Third Wave Democracy

Third Wave Democracy, also known as Democracy's Third Wave in some political science arenas, refers to the third major surge of democracy in history. The term was coined by Samuel P. Huntington, a political scientist at Harvard University in his article published in the "Journal of Democracy".

Background

Huntington describes global democratization as coming in three waves, the first beginning in the early 19th century with the third being a current event. cite news
url=http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/whatsdem/whatdm13.htm
title=What Is Democracy? - Democracy's Third Wave
publisher=U.S. State Department
accessdate=2007-08-07]

The first wave of democracy began in the early 19th century when suffrage was granted to the majority of white males in the United States. At its peak, the first wave saw 29 democracies in the world. This continued until 1922 when Benito Mussolini rose to power in Italy. The ebb of the first wave lasted from 1922 until 1942, during which the number of democracies in the world dropped to a mere 12.

The second wave began following the Allied victory in World War II, and crested nearly 20 years later in 1962 with 36 recognised democracies in the world. The second wave ebbed as well at this point, and the total number dropped to 30 democracies between 1962 and the mid-1970s. But the "flat line" would not last for long, as the third wave was about to surge in a way no one had ever seen.

The Third Wave

In 1974 the third wave began its upward climb, doubling the number of democracies in just a few decades. Today there are some 60 democracies in the world, the most to date.

Many political scientists and theorists believe that in accordance with history, this third wave has crested and will soon ebb just as its predecessors did. Others believe that there are still more democracies to come, saying that this is still the beginning of the current wave. A common belief is that the third wave will ebb only to quickly be replaced with a fourth wave as early as the first half of the 21st century.Fact|date=August 2007

Huntington agrees that these predictions are certainly possible and that to a degree each is valid, however he notes that no such events can truly be predicted, even with years of history as a model.

See also

*Democracy
*Samuel P. Huntington

Notes