Book Reviews: COMPARATIVE POLITICS September 2000

study of this modality. Botswana might have served the (1991). Geographically, both works cast extraordinarily wide
author better. The control policies adopted by President nets, drawing on cases from three or more regions. Tempo-
Banda of Malawi have often been cited by incoming juntas as rally, both volumes focus on the third wave (post-1974),
the reason for their coup. The policies include a "network of although they occasionally draw on the lessons of the earlier
spies and ancillary structures (including the Young Pio- waves and reverse waves.
neers)" (p. 40), privatization of political power, regional/ It is not surprising that both books have similar overarch-
ethnic politics, terror, personal charisma, and the appoint- ing questions and concerns, given that all three authors have
ment of loyal commanders to discourage military rule. The worked together closely, and many of the scholars they cite
coup in the Gambia in 1994 further questions the adequacy of have cooperated on various projects in the past. Without
the policies that constitute the legitimized modality. These downplaying the many novel and individual contributions
considerations lead to the question of why a combination of made by each book, it is clear—as the authors acknowledge
some selected policies deters a coup in one country but in their respective prefaces—that these volumes can also be
instigates a coup in another. Decalo's claims remain unper- viewed as distillations and critiques of the work of the
suasive until this question is addressed. international network of democratization scholars that has
The final chapter examines the sources of the "democratic taken shape over the past two decades (and whose debates
upheavals" in the continent in the early 1990s and assesses have been featured most prominently in the Journal of
the constraints and challenges of the redemocratization Democracy since 1990). Scholarly networking, dialogues, and
process. The issues addressed are valid but are only tangen- cumulative refinements of theory are used to spectacular
tially relevant to the main project. The chapter confirms my effect in each volume, setting an example for the profession.
lingering feeling that much of the analysis in the book is not Notwithstanding the broad similarities between these two
rigorously deployed to show why there is civil-military stabil-books, there are important differences. These are most visible
ity in the cases examined. It becomes, then, a study of the in the scope and depth of each, in their conceptual emphases,
politics of three African countries that happen to have and in the key independent variables upon which they draw
evaded military rule. Considering the paucity of concise to make several important arguments about contemporary
literature on the politics of Gabon and Malawi, the effort is democratization.
certainly worthwhile. For the most part, however, Decalo's With regard to empirical depth, Linz and Stepan are more
discussion of the politics of these countries does not reveal ambitious than Diamond. Their book is divided into four
how such politics uniquely foster the civil-military stability parts; the five-chapter "Theoretical Overview" is followed by
that has eluded dozens of other African countries. three regional sections. Part 2, on southern Europe, features
It turns out that the expectations developed from reading chapter-length case studies of democratization in Spain,
the cover and chapter titles of the book remain largely Portugal, and Greece. Part 3, on South America, covers
unfulfilled. One does not learn how the nascent process of Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. Part 4, on postcommunist
redemocratization in the continent can be kept safe from Europe, examines Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, USSR/Russia,
praetorian (mis)adventurers. Except perhaps in the peculiar Estonia, and Latvia. Part 4 is the longest section, occupying
case of countries that rely on France for protection against nearly half the book, and is the most original and interesting,
military rule, the "unstable majority" bountifully deploys given the ample secondary literatures on the other two
such antidemocratic tactics as authoritarianism, bribery, cor- regions. Although approximately 80% of the book is devoted
ruption, nepotism, unaccountability, repression, and eco- to the case studies, that material is impressively well con-
nomic mismanagement. The book asks the right questions, nected to the conceptual introduction, thus bridging the gap
but the reader awaits more rigorous comparative treatment. between theory and exposition that is often found in such
ambitious projects. Linz and Stepan move easily among
historical legacies, social-structural contexts, and the play-by-
Developing Democracy: Toward Consolidation. By Larry play of contemporary transitions in each country, building a
Diamond. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University set of case studies of remarkable depth and richness.
