Best Form Of Government Research Articles

Democracy and Crime in Latin America

Abstract Do firm stances against crime, up to a level at which they disregard Human Rights, overflow the sphere of crime control and associate with a preference against democracy? This study determines whether victimization of crime encourages support for the death penalty, the desire to own a firearm, and broader authoritarian political attitudes. The hypothesis is tested in Latin America using the LAPOP (2018/2019) database in 17 countries. Three sets of indicators are observed in the logistic models: a) dependent variables (desire to own a firearm, support for the death penalty, perception of democracy as the best form of government, support for a coup in the case of high crime, satisfaction with democracy, and trust in institutions); b) independent variables (victimization by crime); and c) control variables (waiting time for police response, and sociodemographic factors). Although no significant effects were found on democracy as the best form of government, victimization increases the likelihood of wanting a firearm, favoring the death penalty, and supporting coups, while it reduces the satisfaction with democracy and trust in institutions. Therefore, the results confirm that crime not only favors public support for harsh measures to control it but also weakens democracy and its institutions.

Democracy and Development in Africa: Demystifying Democracy as the Best Form of Government

Democracy and Development in Africa: Demystifying Democracy as the Best Form of Government

Iqbal's Spiritual Democracy and Habermas's Deliberative Democracy: A Comparative Study

The current study is written in the context of the civilizational dialogue between the West and the Muslim world with reference to Jürgen Habermas and Muhammad Iqbal's political views. It explores the congruence and contrasts between Habermas's discourse theory of democracy or deliberative democracy and Iqbal's theory of spiritual democracy. This research strives to find out the extent to which the core values of Habermas's theory and that of Iqbal’s are compatible. For Habermas, the core values of social order are liberty and equality, whereas Iqbal upholds liberty, equality, and solidarity. It has been investigated whether they both mean the same phenomena by the same terms or not. For Habermas and Iqbal, democracy is the best form of government but neither one is satisfied with the existing democratic practices. In principle, they accept democracy as the best political system. The research paper also sheds light on the historical and cultural influences that have shaped the political ideologies of both Habermas and Iqbal, considering the impact of Western Enlightenment ideals on Habermas and the role of Islamic jurisprudence and spirituality in shaping Iqbal's democratic theory. Through critical analysis, this study aims to deepen the understanding of complexities inherent in the dialogue between Western and Muslim civilizations and offers insights into potential avenues for collaboration in political theory and practice.

Monarchy, universalism, imperialism in Giovanni Botero’s Relazioni universali

ABSTRACT How did the idea of monarchy develop in Giovanni Botero’s thinking? How did he use it in his largest work, Relazioni universali (1st edition 1591)? How did he redefine it at the beginning of the seventeenth century? Botero developed his idea of monarchy by reading the classics and traditional literature on the subject, as well as by travelling and observing different models of government: his diplomatic experience in France (1585) and his three years in Spain as tutor of the princes of Savoy (1603-1606) led to theories on the features of the ‘best form of government’. Starting from Botero’s first thinking on the subject (De regia sapientia, 1583), this chapter will focus on Relazioni universali as a kind of catalogue of comparative monarchy case studies from all over the world and pay particular attention to Discorso dell’eccellenza della monarchia (Discourse about the Excellence of Monarchy) published in Turin in 1607. Discorso has been translated into English in the Appendix.

The Influence of Regional Taxes, Regional Levies, Profit Sharing Funds, and General Allocation Funds on Regional Spending (Case Study of Regency and Municipality in Central Java)

The background of the problem in this study is that the realization of Regional Levies revenues, Profit Sharing Funds and General Allocation Funds in Semarang Regency is not in accordance with the budgeted so that Regional Expenditure has decreased. This study aims to determine whether Regional Taxes, Regional Levies, Profit Sharing Funds, and General Allocation Funds affect Regional Expenditures. The population and sample of this study are regencies and municipalities in Central Java. Regional spending has an important role in running the government system, namely to improve public welfare and as a form of good governance. This study uses multiple linear regression analysis using data obtained from a summary of the 2020 and 2021 Regional Budget (APBD) realization reports which are quantitative published on the Indonesia Statistics. The number of samples in this study are 70. The results of the study show that Regional Taxes and General Allocation Funds have a positive effect on Regional Expenditure, while Regional Levies and Profit Sharing Funds have no effect on Regional Expenditure.

