Political modernization (also spelled as political modernisation; ), refers to the process of development and evolution from a lower to a higher level, in which a country's constitutional system and political life moves from superstition of

authority In the fields of sociology and political science, authority is the legitimate power of a person or group over other people. In a civil state, ''authority'' is practiced in ways such a judicial branch or an executive branch of government.''The N ...

autocracy Autocracy is a system of government in which absolute power over a state is concentrated in the hands of one person, whose decisions are subject neither to external legal restraints nor to regularized mechanisms of popular control (except perh ...

and the rule of man to

rationality Rationality is the quality of being guided by or based on reasons. In this regard, a person acts rationally if they have a good reason for what they do or a belief is rational if it is based on strong evidence. This quality can apply to an abil ...

autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ...

, democracy and the

rule of law The rule of law is the political philosophy that all citizens and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws, including lawmakers and leaders. The rule of law is defined in the ''Encyclopedia Britannica ...

. It manifests itself in certain types of political change, like political integration, political differentiation, political secularisation, and so forth. The process of political modernisation has enhanced the capacity of a society's political system, i.e. the effectiveness and efficiency of its performance. Sustainability studies researcher George Francis argues that 'political modernisation' is the changes in the nation-state brought about by the

neoliberal Neoliberalism (also neo-liberalism) is a term used to signify the late 20th century political reappearance of 19th-century ideas associated with free-market capitalism after it fell into decline following the Second World War. A prominent fa ...

globalisation Globalization, or globalisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. The term ''globalization'' first appeared in the early 20t ...

process since the 1970s. It primarily consists of processes of differentiation of political structure and secularisation of

political culture Political culture describes how culture impacts politics. Every political system is embedded in a particular political culture. Definition Gabriel Almond defines it as "the particular pattern of orientations toward political actions in which ...

. According Samuel Huntington, an American political scientist, political modernization consists of three basic elements, the rationalization of authority, the differentiation of structure and the expansion of political participation.

References

{{Reflist Politics Political theories Political terminology