Verified Document

Democracy In Interwar Europe Giovanni Essay

Supremacist ideals apparently made it possible for people to ignore existential theories in wanting to adopt discriminatory attitudes against those who were considered to be part of a minority. Franco instructed people concerning the damage that the Spanish civilization was undergoing as a consequence of hosting a great deal of individuals who respected and even promoted ideals that challenged the stability of Spanish cultural values. The Franquist regime basically influenced people in thinking that democracy was bad for them because it destroyed everything that they stood for and because it would eventually bring the Spanish society to an end. The writers of this article are inclined to focus more on Franco than on the country's population. The fact that the Spanish were willing to support an unjust regime simply because it assisted their culture played a significant role in destroying Spain's chances of having a democratic future for several decades. Similar to how conditions were in Spain during the early 1930s, a series of other European countries that were likely to become democrat during the decade employed nationalist principles because people in these states were either inspired by developing extremist states like Germany and Italy or simply considered that minorities were vulnerable and thus had to be blamed for most negative experiences they underwent. Bermeo perfectly exemplifies this by revealing a country's anti-democratization process step-by-step. Citizens are disappointed with the fact that their leaders are inefficient and turn to developing extremist thinking in an attempt to help their country recover. The scholar is wrong in categorizing ordinary citizens as innocent individuals who fall victim to the poor conditions that they live in. These people were capable to distinguish between right and wrong and were most likely aware of the fact that they were unethical in deciding to favor extremism. However, they continued...

The fact that individuals who were actually innocent suffered in the process was a mere obstacle for them. Minorities were in most cases victims of majorities in countries that abandoned democracy in favor of extremist ideologies. The masses were generally inclined to do anything in their power in order to install a system that favored them, even if this meant that they had to perform criminal acts against groups that were not necessarily corrupt.
Herbert Kitschelt's "Political Regime Change: Structure and Process-Driven Expanations" promotes the belief that circumstantial factors are decisive in determining a country's positive reception of a particular ideology (Kitschelt, 1028). However, Kitschelt tends to ignore that some individuals might feel compelled to adopt certain attitudes concerning ideologies. Thus, such people are not supportive of dominating ideologies and only accept philosophies as a result of being pressured.

The breakdown of democracy typically occurs when the masses are reluctant to accept their condition and turn to using extremism as a method of destabilizing the balance of power in the country. This has a damaging effect on minorities or on people in the upper classes, as they fall victim to majority groups.

Works cited:

Bermeo, Nancy Gina, "Ordinary People and the Breakdown of Democracy in Interwar Europe"

Capoccia, Giovanni, "Defending democracy: Reactions to political extremism in inter-war Europe" European Journal of Political Research 39: 431 -- 460, 2001.

Kitschelt, Herbert, "Political Regime Change: Structure and Process-Driven Explanations?," The American Political Science Review, 86: 1028-1034, 1992.

Richard, Gunther & Sani, Giacomo & Shabad, Goldie, "Spain after Franco: The Making of a Competitive System"

Sources used in this document:
Works cited:

Bermeo, Nancy Gina, "Ordinary People and the Breakdown of Democracy in Interwar Europe"

Capoccia, Giovanni, "Defending democracy: Reactions to political extremism in inter-war Europe" European Journal of Political Research 39: 431 -- 460, 2001.

Kitschelt, Herbert, "Political Regime Change: Structure and Process-Driven Explanations?," The American Political Science Review, 86: 1028-1034, 1992.

Richard, Gunther & Sani, Giacomo & Shabad, Goldie, "Spain after Franco: The Making of a Competitive System"
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

U.S. in the Interwar Years: A Nation
Words: 2773 Length: 8 Document Type: Essay

U.S. In the Interwar Years: A Nation to Blame The historical issue this paper will address is the role of the United States in the interwar period of the 1920s and 1930s. Some claim that the U.S. attempted to exert a positive influence on global affairs during this period, pointing out that Wilson's rhetoric included talk of disarmament and free trade, and that Roosevelt issued similar terms on the world

Fascism in the Interwar Period
Words: 1895 Length: 6 Document Type: Essay

Fascism in the Interwar Period: Fascism, similar to every sound political idea, is both thought and practice since it comprises of both a doctrine and an action. It's regarded as a doctrine since it originates from a given system of historical forces while it's an action in which a doctrine is imminent. Since it's a sound political conception, fascism is entrenched in the doctrine and works from within. Fascism is a

Billy Mitchell and Airpower During the Interwar
Words: 1757 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

Billy Mitchell and Airpower During the interwar period a number people advocated major changes in military doctrine and organizations, particularly in the use of airpower. Three important airpower advocates were Giulio Douhet, Hugh Trenchard, and Billy Mitchell, who all insisted that the air arm should be independent of the army and navy. Trenchard in fact was the commander of the first independent air force in the world, the Royal Air Force

World War I and Its Impact on Interwar Military Innovation
Words: 1348 Length: 4 Document Type: Thesis

At the time the West started its ascension to global domination and power in the sixteenth century, military institutions and organizations played a pivotal role in its impetus to supremacy. Contemporary historical work gives the suggestion that the military structure of the West has gone through repeated periods of innovation starting at the onset of the fourteenth century and prevailing on to the present and that these sorts of periods

France and Germany Interwar Relationship
Words: 5387 Length: 20 Document Type: Term Paper

Larissa Mom. Can I interview you for my class? Mom Sure, but aren't you getting a little desperate if you're stuck with me? Larissa Oh no. It fits the assignment. I have to interview my mother. So, first, where were your parents born? Mom My mother was born in San Francisco, and my father was born in Kansas City, Missouri Larissa Ok, and where were you born? Mom San Rafael, California Larissa All right. So what differences did you notice between your mother

Hyperinflation Interwar Germany
Words: 1160 Length: 4 Document Type: Research Paper

inflation that occurred in Germany in the early 1920s has been well documented and discussed. It has been blamed for the rise of the Nazi Party and the downfall of the Weimar Republic; yet, few understand how inflation in Germany developed so rapidly and how it was ultimately brought under control. The purpose of this paper will be to examine both the cause of this inflation and its eventual

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now