Democratic breakdown and democratic stability: A comparison of interwar Estonia and Finland

Canadian Journal of Political Science

Volumn 32, Issue 1, 1999, Pages 103-124

  Siaroff, Alan ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE   (Canada)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0033411293     PISSN: 00084239     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/s0008423900010118     Document Type: Article

References (120)

1. Samuel P. Huntington, The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1991), 37-38.
2. The relationship between development and democratization is most associated with the work of Seymour Martin Lipset, going back to his "Some Social Requisites of Democracy: Economic Development and Political Legitimacy," American Political Science Review 53 (1959), 69-105. However, Przeworski and Limongi have concluded (for the post-1945 era) that whereas the level of economic development relates to the stability of a democratic regime, it does not affect the probability of a transition to democracy (Adam Przeworski and Fernando Limongi, "Modernization: Theories and Facts," World Politics 49 [1997], 155-83).
3. The relationship between development and democratization is most associated with the work of Seymour Martin Lipset, going back to his "Some Social Requisites of Democracy: Economic Development and Political Legitimacy," American Political Science Review 53 (1959), 69-105. However, Przeworski and Limongi have concluded (for the post-1945 era) that whereas the level of economic development relates to the stability of a democratic regime, it does not affect the probability of a transition to democracy (Adam Przeworski and Fernando Limongi, "Modernization: Theories and Facts," World Politics 49 [1997], 155-83).
4. Robert A. Dahl, Democracy and Its Critics (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989), 251.
5. Ibid., 251-52; and Tatu Vanhanen, The Emergence of Democracy: A Comparative Study of 119 States, 1850-1979 (Helsinki: The Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters, 1984), 33.
6. Ibid., 251-52; and Tatu Vanhanen, The Emergence of Democracy: A Comparative Study of 119 States, 1850-1979 (Helsinki: The Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters, 1984), 33.
7. Larry Diamond, Juan J. Linz and Seymour Martin Lipset, "Introduction: What Makes for Democracy?" in Diamond, Linz and Lipset, eds., Politics in Developing Countries: Comparing Experiences with Democracy (2nd ed.; Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 1995), 27-29.
8. Ibid., 19.
9. Huntington, The Third Wave, 37, 39.
10. Diamond, Linz and Lipset, "Introduction," 16-19.
11. Robert A. Dahl, Polyarchy: Participation and Opposition (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1971), 129-62; and Dahl, Democracy and Its Critics, 260-62.
12. Robert A. Dahl, Polyarchy: Participation and Opposition (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1971), 129-62; and Dahl, Democracy and Its Critics, 260-62.
13. Dahl, Polyarchy, 40-43.
14. Juan J. Linz, The Breakdown of Democratic Regimes: Crisis, Breakdown, and Reequilibration (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1978), 21.
15. Samuel E. Finer, The Man on Horseback: The Role of the Military in Politics (2nd ed.; Boulder: Westview Press, 1988), 78-80.
16. Dahl, Polyarchy, 33-39.
17. Dahl, Democracy and Its Critics, 254-60; and Arend Lijphart, Democracy in Plural Societies: A Comparative Exploration (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1977).
18. Dahl, Democracy and Its Critics, 254-60; and Arend Lijphart, Democracy in Plural Societies: A Comparative Exploration (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1977).
19. Diamond, Linz and Lipset, "Introduction," 33-36.
20. Ibid., 48-52; Dahl, Democracy and Its Critics, 263; and Huntington, The Third Wave, 100.
21. Ibid., 48-52; Dahl, Democracy and Its Critics, 263; and Huntington, The Third Wave, 100.
22. Ibid., 48-52; Dahl, Democracy and Its Critics, 263; and Huntington, The Third Wave, 100.
23. Eight flaws noted are: the individual president is by definition elected in a zero-sum "winner-take-all" contest; often with only a plurality of (public) support; the losing candidate(s) lose more, and they lack the position of an opposition parliamentary leader; the president is elected for a fixed term, usually of six years, and cannot be removed if unpopular or incompetent; in the case of death, the presidency is immediately transferred to the then-vice president, who may be similarly flawed, or even more so; the president and the congress can be hostile forces, yet each can claim the legitimacy of democratic election; the inability to re-elect a given president makes that person unaccountable, and may also be frustrating in the case of a good president; and a presidential system - like single-member-plurality voting - effectively "compresses" the party system into less than three main parties, which is not desirable for heterogeneous societies (Juan J. Linz, "Presidential or Parliamentary Democracy: Does It Make a Difference?" in Juan J. Linz and Arturo Valenzuela, eds., Comparative Perspectives, vol. 1 of The Failure of Presidential Democracy [Baltimore: Johns Hopkms University Press 1994]). The cited conclusion is from page 70.
