Quotes from “The Political Foundations of Democracy and the Rule of Law”

By Barry Weingast (1997)

• When a [mass] consensus over [political] values exists, elites face different incentives than when none exists.#
  Politics
• Maintaining limits on the state requires that citizens oppose a violation even if they potentially benefit from it. . . . [C]itizens in stable democracies not only must value democracy but also must be willing to take costly action to defend democratic institutions against potential violations.#
  PoliticsInstitutionsNorms

Gabriel Almond, The Civic Culture (1963)

• A good deal of citizen influence over governmental elites may entail no activity or even conscious intent of citizens. On the contrary, elites may anticipate possible demands and activities and act in response to what they anticipate. They act responsively, not because citizens are actively making demands, but in order to keep them from becoming active.#
  Politics

Adam Przeworski, Democracy and the Market (1991)

• Constitutions that are observed and last for a long time are those that reduce the stakes of political battles.#
  Politics
• Successful democracies are those in which the institutions make it difficult to fortify a temporary advantage. Unless the increasing returns to power are institutionally mitigated, losers must fight the first time they lose, for waiting makes it less likely that they will ever succeed.#
  PoliticsInstitutionsIncreasing Returns