Assessing Dynamics of Democratisation (PDF)

advanced on the democratic trail, has become a major industry. And western scholars do the utmost to influence policy makers and funding agencies by offering their own notions of democracy, and telling them what the state of democracy in 'this' or in 'that' country is, and what it should be. In many ways Dynamics of Democratization significantly departs from these, by now, exhausted formulae. Recognizing that people (in this case Indonesians) live and work in contexts that are shaped by political institutions, the argument simultaneously recognizes that acts of political agents sculpt and reconstitute, in noteworthy ways, the context. The recognition that political agency is both constrained as well as enabled by political contexts, and that political institutions influence as well are mediated by political agents, will impact studies of democratization, and methodologies for assessing democracy in a country, in times to come." - Neera Chandhoke, Professor emeritus of Political Science Delhi University; senior fellow Nehru Memorial Library and Museum

"Törnquist does three things in this book. First, he provides a clear and succinct critique of narrowly institutionalist assessments of democracy. Second, synthesizing a wide range of literature, he builds an alternative framework for assessing actual, living, transforming democracies. Third, drawing from his own deep immersion in the Indonesian case and a long resume of comparative scholarship, he puts his frame to work and offers a concise analysis of Indonesia's young democracy. The book has the rare quality of providing a sobering picture of the challenges of democratization even as it sharpens our analytical tools and points to alternative possibilities." - Patrick Heller, Professor of Sociology and International Studies, Brown University

"This volume provides refreshing insights into how the quality of democracy assessments could improve by becoming more action oriented and by empowering democratic actors of change, while retaining academic rigor. A must read for policymakers and practitioners alike." - Helena Bjuremalm, International IDEA, formerly Senior Democracy Advisor with Sida, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency)