Demokratisering i Latinamerika : En jämförande fallstudie av Venezuela och Costa Rica mellan 2000-2010

Sammanfattning: The objective of this essay is to examine which democratization factors that have contributed to the success of the democratization process in Costa Rica but not in Venezuela between 2000 and 2010. The theoretical framework is based on Juan Linz and Alfred Stepans five interactive arenas for a consolidated democracy. The methodology of this essay is composed of a comparative case study, which includes a most similar systems-design method. The choice of Costa Rica and Venezuela is based on their similarities in both history, culture, language and geographical location, but which have nevertheless led to such different successes in democratization between the years 2000-2010. The results show that all the five arenas have been contributing factors, while actors have played a major role in the countries various democratic developments. Costa Rica meets the requirements for all the selected democratization factors while Venezuela does not fully meet the requirements for any of them.