Aquinói Szent Tamás a helyes államról és kormányzásról

In this paper we discuss St. Thomas Aquinas’ theory of the state and political government. We seek to answer why he believed that the best form of government is kingship. We will look at how to avoid the danger of the best form of government being distorted into its opposite, the worst form of government, tyranny. The criteria for this will be examined, and then we will analyse the second best form of government that can be implemented, a mixed government of limited monarchy. St. Thomas, although he lived in the age of constitutional charters and was familiar with them, chose the government of virtuous persons for the common good, rather than the constitutional system of charters based on ’institutionalised distrust’.

The journey we have begun: How democracy could bear fruit for all?

This article delves into the fundamental questions of whether democracy, when left unchecked, can provide the best form of governance and whether a minority can exploit it to suppress the rights and freedoms of others. By examining these questions in detail, the article offers insights into refining democratic systems of governance, which prioritize the wide participation of the populace instead of allowing a select few to dictate the nation's affairs. Drawing from practical examples involving racial and ethnic diversity, such as the United States, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Ethiopia, the paper argues that democracy can be co-opted by a particular race or ethnicity to advance its interests, often at the expense of marginalized groups. Addressing this issue practically is more feasible than resolving it theoretically, as theoretical approaches tend to overlook the complexities of race and ethnicity in democratic systems.

An Interpretation on Sharia, Islamic Nomocracy and the Muslim World: The Case of Aceh Special Region

Many ulemas, clerics and Islamic Scholars in the Muslim World look to Islamic Constitutionalism as their best chance of achieving justice, prosperity, and independence, as this article illustrates. Since "God is abstract, only God's laws are real," Many Islamic Scholars, clerics and Islamists argue that Islamic nomocracy, or power based on Allah's commandments, is the best form of government for Muslims. The term "Islamic law" is commonly used to refer to a political system founded on Islamic law (Shari'ah). Aceh's regional government administration system and the environment of implementing special autonomy for the Aceh Government have both changed dramatically since the passage of the UUPA (Aceh Government Law). When Aceh embraces Islamic law, it helps promote civilization because Sharia is applicable to more than only the judicial system. Politics, matrimony, religion, kinship, and muamalah are all fair game. The Islamic Sharia law has had a long and deep impact on Acehnese culture. Islamic teachings have been applied in the areas of worship, marriage, and inheritance since the Aceh sultanate, and as a result, these practises have permeated and infused themselves into people's daily lives and persist to this day.

The problem of the best form of government in the works of Thomas Aquinas

The problem of the best form of government in the works of Thomas Aquinas

One nation one election: Indian perspective

Democracy is the best form of government and it is the society in which citizens are sovereign and control the government. Election plays an important role to make democracy strong and free and fair is the key of Democracy. Election process is the fundamental characteristic of democratic society, as it ensures the participation of citizens in the development of the nation. We know in India, Elections are held generally every year in some of the States, and due to this development process is slowed down due to the code of conduct. The idea of One Nation¬ One Election, has the potential to stop election during the whole year, the main idea of One Nation¬ One Election is to conduct the election for the Loksabha and Legislative assemblies and local bodies simultaneously. According to 79th report of Parliamentary Standing committee 2015, One Nation One Election theory save the millions of rupees in election costs of the government when Loksabha and state legislative assemblies held at the same time. In this paper, the author investigate the concept of One Nation, One Election be related to India.

Why Ukrainians Are Rallying Around Democracy

In democratizing countries it seems to make sense that any prolonged crisis will turn citizens away from democracy, from its "rules of the game," and from the institutions tasked with upholding them. If ever there was such a country, surely it is Ukraine. Long beset by political instability and corruption, it has in recent years seen its crises become biblical: pestilence (in the form of covid-19) and war (in the form of Russian aggression and later the all-out Russian invasion launched on 24 February 2022). Instead of losing confidence in democracy as the best form of government, however, Ukrainian citizens have done the opposite, survey research from the MOBILISE Project reveals a staggering 35 percentage-point rise in Ukrainians' support for democracy over just three years. Ukrainians moved toward greater support for democracy between 2019 and 2022 precisely because ordinary citizens were able to observe democracy in action and working even in the face of major compounding crises.

