Democratization, or democratisation, is the transition to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. It may be a hybrid regime in transition from an authoritarian regime to a full democracy, a transition from an authoritarian political system to a semi-democracy or transition from a semi-authoritarian political system to a democratic political system. The outcome may be consolidated (as it was for example in the United Kingdom) or democratization may face frequent reversals (as happened in Chile). Different patterns of democratization are often used to explain other political phenomena, such as whether a country goes to a war or whether its economy grows. Whether and to what extent democratization occurs has been attributed to various factors, including economic development, historical legacies, civil society, and international processes. Some accounts of democratization emphasize how elites drove democratization, whereas other accounts emphasize grassroots bottom-up processes. The opposite process is known as democratic backsliding or autocratization. Description Theories of democratization seek to explain a large macro-level change, the change in a political regime from dictatorship or authoritarianism to democracy. Some disagreements among scholars concern the concept of democracy. Other differences concern how to measure democracy - and what democracy index should be used. Measures of democratization Some common democracy indices are V-Dem Democracy indices and Democracy Index. Democracy indices can distinguish between different high-level principles of democracy: electoral, liberal, participatory, deliberative, and egalitarian and other indicators. Democracy indices can be quantitative or categorical. Waves of democratization One way to summarize the outcome theories of democratization seek to account is with the idea of waves of democratization A wave of democratization refers to a major surge of democracy in history. And Samuel P. Huntington identified three waves of democratization that have taken place in history. The first one brought democracy to Western Europe and Northern America in the 19th century. It was followed by a rise of dictatorships during the Interwar period. The second wave began after World War II, but lost steam between 1962 and the mid-1970s. The latest wave began in 1974 and is still ongoing. Democratization of Latin America and the former Eastern Bloc is part of this third wave. Waves of democratization can be followed by waves of de-democratization. Thus, Huntington, in 1991, offered the following depiction. • First wave of democratization, 1828-1926 • First wave of de-democratization, 1922-42 • Second wave of democratization, 1943-62