The International Dimension of Regime Change

Zusammenfassung

In order to better reconnect the purpose of this study with the state of the art in transition studies, firstly, one of the central arguments of this study should be summarized: In terms of rational choice, institutionalizing methods for sharing power and establishing political and civil rights become rational options when political actors are unable or unlikely to have their unrestricted preferences prevail. Moreover, there is no inherent reason why such struggles over influence and applicable resources should be fully confined within the boundaries of individual countries. The balance of power or the resources and influence that particular social and political actors can mobilize are altered decisively not only by domestic factors and processes, but also through interference and opportunities for assistance from outside actors. Such groups of actors will rarely alone undermine ruling elite coalitions or influence non-democratic policies directly. They can exert critical indirect and facilitating effects through altering the existing distribution of resources or influence that groups within states can muster (see also Gleditsch 2000: 4).