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Human empowerment is becoming an increasingly important driving force behind democratization. Although elite bargaining was central when representative democracy first emerged and still plays an important role, the development of" effective democracy" reflects the acquisition by ordinary people of resources and values that enable them effectively to pressure elites. The importance of this process, called" human empowerment," is generally underestimated. There is a tension between two different conceptions of democracy. The narrow concept hinges on suffrage and considers any regime that holds competitive, free, fair, and regular elections to be a democracy.'In this scenario, elite agreement is key and mass preferences matter little. Advocates of this position argue that certain requisites of democracy such as social mobilization are unimportant. This construct is often labeled" electoral democracy." 2

Critics of …