Uruguay - det lyckade sydamerikanska exemplet : En fallstudie om landets framgångsrika demokratisering efter militärdiktaturen 1973-1985

This thesis aims to examine the successful democratic development in Uruguay after the military dictatorship 1973-1985. The theoretical framework is based on Linz and Stepan’s five interactive arenas and Samuel Huntington’s theory on how former democratic experiences affect a country’s opportunities for democratic consolidation. In order to examine the successful case of Uruguay, the five interactive arenas are analyzed with the purpose of investigating to which extent they affected the consolidation of a liberal democracy. Furthermore, this essay takes a historical approach where the importance of the former democratic experience in Uruguay is examined. The essay is a theory-consuming case study where empirical material is used in order to answer the research questions. The essay concludes that former experience of democracy in Uruguay has played an important role for its foundational build-up. The research also comes to the conclusion that the arenas in general played a role in the democratic consolidation, although it differs to what extent. The political and civil society have both played a major role, while rule of law and state bureaucracy were proven to be of a slightly less importance. Economic society can be seen as the arena that was the least affected during the military dictatorship and furthermore the one that played the smallest role in the consolidation