Microstate Democracy Revisited: Developments in Time and Space

Abstract

Abstract:Research on small state politics suggests that smallness reinforces popular rule and that small states are more likely to be democratic than large states. The mechanisms that serve to transform smallness into democratic conduct remain, however, under-researched, and this study contributes by probing the very foundations of the belief that small size fosters democracy. For smallness really to count, small states should display a propensity for democracy at different points of time and where ever they are on the globe. If this is not the case, then, obviously, the size factor is surpassed by factors that relate to diffusion, culture or to regional circumstances rather than to smallness per se. The empirical findings suggesting that this is indeed the case, the study ends on a general discussion of circumstances that are likely to enhance or weaken the link between small size and democracy.

Attempting constitutional reform on the island microjurisdiction of Alderney

“…Despite this counter-narrative, the positive association between islands and democracy in particular is a recurrent theme in the studies concluding that small states are more likely to be and remain democracies. The characteristics of smallness and islandness are closely connected in the literature, which posits that the features of smallness that lead to democracy are intensified by being an remote, water-bounded state, resulting in small islands being more likely to be democratic (Anckar, 2008: 437). This phenomenon is bolstered by the fact that the smaller a state is, the more likely it is to be an island (Anckar, 2008: 440–441).…”

“…Political scientists Dag and Carsten Anckar (Anckar and Anckar, 1995; Anckar, 2008, 2002, 2010) have traced the long arc of political thought positively connecting small polities and democracy. Ancient Greek philosophers, conceiving of democracy as a participative, direct process, thought that smallness naturally lent itself both to participation in, and control of, government.…”

“…1.5 million or less) provided the enabling conditions for democracy to flourish and that small states were more likely to be and remain democratic than large ones (Ott, 2000: 127). Anckar’s own studies point to increasing levels of democratization within small states over the period 1986–2006 (Anckar, 2008).…”

Problems in paradise? Challenges to future democratization in democratic states

“…One significant difference between Polity and FHI is that the latter includes a larger number of states. Though Polity lacks data on states with less than 500,000 inhabitants, so called micro states represent a significant percentage of the world's democracies (Anckar, 2008). For this reason, we elect to use FHI instead of Polity.…”

The parliament of the world? Reflections on the proposal to establish a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly

“…142 Some small states do not even have political parties, 143 meaning that their propensity to democracy is attributable to local cultural and political factors. 144 Therefore, given their limited economic capacity, it is not to be taken for granted that small states will be willing to participate in a world people's assembly.…”