Consolidation Of Democratic Institutions Research Articles

ASSESSMENT OF PUBLIC DEBT DRIVERS IN THE BALKANS

This study investigates the main drivers of public debt and assesses the overall debt structure in the Balkan countries. Regardless of a close to 50% average debt level, there is no immediate threat of escalation compared to developed countries. The empirical analysis leverages three advanced econometric techniques to control for cross-country specifics and potential biases due to data disruptions. Sourced from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the data are of quantitative type collected from 2000- 2021. Empirical evidence suggests that Real GDP Growth and Current Account balance are crucial determinants of economic performance, with political regimes also exerting a notable influence. As the time frame of the research consists of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is essential to consider structural breakdowns to avoid any coefficient biases. Unsurprisingly, the dummy variable COVID-19 depicts a significant effect as public debt increased by 2.51 percentage points once the pandemic occurred. The rest of the variables, including interest rates, government expenditure, and unemployment rate, are statistically insignificant. Empirical evidence from the present study supports the hypothesis that pursuing genuine economic development through the advocacy of domestic production and trade, coupled with the consolidation of democratic institutions, can act as a check on the spiraling growth of public debt.

Why Electoral Violence Persists in Africa? A Critical Review of Literature

Abstract Electoral violence is a persistent phenomenon in Africa. Studies reveal that no single election has been held in Africa without incidents of violence. There is a surge of interest in electoral violence as an academic field, although still in its infancy. The existing literature on electoral violence primarily focuses on the concept, causes, impact and prevention mechanisms. Nevertheless, the question as to why electoral violence persists is inadequately addressed. This paper engages varied literature on electoral violence to uncover why electoral violence persists in Africa. I argue that although the literature provides diverse explanations on electoral violence in Africa, institutional account, particularly the consolidation of democratic institutions, is the most plausible explanation for why electoral violence persists.

The effect of democracy on energy efficiency in European countries

This study explores to what extent the development of democracy affects energy efficiency. This study applies database reference from Freedom House, Polity IV project, International Country Risk Guide (ICRG) and World Development Indicator (WDI) to analyze the relationship between the level of democracy and energy efficiency of 35 countries in Europe from 1990 to 2013. Controlling for manufacturing value-added, price level, and GDP per capita, we find a significant statistical correlation between the level of democracy and the level of energy efficiency in a country. Empirical findings show that a high level of democracy has a significant positive impact on the improvement of national energy efficiency. Further examinations which employ quantile regression estimates indicate that the positive impact of democratic consolidation is stronger when the country is at the stage of relatively low energy efficiency. Empirical research also demonstrates that the consolidation of democratic institutions and economic development has a positive influence on the awareness of environmental conservation, thereby improving the structure of energy consumption and further reinforce the enhancement of energy efficiency.

National Personality Traits and Regime Type

Domestic theories of democratization emphasize the role of values, interests, and mobilization/opportunities as determinants of regime change. This article takes a step back and develops a model of national personality and democratization to ascertain the indirect effect of national personality traits on worldwide variation of regime type. In particular, I theorize that personality traits influence a country’s regime type by shaping citizens’ traditional and self-expression values, which, in turn, influence the establishment and consolidation of democratic institutions. Data from McCrae and Terracciano’s assessment of the five-factor model from 47 countries allow me to assess this hypothesis empirically. Results reveal that countries whose societies are high in Openness to experience tend to have more democratic institutions, even after adjusting for relevant confounders: economic inequalities, economic development, technological advancement, disease stress, climate demands, and methodological characteristics of the national sample. Although the effect of Extraversion on a country’s democratic institutions is also significantly positive, the inclusion of confounders weakens the reliability of this association. In an exploration of the mechanisms of these associations, a mediation analysis shows that the relationship between national Openness and democratic institutions is channeled through secular and especially self-expression national values. The same analysis with the effect of Extraversion on democracy indicates that the association between this trait and democracy is only channeled through national self-expression values but not national secular values. In short, this article constitutes a first step toward a more complete understanding of the cross-cultural psychological roots of political institutions.

The Role of Criminal Law as an Anti-corruption Tool in the Public Sector

The Albanian society is making efforts for the consolidation of democratic institutions and the fulfillment of standards as a condition for European integration. In the context of these efforts, the fight against corruption remains a major challenge. The need to address the fight against it is one of the main issues of public interest. Corruption in the field of public administration is one of the most disturbing phenomena of the Albanian society. European Commission Progress Report 2011 for Albania considers public administration reform as one of the key priorities. To this end, the Albanian government has undertaken concrete steps to combat and prevent corruption in the public sector in particular. Concrete steps in the context of the fight against corruption,consists on a very important place which is given to legal reform, especially the amendment of criminal legislation as an important war of the fight against corruption. Although the legal framework has improved significantly, there has been no proper success in changing the reality in relation to the prevention and suppression of corruption. Studies and surveys indicate an improvement of the situation, but the corruption practices in the public sector continue to be embodied as the economic dimension, as well as in social. The purpose of this paper is to present some issues regarding anticorruption legal reform in the field of public administration based on an analysis of international law, provisions of the Criminal Code and special laws aimed at preventing and combating corruption in the public sector. More specifically, the paper will focus on: - Analysis of the Criminal Code amendments that occurred as a result of demand for harmonization of legislation with international conventions in this field, and the importance in combating corruption in the public sector. - Analysis of legislation and other measures in the field of public administration that enable the prevention and suppression of certain behaviors related to acts of corruption in the sector. - Identification of issues related to the practical application of these provisions in view of the fight against this phenomenon. - Identification of relevant suggestions to increase the effectiveness of anti-corruption measures and mechanisms to control and fight against corruption in public administration. DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2016.v5n1p99