EFFECT OF REGIONAL TAXES, REGIONAL LEVIES, GENERAL ALLOCATION FUNDS, SPECIAL ALLOCATION FUNDS ON CAPITAL EXPENDITURES IN REGENCIES/CITIES IN WEST JAVA PROVINCE 2014 – 2021

This study aims to determine whether Regional Taxes, Regional Levies, General Allocation Funds and Special Allocation Funds affect Capital Expenditures in Regencies/Cities in West Java Province. The population and sample of this research are districts/cities in West Java Province. This study aims to analyze the effect of Regional Taxes, Regional Levies, General Allocation Funds, and Special Allocation Funds on Regional Expenditures. Regional expenditure has an important role in running the government system, namely to improve public welfare and as a form of good governance. In this study using multiple linear regression analysis using data obtained from the summary of the 2014 to 2021 regional budget realization reports with the SAP format published at the Central Statistics Agency of West Java Province. The results of the study partially show that Regional Taxes, General Allocation Funds and Special Allocation Funds have no effect on capital expenditures. Regional levies, and General Allocation Funds have a significant positive effect on Capital Expenditures. Meanwhile, regional levies have an effect on capital expenditures. Simultaneously, Regional Taxes, Regional Levies, General Allocation Funds and Special Allocation Funds affect Capital Expenditures.

Machiavelli and Spartan Equality

In this article, I explore the meaning and function of Lycurgus in Machiavelli’s thought. While the exemplarity of the mythical Spartan legislator progressively fades in Machiavelli’s thought in favour of the Roman model, Lycurgus’ reforms are central in Machiavelli’s works on two issues of primary importance: wealth and land distribution. First, I analyse Machiavelli’s use of the ancient sources on both Lycurgus and other Spartan legislators to show how the former builds a selective and strategically balanced reading of the ancient sources to build an image of the latter as a pro-popular ruler and of the subsequent Spartan reformers as followers not only of the mythical legislator generally, but also of his most controversial and popularly oriented attempts to reform property ownership in ancient Sparta. Lycurgus reveals how Machiavelli, far from seeing mixed government as the best form of government, promotes a strongly anti-aristocratic model. Second, I show that in Machiavelli’s thought the Spartan question can largely be seen as a background for his reading of Roman history, particularly its most crucial, conflictual and controversial period – that in which the Gracchi brothers’ attempted to achieve agrarian reform.

Aiding fossil fuel dependency: a cross-national analysis of energy sector aid, national autonomy, and CO2 emissions in 122 nations

In the past two decades, sociological research has flourished on the environmental impact of global financial flows from wealthy to poorer nations. The majority of this research, however, focuses on private financial flows such as foreign direct investment or World Bank lending. By contrast, this study examines how public aid dollars (energy sector foreign development aid) contributes to environmental degradation in developing nations. We also examine the effect of this aid relative to domestic autonomy, a form of good governance that measures a nation’s freedom to set its own domestic policy without interference from more powerful states. Using a longitudinal sample of 122 nations, we test the effects of aid and autonomy on CO2 emissions. In line with dependency theory, results show that aid donors encourage fossil fuel dependence in aid recipient countries and this leads to increased carbon dioxide emissions. Counter to some findings on good governance and the environment, our results do not show that domestic autonomy relates directly to carbon dioxide emissions. However, our results do suggest that more autonomous nations can offset the impact of fossil fuel development aid by imposing policies that push aid donors to invest in more environmentally-beneficial development projects.