24. Eight flaws noted are: the individual president is by definition elected in a zero-sum "winner-take-all" contest; often with only a plurality of (public) support; the losing candidate(s) lose more, and they lack the position of an opposition parliamentary leader; the president is elected for a fixed term, usually of six years, and cannot be removed if unpopular or incompetent; in the case of death, the presidency is immediately transferred to the then-vice president, who may be similarly flawed, or even more so; the president and the congress can be hostile forces, yet each can claim the legitimacy of democratic election; the inability to re-elect a given president makes that person unaccountable, and may also be frustrating in the case of a good president; and a presidential system - like single-member-plurality voting - effectively "compresses" the party system into less than three main parties, which is not desirable for heterogeneous societies (Juan J. Linz, "Presidential or Parliamentary Democracy: Does It Make a Difference?" in Juan J. Linz and Arturo Valenzuela, eds., Comparative Perspectives, vol. 1 of The Failure of Presidential Democracy [Baltimore: Johns Hopkms University Press 1994]). The cited conclusion is from page 70.
25. The classic definition of semipresidentialism is that of Duverger, who defines it as having three elements: "(1) the president of the republic is elected by universal suffrage; (2) he possesses quite considerable powers; [and] (3) he has opposite him, however, a prime minister and ministers who possess executive and governmental power and can stay in office only if the parliament does not show its opposition to them" (Maurice Duverger, "A New Political System Model: Semi-Presidential Government," European Journal of Political Research 8 [1980], 166).
26. Linz, "Presidential or Parliamentary Democracy," 48-55.
27. Scott Mainwaring, "Presidentialism, Multipartism, and Democracy: The Difficult Combination," Comparative Political Studies 26 (1993), 198-228.
28. Gisèle de Meur and Dirk Berg-Schlosser, "Comparing Political Systems: Establishing Similarities and Dissimilarities," European Journal of Political Research 26 (1994), 198.
29. D. G. Kirby, Finland in the Twentieth Century (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1979), 64.
30. Pekka K. Hamalainen, "Revolution, Civil War, and Ethnic Relations: The Case of Finland," Journal of Baltic Studies 5 (1974), 117-25.
31. Imre Lipping, "The Emergence of Estonian Authoritarianism" in Arvids Ziedonis, Jr. et al., eds., Baltic History (Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1974), 209.
32. Henn-Jüri Uibopuu, "The Constitutional Development of the Estonian Republic," Journal of Baltic Studies 4 (1973), 13.
33. Ibid., 14; and Jackson, Estonia, 166.
34. Ibid., 14; and Jackson, Estonia, 166.
35. Uibopuu, "Constitutional Development," 12.
36. Ibid., 15.
37. David Arter, Politics and Policy-Making in Finland (Brighton: Wheatsheaf Books, 1987), 6-8; and Francis Jacobs, "Finland," in Francis Jacobs, ed., Western European Political Parties: A Comprehensive Guide (Harlow: Longman, 1989), 520ff.
38. David Arter, Politics and Policy-Making in Finland (Brighton: Wheatsheaf Books, 1987), 6-8; and Francis Jacobs, "Finland," in Francis Jacobs, ed., Western European Political Parties: A Comprehensive Guide (Harlow: Longman, 1989), 520ff.
39. Finland is thus the "oldest of the [ongoing] semi-presidential regimes" (Duverger, "A New Political System Model," 174).
40. The Finnish president serves a six-year renewable term; from 1925 until 1988 the standard procedure was a national vote for an electoral college of 300 party-affiliated electors who then voted in multiple ballots until someone had an absolute majority. Parties were free to "make deals" and to change their support between ballots. Only in 1919, 1944, 1946 and (effectively) 1974 was the president selected by parliament rather than an electoral college (Arter, Politics and Policy-Making in Finland, 80-82).
41. Rein Taagepera, Estonia: Return to Independence (Boulder: Westview Press, 1993), 37;
42. and Alvin Isberg, Med demokratin som insats: Politiskt-konstitutionellt maktspel i 1930-talets Estland, Studia Baltica Stockholmiensia 4 (Stockholm: Acta Universitatis Stockholmiensis, 1988), 13.
43. Henry de Chambon, La république d'Estonie (Paris: Éditions de la revue parlementaire, 1936), 119; and Royal Institute of International Affairs, The Baltic States (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1938), 45-48.
