Political liberalization entails the reform of authoritarian regimes. It comes to pass when public authorities relax controls on the political activities of citizens. Often described as a political opening, political liberalization involves official recognition of basic civil liberties. In such openings, governments restore previously repudiated freedoms of movement, speech, and association to individuals and groups in society. Examples of political liberalization include the release of political prisoners, the lifting of government censorship, and the relegalization of banned political parties. As an analogue of economic liberalization, political liberalization reduces government intervention in the political market, breaking up monopolies of political authority and allowing a plurality of opinions and organizations. In short, political liberalization broadens political competition.

When do political openings occur? The prevailing view in the literature is that political liberalization launches regime transition – that is, an incumbent elite, driven by divisions within its own ranks, initiates concessions to its opponents. We have argued, however, that the impetus for political reform originated within the ruling elite in only a minority of African cases; more commonly, African regime transitions began with popular protest. With such impetus, political liberalization is best viewed as a government response to pressures emanating from domestic (and sometimes international) political arenas. Liberalization is thus an intermediate phase of transition that occurs between the onset of protest and the emergence of a new regime equilibrium.