Press, 1999. 261p. $55.00. In contrast, Diamond does not rely on country-based
Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation: studies and is more thematic in treating the conditions for
Southern Europe, South America, and Post-Communist sustainable democracy, with a focus on such undertheorized
Europe. By Juan J. Linz and Alfred Stepan. Baltimore, variables as political culture and the relationship between
MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996. 479p. $55.00 polity size and democracy. Another major difference between
cloth, $18.95 paper. the two books is the level of analysis, which for Diamond is
global. He is much more interested in democratization as a
Timothy J. Power, Florida International University world-historical phenomenon, asking whether the third wave
In recent years, the global advance of polyarchy has fostered is over and under what conditions there might be a fourth.
the integration of comparative politics by encouraging area In the analytical and conceptual domain, there are crucial
specialists to look outside their regions and examine the differences in how democratization is problematized, as
process of democratization in a truly comparative and cross- reflected in the respective titles. Linz and Stepan examine
regional fashion for the first time. More important, the both democratic transition and consolidation, whereas Dia-
maturation of the literature on the third wave of democrati- mond is exclusively concerned with the latter. Linz and
zation (which is now older than the undergraduates reading Stepan extend their focus retroactively to the preceding
about it) has made possible the emergence of some truly nondemocratic regimes in each case, offering a wide-angle
cumulative efforts to make sense of this phenomenon. lens on the dynamics of political change. An updating of
The two books under review are easily the best of these Linz's classic typology of nondemocratic regimes (chap. 3)
new integrative and cumulative efforts. Topically, they are figures prominently in the theoretical framework; in fact, this
comprehensive introductions to the general phenomenon of book has nearly as much to say about authoritarianism[s] as
democratization, superseding such earlier landmark studies it does about democracy. As one would expect, Linz and
as O'Donnell, Schmitter, and Whitehead's Transitions from Stepan's more case-driven approach facilitates this greater
Authoritarian Rule (1986) and Huntington's The Third Wave historical sensitivity; in some cases their reach extends back

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American Political Science Review
to earlier historical episodes of democracy, which allows
them to examine prior experience as an independent variable
in explaining contemporary processes, particularly in the
lesser known East European cases. Diamond, in contrast,
states explicitly that his book "picks up where Huntington's
[The Third Wave] left off' (p. xi). Huntington successfully
explained how and why thirty countries transitioned to de-
mocracy between 1974 and 1990. Diamond, picking up the
trail, seeks to know whether these new democracies will be
sustainable, that is, whether they will "consolidate."
The concept of democratic consolidation is controversial
and contested. Recent critics pronounce it tautological, tele-
ological, and impossible to operationalize. To raise the topic
at all is to enter a theoretical minefield, but to their credit, the
authors do not shrink from the challenge. Linz and Stepan
immediately pose an ideal-type definition of consolidation;
democracy becomes "the only game in town" in three major
dimensions: behavioral, attitudinal, and constitutional. The
use of an ideal type relieves them from attempting contro-
versial "threshold" operationalizations; rather, they analyze
the "crafting" of consolidation in each country-case and
make considered, qualitative judgments about the direction
of change in each of the three dimensions.
Whereas Linz and Stepan dispense with the consolidation
debate in their very brief first chapter, Diamond undertakes
a far more nuanced and reflective discussion of the concept
(chap. 3). His model of democratic consolidation is broadly
similar to that of Linz and Stepan but is more formalized.
Democratic consolidation takes place in two dimensions-
norms and behavior—on three levels. The first level is top
elites and decision makers; the second is intermediating
organizations, such as parties, unions, and interest groups;
the third is the mass public. This conceptual scheme yields an
elegant two-by-three matrix for ordering the data. Diamond
argues that "when all six of these cells show substantial
normative commitment to democracy and behavioral compli-
ance with its rule and limits, democracy is consolidated" (pp.
68-9). His discussion of exactly what to look for in these cells
is considerably more concrete, direct, and user-friendly than
the comparable material in Linz and Stepan. For example,
the assertions that mass support for democracy should reach
the level of 70-75% in public opinion polls, and that active
rejection of democracy should not exceed 15%, may be
"arbitrary," as Diamond admits, but at least this brings us
closer to a usable yardstick for measuring consolidation.
