Ousting an authoritarian regime is often far easier than sustaining freedom afterward. Indeed, the best way to achieve freedom is to use “people power,” rather than top-down reform or armed revolt, says Freedom House.
A study of 67 transitions from authoritarian rule over the past 33 years found that there are four key characteristics of political transitions: the societal forces driving it, the strength of non-violent civic resistance, the level of violence and the sources of that violence. These determine how successful transitions to democracy are achieved, says Freedom House.
According to researchers:
Furthermore, in Iraq’s case, the study offers no guide; only three of the transitions – Panama, which is rated “free,” Bosnia “partly free” and Cambodia, which is “not free” – were driven by external interventions, says Freedom House.
Source: Adrian Karatnycky and Peter Ackerman., How Freedom Is Won: From Civic Resistance to Durable Democracy, Freedom House, 2005.
For text: http://www.freedomhouse.org/research/specreports/civictrans/FHCIVICTRANS.pdf
For more on International: http://www.ncpa.org/pi/internat/intdex1.html
FMF Policy Bulletin/ 25 October 2005
