Democratic changes through Dominant Parties: the cases of Federal India, Malaysia, and Mexico

Abstract

This article analyzes the dynamics of democratization in India, Malaysia and Mexico. Over the past decade, these countries, which have been governed by dominant parties, adopted or reinvigorated democratic practices. Unlike the predictions that postulated that democratization often occurs in a context of party competition, the article discusses existing mechanisms in dominant party systems that force the ruling party to encourage political transformations as a survival strategy. These three cases reveal that the growing political opposition at the local level was a determining factor behind the adoption of democratizing measures by dominant parties. Therefore, the article builds on the relationship between democratization and local opposition in dominant party systems.