The Puzzles of Successful Democracies in Interwar and Postwar Europe

• In Event: Democratic Erosion and Resistance: Domestic to International Factors 1

Abstract

This paper will examine the main factors associated with successful democracies during the interwar and postwar periods in Europe. More specifically, it will address two puzzles. The first is why some democracies survived the challenges of the interwar years while others did not and the second is why democracy became the norm across Western Europe after 1945. While there were distinctive features of the interwar and postwar European cases, the factors associated with democratic success in both periods are not peculiar to either a particular region or time period.

Author

• Sheri Berman, Barnard College, Columbia University