The Problem Of National Integration In Democratization

In 1974, Carnation Revolution terminated the authoritarian regime of Portugal, and then evoked democratization of many countries. These branches of democratization interflowed and formed so called the third wave of democratization. The wave has enhanced influence of democratic value and institution, and weakened suppression on underprivileged national minorities. But, in many multination states the course and consequence of democratization demonstrates that the third wave in later period is becoming increasingly weak. The tendency can be reflected on following three dimensions. First, the Soviet Union and Turkey constituted vote-oriented political institution, but did not include protection and coordination of national rights into the agenda of political transformation. The latter even has been excluding rights of national minorities from political system. Besides, although the wave has promoted some countries’ political transformation, has not made Turkey and Spain get rid of national conflict and decision-making misplay on national integration. What’s more, in democratization, the lack of national rights-protecting institution, and the decision-making misplay, opens the valve of national conflict, which impacts the system of politics and sovereignty.National problem brought about by democratization, must be resolved by democratic system. In early stage of democratization, Spain underwent eruption of national claims and decline of stability of sovereignty, but with the improvement of democratic institution, has been enhancing multiple rights-protecting function in political institution. Consequently, it has restrained extremalization of national relation and movement, and achieved the stability and integrity of sovereignty.The thesis consists of six chapters. The first two chapters research basic concepts and mechanism of national integration and separation in democratization. The third, fourth and fifth chapter analyzes national integration or separation mechanism in the Soviet Union, Spain and Turkey respectively. The last chapter elaborates national integration mechanism generated by democratic system, according to above case study.The first chapter discusses the concepts of democracy, democratization, nation, national integration, and so on. On the foundation of value of human and civic rights, modern democracy can be defined that it is rights-oriented political institution, which can protect equal, extensive human and civic rights in public domain and private realm. By means of the definition of democracy, the paper demonstrates that democratization is process of political transformation and development, in which human and civic rights are becoming increasingly equal and extensive. We do not deny the political subject dimension of nation, but do not equate nation with state and people. In the context of democratization, national integration is course and result that in one country, national minorities and majorities approve and support integrity of the sovereignty and fundamental legitimacy of political system, on the basis of protection of multiple rights.In the second chapter, integration-obstructing mechanism in democratization is analyzed. First, it is suppression-weakening mechanism. Democratization weakens institutionalized suppression on national minorities from authoritarian regime. At the same time, the national multiple claims ensue, national equality, national autonomy and even national independence. When political elites guiding political transformation have not utilized protecting and coordinating institution to fill the vacuum of regulation, national movement, even national separation will obstruct democratization and national integration. Besides, it is national rights-rejecting mechanism. In multination state with strong national autonomous consciousness, because of one-sided comprehension on country’s history and democracy, political elites not only duplicate political development mode and western majoritarian democracy in their own country, but also utilize civic nationalism and classical liberalism to construct political relationship between nation and state, national minorities and majorities. These tools and strategies of state and democracy-building lead to repulsion of national rights and national injustice. Finally, it is eruption of national claims mechanism. Institutional transformation and consolidation dimension of democratization is full with uncertainty. In the process, multiple subjects with political power have to experiment on deconstruction of old system and construction of new institution gradually, on basis of multilateral compromise, while do not decide all process and institution in one time. Consequently, existing old institution and value conflicts with intense eruption of national claims from fissure of system. The time difference and conflict affects national integration negatively.The third chapter elaborates the national suppression-reducing mechanism which the Soviet Union underwent in democratization. By means of forcible annexation of many countries and nations, the Soviet Union constructed a huge country. Under the pressure of democratic awareness, national autonomous consciousness, revolution and regime legitimacy, the Soviet Union utilized the form of republics-alliance to arrange political system of union. However, as a matter of fact the fictitious national federalism not only deprived republics and nations of autonomy and culture rights, equal qualification of sharing union power and individual national rights, but also intensified centralization of authority. The process was accumulating the potential energy of republics and nations regaining independence and withdrawing loyalty to union. When suppression on them and legitimacy of union declined, in virtue of national rights from legal text and problem of national injustice, national and political elites from republics mobilized contentious politics against union and then propelled legalization and institutionalization of national independence and union separation.The fourth chapter researches national rights-rejecting mechanism in Turkey. Before republic was instituted, national minority(Kurd) had formed autonomous consciousness in relatively tolerant political atmosphere. After World War I, as vanquished country, Turkey had to undertake national exchange, national regrouping and country segmentation, in the name of national self-determination. Under influence of the history of national self-determination and the pattern of western nation state-building, Kemal Atatürk constructed nation-homogeneous country by means of Turkish nationalism. On the one hand, Kemalism denies independent national identity and correlative rights of Kurd. On the other hand, it assimilates Kurd into Turks with coercive force. These tools and strategies have not tamed Kurd, and on the contrary promoted the development of Kurdish nationalism. In democratization of Turkey,national rights-rejecting mechanism has been existing in state ideology and political process obdurately and provoking Kurd’s claiming rights in virtue of violent attack, political participation and international movement. It has been impairing legitimacy and national integration efficacy of Turkish democracy.In the fifth chapter, we concentrate on study of eruption of national claims mechanism in Spain. Before Franco regime, kings utilized “Internal appeasement” to compress free space of national minorities. But in the lack of strong central power, they were not able to deprive them of conventional right of autonomy completely. Besides, weak and transitory republic legalized and institutionalized their right of autonomy Before Spanish civil war. In the path of state construction, national minorities formed national claims of multi-polarization. After civil war, Franco constructed the first uniform authoritarian regime in Spanish history, and by means of the regime deprived national monorrity of rights. In democratization after Franco’s death, national claims of multi-polarization erupted in free political space, and struck sovereignty and political order. Although Spanish democratization was guided by political elites, its key process and institutional arrangement not only gained solid and extensive the public opinion foundation, but also responded to and was responsible to national claims and rights. Consequently, Spanish democracy has achieved political transformation and consolidated national integration.In the final chapter, the national integration efficacy of democracy is expounded. The process of democratization can bring about national separation mechanism, but democracy is not the root of national politics dilemma. In fact, it is national suppression against democratic value before democratic period and in democratization that hampers rights-oriented national integration in political transformation and development. Outset and advance of democratization tends to induce the instability of political relationship of nation, while inclusive and equitable democracy is more beneficial to rights-oriented national integration, compared with other kinds of political system. Democracy of inclusion eliminates institutionalized national suppression, and prevents national conflict from becoming violent and advancing towards separatism, in virtue of deciding basic principle of rights-distribution, balancing multi-identity of national members, and subduing extremalization of national politics. Among these mechanisms, the first one is nuclear, which founds the ethical foundation of democratic institution and determines rights-coordinating tenet. The latter two mechanisms transform the ethical foundation and the tenet into feasible institutional arrangement and indispensable function of political system.