Historical institutionalism and democratization studies

This chapter reviews works in the field of democratization and classifies them in relation to the historical institutionalist tradition. Antecedents of an historical institutional approach to the study of democratization can be traced back to some of the classics in the field. Despite these connections, much work remains to be done to build firmer theoretical foundations linking the two fields. As the “transitology” phase of Democratization Studies fades, new opportunities for this will emerge as democratization scholars turn their attention to established democracies.