Reflections on Guillermo O’Donnell’s Ideas about Old and New Democracies

Abstract

Guillermo O’Donnell’s empirical theory of democracy has been central to the political science debate. In particular, from the publication of “Ilusiones sobre la Consolidación” to his latest work “Democracia, Agencia y Estado”, the ideas of this great Argentine political scientist have not only questioned academic common beliefs around the so-called “new democracies” but also promoted the critical review of the tenets of “consolidated” “old” democracies. The purpose of these reflections is twofold: the first goal is to show how O’Donnell’s ideas, ten years after his death, remain impressively relevant to the current context, which can be observed in the empiric and comparative work of hundreds of specialists all over the world. The second is to highlight how important his urge to commit ourselves to a democratic criticism of democracy has become nowadays, given its current challenges.