Unlike Linz and Stepan, Diamond explicitly recognizes
some of the recent criticisms of the democratic consolidation
concept and thoughtfully rebuts them. He also develops an
interesting typology of nonconsolidated democracies, re-
gimes that meet minimal definitions of polyarchy but clearly
do not fit his model of consolidation, and illustrates how the
external contours of these regimes may deceive analysts.
Thus, Diamond's theoretical treatment of consolidation im-
proves considerably on the Linz and Stepan effort, and it is
one of the finest available introductions to this thorny topic.
Yet, Diamond's more global, conceptual, and future-oriented
framework means that his empirical examples are less well
developed than the rich, mature case studies of Linz and
Stepan.
Each book trumpets a series of independent variables
considered crucial to successful democratization. The choices
are foreshadowed in the earlier work of these distinguished
scholars. For Linz and Stepan, some of the key factors are the
nature of the prior nondemocratic regime, legitimacy and the
global Zeitgeist, civil-military relations, effective citizenship,
civil society, and the presence of a "usable state." They place
considerable emphasis on "stateness," linking this variable to
Vol. 94, No. 3
nationalism and ethnic heterogeneity, most effectively in
their treatment of Spain and in their paired comparison of
Estonia and Latvia. Diamond agrees with several of these
theoretical emphases—particularly on civil society, which
merits an entire chapter—but gives much more weight to
culture, values, and mass opinion. His chapter 5, on the role
of political culture in democratic consolidation, is a tour de
force, capable of causing the most committed anticulturalists
to rethink their views. This chapter is by far the most
empirically impressive in his book, drawing on cutting-edge
public opinion research from several continents.
Diamond also gives substantial attention to the transna-
tional dimension of democratization.
Perhaps the most distinctive feature of the third wave is
the considerable contribution that international actors
have made to democratic development by enhancing the
resources, skills, techniques, ideas, linkages, and legitimacy
of civil society organizations, civic education efforts, the
mass media, legislatures, local governments, judicial sys-
tems, political parties, and election commissions in the
developing and postcommunist worlds" (p. 272).
His final chapter is devoted to the need to fortify these
linkages so as to secure the continued advance of democracy
in the coming century. For Diamond, a continuous agenda of
democratic reform is as healthy and as necessary for long-
established polyarchies as it is for nascent democracies. If
both groups of countries can pursue such an agenda simul-
taneously, a fourth wave might be generated. As Diamond
notes, however, the third wave taught us to expect the
unexpected.
In summary, these two excellent books represent the state
of the art in the study of global democratization. Taken
together, they encompass an exhaustive panoply of variables,
debates, and empirical referents that should be digested by
anyone interested in democratic change. Any shortcomings
lie in their minimal attention to the role of macroeconomic
policy and performance in achieving democratic sustainabil-
ity, a lacuna best filled by Haggard and Kaufman's The
Political Economy of Democratic Transitions (1995). Both
volumes are likely to become classics in the field of compar-
ative politics. Not only will they take their deserved places on
the shelves of scholars, but also they may be used quite
profitably in the classroom. Problems of Democratic Transi-
tion and Consolidation is certainly a must for a wide range of
graduate seminars. Developing Democracy, written in a more
accessible and practical style, is better suited for undergrad-
uates. Reading Diamond's book as he intended it, in con-
junction with Huntington's The Third Wave, would provide
students with an unparalleled overview of democratization in
the late twentieth century and beyond.
Capitalism Russian-Style. By Thane Gustafson. New York:
Cambridge University Press, 1999. 264p. $54.95 cloth,
$19.95 paper.
Timothy Frye, Ohio State University
Few observers are better prepared to comment on the
transformation of the Russian economy than Thane
Gustafson. A self-described old Soviet hand, he has spent the
last decade analyzing economic developments in Russia both
as an academic and as a consultant to some of the largest oil
companies in the world. He has traveled widely in the region
and has interviewed many of the important players on the
Russian economic stage. This background gives him a keen
sensitivity to the context in which economic reforms have
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