There is sufficient evidence to show that the change of economic and political institutions in a nation tends to alter societal order. Groups of formerly disenfranchised citizens are empowered and legally organized, and the power of pre-existing groups is reallocated. It implies a significant increase in demands for state resources by all these groups. Yet the existing institutions may not be equipped to process all requests (adapting them takes time), and resources may be insufficient to satisfy all demands. This decreases the level of order in a society, as disaffected groups may seek to satisfy their demands by illicit means, thereby increasing crime and violence, which endogenously reduces the likelihood of a successful transition to a more democratic regime.

The need for order, and of a certain kind of order, as I discuss in this chapter, is necessary for the development of societies in all areas. There is sufficient evidence that shows how societies plagued with crime and violence have lower levels of welfare, and its noxious effects are regressively distributed onto specific groups, such as the poor and women.

Throughout the book, I analyze two specific dimensions of order: legality and public security. Legality refers to acts that are consistent with existing laws. Public security refers to governments’ function to safeguard citizens’ life, rights, and property in its territory.

A recurrent topic in the book is state strength. It is a broad concept that is sometimes ambiguously or partially stated in the existing literature. I de fine state strength based on Giraudy's conceptualization. She unpacks state strength on three different dimensions: territorial reach, autonomy from non-state actors, and bureaucratic capacity. I address state strength, thus these three elements, as continuous variables. In the real world, states are not either strong or weak, but they vary in different degrees in these areas of strength. Thus, when I refer to the Cuban or any other state's strength, I explicitly refer to the specific dimension(s) that I am addressing. This should give the reader a more precise understanding.

In this chapter, I first provide theoretical and empirical elements for a better understanding of the conditions that sustain societal order. I analyze current knowledge of how processes of economic and political liberalization affect order by discussing the existing theories on democratic transitions.