On the Tasks of a Democratic Opposition

UNTIL RECENTLY, MOST STUDIES OF THE GROWTH OF DEMOCRACY HAVE BEEN FOCUSED ON ITS EMERGENCE FROM TRADITIONAL OLIGARCHIES OR ABSOLUTE MONARCHIES OVER THE LAST TWO CENTURIES IN EUROPE, OR TO THE PROBLEM OF DEMOCRACY IN THE CONTEXT OF DECOLONIZATION. THIS ESSAY IS BASED ON THE EXPERIENCE OF AUTHORITARIAN REGIMES IN COUNTRIES LIKE CHILE, BRAZIL, URUGUAY, SOUTH KOREA AND THE PHILIPPINES, AND THE RECENT BREAKDOWNS OF COMMUNIST REGIMES IN EASTERN EUROPE. WHAT IS STUDIED HERE IS NOT MERELY THE FINAL COLLAPSE OR OVERTHROW OF AUTHORITARIAN REGIMES, BUT THE INCREMENTAL PROCESS OF "AUTHORITARIAN EROSION" AND THE OPPOSITION'S CONTRIBUTION TO IT. THIS REQUIRES A DYNAMIC ANALYSIS BOTH OF RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN THE AUTHORITARIAN REGIME AND OF THE MULTIPLE FUNCTIONS OR TASKS OF THE OPPOSITION.