On the Gap between Theories of Democracy and Theories of Democratization?

In the study of politics in the West, `democracy' is treated in two different ways. An established group of political scientists, interested in the conditions favouring democratization, assume that the principal western countries are ‘democracies’ in as strong a sense as one might realistically use the term. Much democratic theory, on the other hand, is critical of western institutions and seeks ‘emancipationst’ extensions of democracy into the home and the workplace. Both have a very limited value as instruction for those seeking to democratize societies which do not already have democratic institutions, especially the former communist countries. The ‘emancipationist’ prescriptions of radical democratic theorists are largely irrelevant to the culture and standard of living of the societies in question while the more conservative political scientists tend to regard the values to which democratizers aspire, including democracy, private ownership, stability, prosperity and freedom, as a causal cluster, ignoring the very important tensions between them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]