14. Patterns and Prospects

This chapter compares the 16 cases presented above across all the relevant regions, proceeding in several stages. First, using Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA)—a method found to be well-suited for a systematic comparison of a small to medium number of cases—different configurations and patterns of conditions are identified. This is followed by a review of some social-structural and political conditions utilising definitions and sources from the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) codebook. The following micro-level analyses determine variables influencing support for democracy in the countries under review utilising the International Value Survey (IVS) data set to measure respondents’ evaluation of democracy vis-à-vis authoritarian regimes, and to evaluate pro-choice orientations. This chapter then offers an assessment of the overall democratic resilience in all the cases at both the institutional and the respective political-cultural levels. The final section considers the meso-level with its main focus on political parties.