The Myth of Civil Society : Social Capital and Democratic Consolidation in Spain and Brazil

Encarnación makes the controversial argument that a strong civil society and social capital are not necessary to enhance either democratization or the stability of a new democracy. Tracing the development of the concept civil society, he argues that what matters are the political institutions existing in a state and the strategies and decisions of political leaders. The importance of these are examined through careful case studies of Brazil, where a strong civil society was not critical in the transition to democracy and has not led to a robust democracy, and Spain, where a weak civil society neither prevented the transition nor strong democratic institutions. Annotation Encarnacion makes the controversial argument that a strong civil society and social capital are not necessary to enhance either democratization or the stability of a new democracy. Tracing the development of the concept "civil society," he argues that what matters are the political institutions existing in a state and the strategies and decisions of political leaders. The importance of these are examined through careful case studies of Brazil, where a strong civil society was not critical in the transition to democracy and has not led to a robust democracy, and Spain, where a weak civil society neither prevented the transition nor strong democratic institutions

EncarnaciÃ3n makes the controversial argument that a strong civil society and social capital are not necessary to enhance either democratization or the stability of a new democracy. Tracing the development of the concept civil society, he argues that what matters are the political institutions existing in a state and the strategies and decisions of political leaders. The importance of these are examined through careful case studies of Brazil, where a strong civil society was not critical in the transition to democracy and has not led to a robust democracy, and Spain, where a weak civil society neither prevented the transition nor strong democratic institutions.

Encarnacíon makes the controversial argument that a strong civil society and social capital are not necessary to enhance either democratization or the stability of a new democracy. Tracing the development of the concept "civil society," he argues that what matters are the political institutions existing in a state and the strategies and decisions of political leaders. The importance of these are examined through careful case studies of Brazil, where a strong civil society was not critical in the transition to democracy and has not led to a robust democracy, and Spain, where a weak civil society neither prevented the transition nor strong democratic institutions Almost irrespective of the geographic setting, the debate about the future of democracy in post-authoritarian societies is increasingly tied to the strength of civil society. A strong civil society is thought to be crucial to the emergence of successful democracies while a weak civil society is deemed the cause of flawed or frozen democracies. Using contrasting evidence from Spain and Brazil, this study challenges these widespread assumptions about contemporary democratization. It argues that it is the performance of political institutions rather than the configuration of civil society that determines the consolidation of democratic regimes. Almost irrespective of the geographic setting, the debate about the future of democracy in post authoritarian societies is increasingly tied to the strength of civil society. A strong civil society is thought to be crucial to the emergence of successful democracies while a weak civil society is deemed the cause of flawed or frozen democracies. Using contrasting evidence from Spain and Brazil, this study challenges these widespread assumptions about contemporary democratization. It argues that it is the performance of political institutions rather than the configuration of civil society that determines the consolidation of democratic regimes The transition to democracy of dozens of nations once thought condemned to authoritarian or totalitarian rule may be well be the most important political happening of the last three decades.