44. Henry de Chambon, La république d'Estonie (Paris: Éditions de la revue parlementaire, 1936), 119; and Royal Institute of International Affairs, The Baltic States (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1938), 45-48.
45. Tönu Parming, The Collapse of Liberal Democracy and the Rise of Authoritarianism in Estonia (Beverly Hills: Sage, 1975), 10; and Royal Institue of International Affairs, The Baltic States, 46-47.
46. Tönu Parming, The Collapse of Liberal Democracy and the Rise of Authoritarianism in Estonia (Beverly Hills: Sage, 1975), 10; and Royal Institue of International Affairs, The Baltic States, 46-47.
47. W. E. Nordström, "Agrarförbundets Uppkomst," Granskaren (September 1937), 110-14; and Kari Hokkanen, "Die finnischen Bauernparteien" in Heinz Gollwitzer, ed., Europäische Bauernparteien im 20. Jahrhundert (Stuttgart: C. Gustav Fischer Verlag, 1977), 169-206.
48. W. E. Nordström, "Agrarförbundets Uppkomst," Granskaren (September 1937), 110-14; and Kari Hokkanen, "Die finnischen Bauernparteien" in Heinz Gollwitzer, ed., Europäische Bauernparteien im 20. Jahrhundert (Stuttgart: C. Gustav Fischer Verlag, 1977), 169-206.
49. Hokkanen, "Die finnischen Bauernparteien," 180-83; W. E. Nordström, "Agrarpartiet under Självständighetstiden," Granskaren (April 1938), 58-02.
50. Hokkanen, "Die finnischen Bauernparteien," 180-83; W. E. Nordström, "Agrarpartiet under Självständighetstiden," Granskaren (April 1938), 58-02.
51. John Coakley, "Political Succession and Regime Change in New States in Interwar Europe: Ireland, Finland, Czechoslovakia and the Baltic Republics," European Journal of Political Research 14 (1986), 200.
52. Linz, The Breakdown of Democratic Regimes, 111.
53. Artur Mägi, Das Staatsleben Estlands während seiner Selbständigkeit: 1. Das Regierungssystem (Uppsala: Almqvist and Wiksell, 1967), 234-43; Parming, The Collapse of Liberal Democracy, 14-17; and J. Hampden Jackson, Estonia (2nd ed.; London: Allen and Unwin, 1948), 180-81.
54. Artur Mägi, Das Staatsleben Estlands während seiner Selbständigkeit: 1. Das Regierungssystem (Uppsala: Almqvist and Wiksell, 1967), 234-43; Parming, The Collapse of Liberal Democracy, 14-17; and J. Hampden Jackson, Estonia (2nd ed.; London: Allen and Unwin, 1948), 180-81.
55. Artur Mägi, Das Staatsleben Estlands während seiner Selbständigkeit: 1. Das Regierungssystem (Uppsala: Almqvist and Wiksell, 1967), 234-43; Parming, The Collapse of Liberal Democracy, 14-17; and J. Hampden Jackson, Estonia (2nd ed.; London: Allen and Unwin, 1948), 180-81.
56. Marvin Rintala, Four Finns: Political Profiles (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1969), 50, 76.
57. Risto Alapuro, State and Revolution in Finland (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988), 206-07;
58. and Jorma Kalela, "Right-Wing Radicalism in Finland during the Interwar Period: Perspectives from and an Appraisal of Recent Literature," Scandinavian Journal of History 1 (1976), 112.
59. Royal Institute of International Affairs, The Baltic States, 46; and Lipping, "The Emergence of Estonian Authoritarianism," 210.
60. Royal Institute of International Affairs, The Baltic States, 46; and Lipping, "The Emergence of Estonian Authoritarianism," 210.
61. For example, it was not until July 1933 that the Estonian kroon was finally devalued - and this measure was only narrowly passed (Parming, The Collapse of Liberal Democracy, 43).
62. Georg von Rauch, Geschichte der baltischen Staaten (Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer Verlag 1970), 128-29; Lipping, "The Emergence of Estonian Authoritarianism," 212; and Parming, The Collapse of Liberal Democracy, 39-40.
63. Georg von Rauch, Geschichte der baltischen Staaten (Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer Verlag 1970), 128-29; Lipping, "The Emergence of Estonian Authoritarianism," 212; and Parming, The Collapse of Liberal Democracy, 39-40.
