Editing Democratization (section)

== Description ==
{{further|Hybrid regime}}
[[File:BTI 2022 DEM.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6| Global trend report [[Bertelsmann Transformation Index]] 2022<ref name="BTI 2022a">{{cite web | title=Global Dashboard | website=BTI 2022 | url=https://bti-project.org/en/reports/global-dashboard?&cb=00000 | access-date=Apr 17, 2023}}</ref>]]
Theories of democratization seek to explain a large macro-level change of a political regime from authoritarianism to democracy. Symptoms of democratization include [[electoral reform|reform]] of the [[electoral system]], increased [[suffrage]] and reduced [[political apathy]].

=== Measures of democratization ===
Democracy indices enable the quantitative assessment of democratization. Some common democracy indices are [[Freedom House]], [[Polity data series]], [[V-Dem Democracy indices]] and [[Democracy Index]]. Democracy indices can be quantitative or categorical. Some disagreements among scholars concern the concept of [[democracy]] and how to measure democracy – and what [[democracy indices]] should be used.

=== Waves of democratization ===
One way to summarize the outcome theories of democratization seek to account is with the idea of [[Waves of democracy|waves of democratization]]

[[File:Waves of democracy.png|thumb|upright=1.5|right|The three waves of democracy identified by Samuel P. Huntington]]
A wave of democratization refers to a major surge of democracy in history. And [[Samuel P. Huntington]] identified three waves of democratization that have taken place in history.<ref name="huntington">{{cite book|title=Democratization in the Late 20th century|last=Huntington|first=Samuel P.|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|year=1991|location=Norman|author-link=Samuel P. Huntington}}</ref> The first one brought democracy to Western Europe and Northern America in the 19th century. It was followed by a rise of dictatorships during the [[Interwar period]]. The second wave began after [[World War II]], but lost steam between 1962 and the mid-1970s. The latest wave began in 1974 and is still ongoing. Democratization of [[Latin America]] and the former [[Eastern Bloc]] is part of this [[Waves of democracy#Third wave|third wave]].

Waves of democratization can be followed by waves of de-democratization. Thus, Huntington, in 1991, offered the following depiction.

• First wave of democratization, 1828–1926

• First wave of de-democratization, 1922–42

• Second wave of democratization, 1943–62

• Second wave of de-democratization, 1958–75

• Third wave of democratization, 1974–

The idea of waves of democratization has also been used and scrutinized by many other authors, including Renske Doorenspleet,<ref>Renske Doorenspleet, "Reassessing the Three Waves of Democratization." ''World Politics'' 52(3) 2000: 384–406.</ref> [[John Markoff (sociologist)|John Markoff]],<ref name=":9">John Markoff, ''Waves of Democracy: Social Movements and Political Change'', Second Edition. New York: Routledge, 2015.</ref> [[Seva Gunitsky]],<ref name=":02"/> and Svend-Erik Skaaning.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/13510347.2020.1799194 | doi=10.1080/13510347.2020.1799194 | title=Waves of autocratization and democratization: A critical note on conceptualization and measurement | date=2020 | last1=Skaaning | first1=Svend-Erik | journal=Democratization | volume=27 | issue=8 | pages=1533–1542 | s2cid=225378571 | url-access=subscription }}</ref>

According to Seva Gunitsky, from the 18th century to the [[Arab Spring]] (2011–2012), 13 democratic waves can be identified.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal|last=Gunitsky|first=Seva|date=2018|title=Democratic Waves in Historical Perspective|journal=Perspectives on Politics|language=en|volume=16|issue=3|pages=634–651|doi=10.1017/S1537592718001044|s2cid=149523316 |s2cid-access=free |issn=1537-5927 |url=http://individual.utoronto.ca/seva/democratic_waves.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221226044721/http://individual.utoronto.ca/seva/democratic_waves.pdf |archive-date= Dec 26, 2022 }}</ref>

The [[V-Dem Institute#Democracy Report|V-Dem Democracy Report]] identified for the year 2023 9 cases of stand-alone democratization in East Timor, The Gambia, Honduras, Fiji, Dominican Republic, Solomon Islands, Montenegro, Seychelles, and Kosovo and 9 cases of U-Turn Democratization in Thailand, Maldives, Tunisia, Bolivia, Zambia, Benin, North Macedonia, Lesotho, and Brazil.<ref name="report">[https://v-dem.net/documents/43/v-dem_dr2024_lowres.pdf Democracy Report 2024, Varieties of Democracy]</ref>