An unprecedented number of transitions to democracy swept across the globe beginning in 1974 with Portugal’s Revolution of the Carnations. This “third wave” of democratization, so named by famed political scientist Samuel P. Huntington, lasted until the mid-2000s when strongman rule once again began to rise.
In the April issue of the Journal of Democracy, leading scholars reassess the third wave, its underlying assumptions, and the lessons we should take from democracy’s advance and retreat over the last half-century.
The Authoritarian Origins of the Third Wave
The “third wave” of democracy started in 1974 — or so the story goes. But the crests and crashes of waves of democracy and authoritarianism have been neglected. A close look can help us understand the current moment, when democracy appears to be in retreat.
Dan SlaterNeoliberalism and the Third Wave
Democracy across the world is being undermined by the very forces that once made it possible: the liberal economic order and political competition. The global concentration of wealth has made democratic governance less effective and stripped the people of their power.
Rachel Beatty RiedlThe Third Wave’s Lessons for Democracy
When the “third wave” reached Latin America in the 1970s and 1980s, it brought major advances for democracy. By the first decade of the current century, however, advances had given way to stasis and even erosion.
Scott MainwaringPlus:
Getting Over the Third Wave
Samuel Huntington’s classic theory offered a new way of understanding democracy’s global trajectory. But amid rising populism and aggressive authoritarian states, has Huntington’s thesis outlived its usefulness?
Marc F. Plattner
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