64. Georg von Rauch, Geschichte der baltischen Staaten (Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer Verlag 1970), 128-29; Lipping, "The Emergence of Estonian Authoritarianism," 212; and Parming, The Collapse of Liberal Democracy, 39-40.
65. Isberg, Med demokratin som insats, 33.
66. Jackson, Estonia, 189-90; Parming, The Collapse of Liberal Democracy, 41-42, 51-55; and Uibopuu, "Constitutional Development," 17.
67. Jackson, Estonia, 189-90; Parming, The Collapse of Liberal Democracy, 41-42, 51-55; and Uibopuu, "Constitutional Development," 17.
68. Jackson, Estonia, 189-90; Parming, The Collapse of Liberal Democracy, 41-42, 51-55; and Uibopuu, "Constitutional Development," 17.
69. Isberg, Med demokratin som insats, 40, 158; and Toivo U. Raun, Estonia and the Estonians (Stanford: Hoover Institution Press, 1987), 119.
70. Isberg, Med demokratin som insats, 40, 158; and Toivo U. Raun, Estonia and the Estonians (Stanford: Hoover Institution Press, 1987), 119.
71. Hellmuth Weiss, "Bauernparteien in Estland," in Gollwitzer, ed., Europäische Bauernparteien im 20. Jahrhundert, 207-22.
72. Isberg, Med demokratin som insats, 45, 51; Parming, The Collapse of Liberal Democracy, 55; and Lipping, "The Emergence of Estonian Authoritarianism," 212, 215-16.
73. Isberg, Med demokratin som insats, 45, 51; Parming, The Collapse of Liberal Democracy, 55; and Lipping, "The Emergence of Estonian Authoritarianism," 212, 215-16.
74. Isberg, Med demokratin som insats, 45, 51; Parming, The Collapse of Liberal Democracy, 55; and Lipping, "The Emergence of Estonian Authoritarianism," 212, 215-16.
75. Parming, The Collapse of Liberal Democracy, 56-57; and V. Stanley Vardys, "The Rise of Authoritarian Rule in the Baltic States," in V. Stanley Vardys and Romuald J. Misiunas, eds., The Baltic States in Peace and War, 1917-1945 (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1978), 79.
76. Parming, The Collapse of Liberal Democracy, 56-57; and V. Stanley Vardys, "The Rise of Authoritarian Rule in the Baltic States," in V. Stanley Vardys and Romuald J. Misiunas, eds., The Baltic States in Peace and War, 1917-1945 (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1978), 79.
77. De Chambon, La république d'Estonie, 121; and Jackson, Estonia, 203-04.
78. De Chambon, La république d'Estonie, 121; and Jackson, Estonia, 203-04.
79. Taagepera, Estonia: Return to Independence, 55-56, 75.
80. The upper house, or senate, was a corporatist body of 30 interest representatives including leaders of the military, churches and universities, plus 10 direct presidential appointees. Both houses served a five-year term. Also, the voting age was raised to 22 from a comparatively low 20 (Uibopuu, "Constitutional Development," 23-24, 33 n. 198, 34 n. 217; and Jackson, Estonia, 205-08).
81. The upper house, or senate, was a corporatist body of 30 interest representatives including leaders of the military, churches and universities, plus 10 direct presidential appointees. Both houses served a five-year term. Also, the voting age was raised to 22 from a comparatively low 20 (Uibopuu, "Constitutional Development," 23-24, 33 n. 198, 34 n. 217; and Jackson, Estonia, 205-08).
82. Parming, The Collapse of Liberal Democracy, 60.
83. Kirby, Finland, 85-87; and Risto Alapuro and Eric Allardt, "The Lapua Movement: The Threat of Rightist Takeover in Finland, 1930-32," in Juan J. Linz and Alfred Stepan, eds., The Breakdown of Democratic Regimes: Europe (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press 1978) 132.
84. Kirby, Finland, 85-87; and Risto Alapuro and Eric Allardt, "The Lapua Movement: The Threat of Rightist Takeover in Finland, 1930-32," in Juan J. Linz and Alfred Stepan, eds., The Breakdown of Democratic Regimes: Europe (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press 1978) 132.
85. Krister Wahlbäck, Från Mannerheim till Kekkonen: Huvudlinjer i finländsk politik 1917-1967 (Stockholm: Aldus/Bonniers, 1967), 115; and Kirby, Finland, 85-87.
86. Krister Wahlbäck, Från Mannerheim till Kekkonen: Huvudlinjer i finländsk politik 1917-1967 (Stockholm: Aldus/Bonniers, 1967), 115; and Kirby, Finland, 85-87.
