Democratic Anomalies: the Factors of Emergence and Survival of Democratic Regimes under Unfavourable Regional Conditions

The aim of this study is revealing of key factors that have spawned democratic trajectory of regime transformation in unfavorable regional context. On the sample of 25 countries located in regions with disadvantageous neighborhood conditions for overcoming this condition are analyzed. Data collection and analysis are twofold and include factors of emergence of democratic regimes and their current survival. Insights from qualitative comparative analysis are further checked and broadened in case studies of typical and deviant cases. We argue that starting process of democratization is possible under different and even contradicting sets of conditions and struggle for survival in the unfavorable context makes democracy more salient and stable. Longer democratic tradition reduces importance of socio-economic factors of consolidation. We also emphasize the higher risks of unfavorable regional context for consolidation and survival of democracy because anti-democratic values and attitudes are subject to regional diffusion.