How development leads to democracy: what we know about modernization.

• Author: Lefes, William S.
• Position: Viewpoint essay

In their article in Foreign Affairs the authors, professors of political science in Michigan and Germany, respectively, missed an opportunity to tie development as an adjunct to the establishment of democratic institutions. Development merely enhances their establishment; alone, it does not alter the potential within societies to become democratic. Therefore, much of our foreign aid did little to bring about the type of democratic institution building that we had hoped to achieve. We talk a big game, but within our wildest imaginations we knew then and should know now that democratic institutions are a long way off for many countries in the developing world. The Marshall Plan, which is often cited as evidence that foreign aid is the key to modernization, unfortunately does not apply to most developing countries.

I say this because we have learned that culture is central to the establishment of democratic institutions. Since the 1950s we have learned that some cultures in which we have invested billions of dollars do not have the social or political aptitudes necessary to grow democratic institutions. In others the process is slow because all of the elements necessary to establish democratic institutions are not in place, e.g., political and social institutions. Afghanistan and Iraq are excellent examples of this condition. Ghana and several other African states are examples of cultures that can benefit from foreign aid and can emerge as democratic entities in time. Vietnam in the 1970s also exhibited the traits of a nation capable of emerging as a democratic society because of the cultural traits of its people. The rise of the...