The Fall Of The Berlin Wall: The Rise Of Democracy

Learning about the different studies on corruption and its effects on a regime gives us a better understanding of why such malpractice is bad for a transitioning government. The fall of the Berlin Wall peaked the rise of democracy (Coleman and Lawson-Remer, 2013). Many nations from East Europe, Africa, and Latin America transitioned from autocracy to a democratic state. The United States economic success and military dominance provided a module for many of these nations to follow or aspire to reach. While there have been a lot of democratic propaganda by the West, recent economists have tended to support the theory that democracy provides a better environment for economic growth (Coleman and Lawson-Remer, 2013). The reason being is that democracy is believed to “encourage inclusive growth”, “double down on the rule of law” and spread out the power of the ruling class. While the promise of democracy created an exciting period for the transitioning institutions, the movement has

However, corruption is the biggest detriment of such transition. Contrary to the popular believe that economic growth triggers institutional change, recent studies actually shows that economic crisis is the trigger to regime change (Coleman and Lawson-Remer, 2013). This was the case in Brazil, in which “a structural economic crisis in the 1980s paved the way for its transition from military government to democracy” (Coleman and Lawson-Remer, 2013). And similarly in Mexico, where the 1982 debt crisis triggered political and economic change (Coleman and Lawson-Remer, 2013). These finding is important because it hints to why there has been a stall in the amount of countries transitioning to democracy. The high level of corruption in newly democratic nations have significantly slowed down the economic growth of the nations which has caused the disappointment in the democratic