THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE STUDY OF DEMOCRATIC CONSOLIDATION: DEFINITION OF THE CONCEPT

Abstract

The article systematizes the scientific discussion around approaches to the study of democratic consolidation and its definitions. The main approaches to determining democratic consolidation by J. Linz & A. Stepan, A. Shedler, S. Huntington, G. O’Donnell, R. Gunther, Y. Puhle & N. Diamandouros, G. Alexander, F. Schmitter, S. Valenzuela, A. Przeworski, J. Higley & M. Burton, L. Diamond, S. Hanson and I. Titar are analyzed. The approaches of D. Collier and A. Shedler to the classification of definitions of democratic consolidation in modern political theory are considered. The approaches to defining democratic consolidation are compared and it is substantiated that today in political science the actor-centered approach to understanding the consolidation of democracy dominates, the main focus of which is the analysis of the behavior of political actors. A general definition of the consolidation of democracy as a process of stabilization and strengthening of a democratic regime, as well as an operational definition as a process whereby democracy becomes a single universally recognized and legitimized practice, manifested through persistent behavioral and institutional commitment to democratic norms and procedures, are given.