Abstracts Economics

Socioeconomic Change and Democratization in Mexico

by Suvi Kumpulainen

This paper studies democratization in Mexico. There is no attempt to define when Mexico is to democratize, if ever, but the principal assumption is that Mexico is in a transitional phase between authoritarianism and democracy. The research problem is not the possible future consolidation of a democratic order in Mexico, but the effects that socioeconomic development can have on the political system. This case study uses both quantitative data (statistics) and qualitative data. The principal theory used is Martin Seymour Lipset's classical comparative study Political Man (1960). Lipset studied the connection between socioeconomic development and democratic political order by analysing wealth, industrialization, urbanization and level of education in relation to the democratic or authoritarian nature of the political system. The intention of this study is to find out how Lipset's theory explains democratic development in today's Mexico, and to find out if there are other factors that could affect this democratization. The definition of the complex phenomenon of democratization is based on Samuel P. Huntington's work The Third Wave (1991). The Mexican political system and society have been presented relatively widely basing on various articles, many of them written by Latin American writers. Trends in socioeconomic development do not explain the present democratization in Mexico. Despite of the economic growth, the socioeconomic development in Mexico has not advanced and the social inequality is growing. Still Mexico is democratizing, which suggests that explanations should be looked elsewhere. Lipset's analysis from the year 1960 is still useful in the late 1990s but some parts of his study need to be updated. This is especially so with factors like industrialization and urbanization, which for instance in Mexico, have created social problems instead of promoting democratization. New factors that need to be incorporated in this type of studies on democratization are the international dimension and the level of activity of the civil society. Endast avhandlingens sammandrag. Pappersexemplaret av hela avhandlingen finns för läsesalsbruk i Statsvetenskapliga biblioteket (Unionsgatan 35). Dessa avhandlingar fjärrutlånas endast som microfiche. Abstract only. The paper copy of the whole thesis is available for reading room use at the Library of Social Sciences (Unioninkatu 35) . Microfiche copies of these theses are available for interlibrary loans. Vain tiivistelmä. Opinnäytteiden sidotut arkistokappaleet ovat luettavissa HY:n keskustakampuksen valtiotieteiden kirjastossa (Unioninkatu 35). Opinnäytteitä lainataan ainoastaan mikrokortteina kirjaston kaukopalvelun välityksellä