Theologizing in Black: On Africana Theological Ethics and Anthropology

Theologizing in Black: On Africana Theological Ethics and Anthropology

The Prospect of Pragmatic Confucian Democracy: Reply to Dryzek, Macedo, Ackerly, and Li

The Prospect of Pragmatic Confucian Democracy: Reply to Dryzek, Macedo, Ackerly, and Li

Aristotle’s Political Justice and the Golden Ratio between the Three Opposing Criteria for the Distribution of Public Goods among Citizens: Freedom, Wealth and Virtue

In this article, I interpret Book V of the Nicomachean Ethics in which Aristotle presents a geometrical problem to explain which is the Best Criterion for the Distribution of Political and Economic Rights and Duties among Citizens, starting from the empirical evidence that there are three opposing opinions on which is the fairest distribution criterion: for some it is Freedom (Democrats), for others Wealth (Oligarchs), and for others Virtue (Aristocrats). Against the almost unique and most quoted interpretation of the geometrical problem, I present my mathematical solution, which I arrived at thanks to the Doctrine of the Four Causes and the Theory of the Mean. My thesis is that the Mean Term of Distributive Justice is the Golden Ratio between the opposite criteria of distribution, and the unjust distribution is the one that violates this ratio. This solution allows us to understand what is the Rational Principle at the basis of just distribution: that is, Geometrical Equality as opposed to Arithmetical Equality. Indeed, by applying the geometric figure of the Golden Triangle to the different political constitutions, I show, in line with Politics, that the Best Form of Government is the Aristocratic Politeia, i.e., a mixture of Democracy, Oligarchy and Aristocracy.

The economics–engineering nexus: response to the commentaries

This paper contributes to the debate on the relationship between economics and engineering that was opened in a previous article by the author and the comments made on the subject by other scholars, all published in the 4/2021 Issue of the Journal. It discusses the knowledge advancement and problem-solving opportunities offered by the interaction and cross-fertilization that occurs between the two disciplines. It claims that the distance between the epistemology and mentality of fundamental branches of economics and engineering is narrowing, thereby allowing a fruitful knowledge collaboration. An alliance between independent peers is the best form of governance to exploit the potentialities inherent to the relationship, as an alternative to both “economic imperialism” and “reverse imperialism”. Relatedly, the paper delves into the role of economic complexity and artificial intelligence in pushing this paradigm shift of the economics–engineering nexus, and it re-discusses the meaning and content of transdisciplinarity in the context of such an alliance. Finally, the paper expresses the hope that these topics will become a matter of debate in a widespread community of scholars.

The future of polarisation in Europe: relative cosmopolitanism and democracy

One of the central features of our societies is an increasing polarisation between communitarian and cosmopolitan positions. The theoretically sound and differentiated concepts are increasingly being escalated and misused in political practice by authoritarian populists and polarising pushers who try to pull the undecided to their side and tear society apart. Two essential agreements of the post-war period are increasingly being called into question: The European consensus, which considers European unification as an essential achievement and goal of political actors, and the democratic consensus, which states that representative democracy is the undisputed best form of government. In this article, after an introductory definition of polarisation, two future scenarios are developed. In the scenario “Polarised Europe”, polarisation is extrapolated into the future and discussed with its serious consequences for the democratic and European consensus. The second scenario “Democratised Europe” shows how the concept of a relative cosmopolitanism can mitigate polarisation and what steps could possibly be taken to constructively turn it into a more democratic direction.

State Violence and Weaving: implications of Aristophanes’ Lysistrata for Plato’s Statesman

This paper uses Aristophanes' Lysistrata to draw out the central violent tension of the weaving paradigm in Plato's Statesman. In the Lysistrata, weaving is offered as a metaphor for a tyrannical refashioning of the polis. In strikingly similar terms, the Eleatic Stranger of the Statesman proposes weaving as a metaphor for the best form of government. What is laughed off in the play, the characters of Plato's dialogue seem to take seriously. Through a comparative reading, I argue that the interpretations of the Statesman that take weaving as a paradigm for the best government of state, not only miss the comedy in the Stranger's discussion of statesmanship, but also the tragic allusions to tyranny. Furthermore, by drawing out the dialogue’s resonance with comedy, I conclude that the weaving paradigm succeeds in giving us a means for identifying tyranny in the Statesman; even when tyranny appears dressed up in a political science ostensibly formulated with the best of intentions.