How Civil Society Facilitates Subnational Authoritarian Enclave Democratization

• In Event: Does Civil Society Really Serve Democracy?

Abstract

Oftentimes, democracy is not spread out evenly over the territory of a nation. Instead, it occurs that there are pockets of authoritarianism that persist within a democratic nation. A growing body of literature focuses on how such authoritarian enclaves can democratize. Despite fascinating insights, we still lack a systematic study on the role of civil society in subnational democratization processes. I combine subnational democratization literature with social movement theory to fill this ‘bottom-up gap’. By employing causal process tracing and relying on archival research and interviews conducted in extensive original field research, I trace the causal mechanism in a case of subnational democratization in the province of Oaxaca, Mexico. Preliminary results indicate that the grassroots mobilization in Oaxaca was an antecedent cause for party-led subnational democratization. A subsequent democratic consolidation or deepening remains, however, absent.

Author

• Trix van Mierlo, Institute of Political Science