/144425 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> The "classical" theories of modernization of the 1950s and 1960s, most influentially articulated by [[Seymour Martin Lipset|Seymour Lipset]],<ref name=":0" /> drew on sociological analyses of [[Karl Marx]], [[Emile Durkheim]], [[Max Weber]], and [[Talcott Parsons]].<ref>Andrew C. Janos, ''Politics and Paradigms: Changing Theories of Change in Social Science''. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1986, pp. 44-64; Eisenstadt, Shmuel N. "Modernity and Modernization." ''Sociopedia.isa''. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, Israel (2000): 1–15.[https://www.studocu.com/en-za/document/central-university-of-technology/education-i-learner-learning/2010-modernity-and-modernization-first-years-notes/14947188]</ref> Modernization theory was a dominant paradigm in the social sciences in the 1950s and 1960s, and saw a resurgence after 1991, when [[Francis Fukuyama]] wrote about the end of the Cold War as confirmation of modernization theory.<ref name="Francis Fukuyama 1992, pp. 68-69">Francis Fukuyama, ''The End of History and the Last Man ''. New York: The Free Press, 1992, pp. 68-69, 133-134.</ref> 

The theory is the subject of much debate among scholars.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Treisman |first=Daniel |date=2020 |title=Economic Development and Democracy: Predispositions and Triggers |journal=Annual Review of Political Science |language=en |volume=23 |issue=1 |pages=241–257 |doi=10.1146/annurev-polisci-050718-043546 |issn=1094-2939|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":2" /><ref>{{cite book |first=Wolfgang |last=Knöbl |chapter=Theories That Won't Pass Away: The Never-ending Story |editor-first=Gerard |editor-last=Delanty |editor-link=Gerard Delanty |editor2-first=Engin F. |editor2-last=Isin |title=Handbook of Historical Sociology |year=2003 |pages=96–107 [esp p. 97]}}</ref> Critics have highlighted cases where [[Industrialisation|industrialization]] did not prompt stable [[democratization]], such as Japan, Germany, and the Soviet Union, as well as cases of [[democratic backsliding]] in economically advanced parts of Latin America.<ref name=":1" /> Other critics argue the [[Reverse causality|causal relationship is reverse]] (democracy is more likely to lead to economic modernization)<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Acemoglu |first1=Daron |last2=Gallego |first2=Francisco A. |last3=Robinson |first3=James A. |date=2014 |title=Institutions, Human Capital, and Development |journal=Annual Review of Economics |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=875–912 |doi=10.1146/annurev-economics-080213-041119 |issn=1941-1383}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> or that economic modernization helps democracies survive but does not prompt democratization.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Przeworski |first1=Adam |last2=Limongi |first2=Fernando |date=1997 |title=Modernization: Theories and Facts |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25053996 |journal=World Politics |volume=49 |issue=2 |pages=155–183 |doi=10.1353/wp.1997.0004 |jstor=25053996 |issn=0043-8871|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Other scholars provide supporting evidence, showing that economic development significantly predicts democratization.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Boix |first1=Carles |last2=Stokes |first2=Susan C. |date=2003 |title=Endogenous Democratization |journal=World Politics |volume=55 |issue=4 |pages=517–549 |doi=10.1353/wp.2003.0019 |issn=0043-8871}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Boix |first=Carles |date=2011 |title=Democracy, Development, and the International System |journal=American Political Science Review |volume=105 |issue=4 |pages=809–828 |doi=10.1017/s0003055411000402 |issn=0003-0554}}</ref><ref name=":1" />