87. Ibid., 241; and Kirby, Finland, 89.
88. Ibid., 241; and Kirby, Finland, 89.
89. Alapuro and Allardt, "The Lapua Movement," 131.
90. This is Linz's term in his The Breakdown of Democratic Regimes, 27ff.
91. Kirby Finland, 89-90.
92. Marvin Rintala, Three Generations: The Extreme Right Wing in Finnish Politics (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1962), 192.
93. Dag Anckar notes that the Finnish political culture at the turn of the century was a paternalistic one. See his Liberalism, Democracy and Political Culture in Finland (Åbo [Turku]: Åbo Akademi, 1983), 10.
94. Alapuro, State and Revolution in Finland, 212-14; and Kalela, "Right-Wing Radicalism in Finland," 120; and Hokkanen, "Die finnischen Bauernparteien," 184.
95. Alapuro, State and Revolution in Finland, 212-14; and Kalela, "Right-Wing Radicalism in Finland," 120; and Hokkanen, "Die finnischen Bauernparteien," 184.
96. Alapuro, State and Revolution in Finland, 212-14; and Kalela, "Right-Wing Radicalism in Finland," 120; and Hokkanen, "Die finnischen Bauernparteien," 184.
97. Göran Djupsund and Lauri Karvonen, Fascismen i Finland: Högerextremismens förankring hos väljarkåren 1929-1939 (Åbo [Turku]: Åbo Akademi, 1983), 18-19.
98. Kirby, Finland, 90-91; and F. L. Carsten, The Rise of Fascism (2nd ed.; Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980), 164-69.
99. Kirby, Finland, 90-91; and F. L. Carsten, The Rise of Fascism (2nd ed.; Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980), 164-69.
100. De Meur and Berg-Schlosser, "Comparing Political Systems," 210.
101. Dahl, Polyarchy, 33-39.
102. Coakley, "Political Succession and Regime Change"; and Taagepera, "Civic Culture and Authoritarianism," 408-09.
103. Coakley, "Political Succession and Regime Change"; and Taagepera, "Civic Culture and Authoritarianism," 408-09.
104. David Kirby, The Baltic World, 1772-1993 (Harlow: Longman, 1995), 328-29.
105. Alapuro, State and Revolution in Finland, 217; and Linz, The Breakdown of Democratic Regimes, 76.
106. Alapuro, State and Revolution in Finland, 217; and Linz, The Breakdown of Democratic Regimes, 76.
107. Vincent E. McHale, "The Party Systems of the Baltic States: A Comparative European Perspective," Journal of Baltic Studies 17 (1986), 308.
108. David Arter, "The Finnish Centre Party: Profile of a 'Hinge Group,'" West European Politics 2 (1979), 108-10.
109. Alapuro, State and Revolution in Finland, 258.
110. Ibid.
111. Parming, The Collapse of Liberal Democracy, 65-66; L. A. Puntila, Politische Geschichte Finnlands 1809-1977, trans. by C.-A. von Willebrand (Helsinki: Otava, 1980), 160-61; and Kirby, Finland, 105. The quotation is given in Puntila, Politische 161 (my translation).
112. Parming, The Collapse of Liberal Democracy, 65-66; L. A. Puntila, Politische Geschichte Finnlands 1809-1977, trans. by C.-A. von Willebrand (Helsinki: Otava, 1980), 160-61; and Kirby, Finland, 105. The quotation is given in Puntila, Politische 161 (my translation).
113. Parming, The Collapse of Liberal Democracy, 65-66; L. A. Puntila, Politische Geschichte Finnlands 1809-1977, trans. by C.-A. von Willebrand (Helsinki: Otava, 1980), 160-61; and Kirby, Finland, 105. The quotation is given in Puntila, Politische 161 (my translation).
114. Dahl, Polyarchy, 192-93.
115. Coakley, "Political Succession and Regime Change," 201; and Alapuro, State and Revolution in Finland, 259.
116. Coakley, "Political Succession and Regime Change," 201; and Alapuro, State and Revolution in Finland, 259.
117. Matthew Soberg Shugart and John M. Carey, Presidents and Assemblies: Constitutional Design and Electoral Dynamics (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992), 157.
118. Duverger, "A New Political System Model," 173-76.
119. Uibopuu, "Constitutional Development," 26-27.
120. Giovanni Sartori, "Neither Presidentialism nor Parliamentarism," in Linz and Valenzuela, eds., The Failure of Presidential Democracy, 109-10.