Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction: Puzzling Trends in Waves of Contention
- 2 A New Theory of Political Diffusion: Cognitive Heuristics and Organizational Development
- 3 Organizational Development and Changing Modes of Democratic Contention
- 4 The Tsunami of 1848: Precipitous Diffusion in Inchoate Societies
- 5 The Delayed Wave of 1917–1919: Organizational Leaders as Guides of Targeted Contention
- 6 The Slow but Potent “Third Wave” in South America: The Prevalence of Negotiated Transitions
- 7 Crosscurrents of the Third Wave: Interorganizational Competition and Negotiation in Chile
- 8 Theoretical Conclusions and Comparative Perspectives
- Bibliography
- Name Index
- Subject Index
2 - A New Theory of Political Diffusion: Cognitive Heuristics and Organizational Development
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2014
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction: Puzzling Trends in Waves of Contention
- 2 A New Theory of Political Diffusion: Cognitive Heuristics and Organizational Development
- 3 Organizational Development and Changing Modes of Democratic Contention
- 4 The Tsunami of 1848: Precipitous Diffusion in Inchoate Societies
- 5 The Delayed Wave of 1917–1919: Organizational Leaders as Guides of Targeted Contention
- 6 The Slow but Potent “Third Wave” in South America: The Prevalence of Negotiated Transitions
- 7 Crosscurrents of the Third Wave: Interorganizational Competition and Negotiation in Chile
- 8 Theoretical Conclusions and Comparative Perspectives
- Bibliography
- Name Index
- Subject Index
Summary
What explains the surprising trends highlighted in this volume, namely the historical slowdown in the diffusion of political regime contention and its increasing success? What underlies the negative correlation between these two developments? This chapter first demonstrates the insufficiency of explanations derived from various extant approaches. Then it develops a new argument that, resting on cognitive-psychological micro-foundations, highlights political-organizational macro-developments.
The first section shows that neither hypotheses about shrinking distances among countries nor about deepening gulfs between them can account for the observed changes in diffusion patterns. The former, derived from modernization and network theories, predict acceleration, not deceleration; and the latter, based on theories of nationalism, expect diminishing rather than increasing success. Specifically, modernization and globalization have produced a much “smaller” world where information circulates amply and instantaneously. How do these trends square with the slowdown of diffusion? Alternatively, as nations stress their unique identity, they should become more immune to external inspirations that are increasingly perceived as foreign and therefore inapplicable.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Making WavesDemocratic Contention in Europe and Latin America since the Revolutions of 1848, pp. 35 - 77Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2014