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The International Journal of the Royal Society of Thailand

Volume XVI-2024 (Special Issue)

While many European countries embraced democracy during this period, the situation

changed after World War I. Fascism emerged in Italy under Mussolini, in Spain under Franco,
and National Socialism in Germany under Hitler. By the time World War II ended, the number

of democratic countries in Europe had decreased sharply from 29 to just 12.
The second wave of democratization occurred after World War II and lasted until 1960,

a period marked by significant social and economic injustices as liberalism gave way to exploitative
capitalism. Under this system, capitalists oppressed, vulnerable workers and farmers,

prompting the rise of three major ideologies in response to this inequality. The first was the
socialist–communist philosophy of Karl Marx, which gained traction when Lenin took control

in Russia in 1917 and later spread to China in 1949. The second was fascism and national
socialism, ideologies that lost ground following their defeat in World War II. The third was

the rise of welfare states, particularly in eastern Europe, which aimed to protect the most
vulnerable members of society, such as workers, farmers, and consumers. In the United States,

the New Deal reforms also played a significant role in expanding civil rights, including granting
equal voting rights to men and women. As a result of these movements, the number of

democratic countries increased from 30 to 36.
The third wave of the democratization began in 1974, when university students in Portugal,

led the Carnation Revolution, which resulted in the establishment of democracy in the country.
Notably, a similar uprising had occurred in Thailand, the year before, in October 1973. During this

period, democracy spread across Latin America and Asia. Additionally, the fall of the Berlin wall
in 1989 was a key moment, symbolizing the collapse of oppressive regimes in Eastern Europe.

The number of democratic countries rose to 100, although many were fragile, undermined
by military coups and outdated political parties. In some cases, these transitions were a little

more than “old wine in new bottles” – regime changes where the same capitalist elites there is
a text continue to hold economic power, leaving persistent, economic problems. The third wave

came to an abrupt halt after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11,
2001 often referred to 9/11.

The fourth wave emerged following the revolution in Tunisia, which sparked similar
uprising in other countries. Initially, this movement was viewed as the Arab spring, but it quickly

turned into the Arab winter as power grabs by military regimes and autocrats returned in Egypt,
Syria and elsewhere.

Abraham Lincoln’s famous address at Gettysburg – “government of the people, by the
people, and for the people” – has long being a guiding principle for international democracy.

However, in the spirit of democracy: the struggle to build free societies throughout the world

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