Foreign Policy Strategy of the Republic of Albania 1992 – 1997

With the change of systems from Communist to Democratic, the first democratic government led by Sali Berisha faced overwhelming challenges. On one hand the Democratic Party Government was taking over an economically devastated Albania, on the other hand Kosovo’s issue was another difficult challenge falling on the shoulders of a democratic state in its road towards consolidation of democratic institutions. At the same time, Albania had to engage in the Euro Atlantic structures. This period would be described with ups and downs of its performance in relation to the internal relations but also with its foreign policy in the International arena in particular with its neighboring countries. Despite the crises and uncertainties the country was going through, both Internal and Foreign Affairs difficulties being were run in a consensual spirit regarding some priorities that remain constant throughout the post-communist period. These priorities were as follows: The opening of Albania with the World, Western Orientation of all foreign and development policies, normalization of relations with Great Powers, in particular Western Countries and Country members of Security Council of United Nations; balancing relation with neighbors based on new foundations grounded on National Interests as well as putting up Kosovo’s issue as top agenda item, until its declaration of independence. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n2s1p498

Canada and the Inter-American Human Rights System

INTRODUCTIONWhen Canada became a Member of the Organization of American States (OAS) in 1990, most of Latin America was at a crossroad in a post-cold war transition from authoritarian regimes to democracies. The Canadian government played a fundamental role in the creation and development of the organization's unit for the promotion of democracy, as well as of other similar initiatives, in this period. This mark of leadership would have an important impact on the organization later on, including regarding the adoption of the 2001 Inter- American Democratic Charter, which attests to the importance of human rights for democracy and vice-versa. In fact, the promotion of democratic processes and the consolidation of democratic institutions, as well as the promotion and protection of human rights, are certainly among the OAS's most significant successes in the institution's recent history.1By joining the OAS,2 Canada also joined the inter-American human rights system. While Canada has certainly been an important ally of the system, it has often been criticized for its timid membership. This article will discuss Canada's policy towards the OAS human rights regime, touching upon the regime's successes and weaknesses. It will also try to contextualize the discussion in light of Canada's broader policy towards human rights and Latin America.THE INTER-AMERICAN HUMAN RIGHTS SYSTEMThe inter-American system of protection of human rights is generally considered to be composed of the norms and institutions created by the OAS to promote and protect human rights within the hemisphere. The main normative instruments dealing with human rights are the OAS charter, several human rights treaties, including the American Convention on Human Rights, as well as of other instruments, including the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man.3The inter-American commission on human rights, composed of seven elected independent experts (commissioners), is the principal organ of the OAS charged with ensuring the protection of human rights in the hemisphere. It also serves as a consultative organ of the organization on this matter. It promotes human rights in the region, formulates recommendations to member states, observes human rights situations, including via in loco visits. It publishes reports on thematic issues or the human rights situation in a specific country, etc. In recent years, the commission's main activity has been to process petitions lodged against member states by individuals and groups alleging violations of inter- American human rights norms. (In order to do so, complainants must first exhaust domestic remedies nationally, or be unable to do so). The inter-American commission on human rights can refer cases to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and, in serious and urgent cases that may cause irreparable harm to persons, it can adopt precautionary measures. The commission reports annually to the OAS general assembly.The Inter- American Court of Human Rights, composed of seven elected independent judges, rules on contentious cases between the commission and member states regarding allegations of violations of the rights contained in the inter- American instruments that grant it jurisdiction to do so. To be subject to the court's jurisdiction, a state must first have ratified the convention and expressly recognized the jurisdiction of the court. The court can issue an order or judgment, which is binding for states as a matter of public international law. The court can also adopt advisory opinions regarding the interpretation of the convention, or any other instrument related to human rights in the Americas, at the request of the commission or any member state. The court can also be consulted by member states regarding the compatibility of one of its laws with the convention. In serious and urgent cases, the court can also adopt provisional measures. The court reports annually to the OAS general assembly. …

Indigenous Alliances for Conservation in Bolivia

One of the central conservation debates over the last quarter of a century has been the effect of conservation initiatives on local livelihoods. Most recently, numerous negative evaluations have been made of both coercive top-down approaches to management of protected areas, which were dominant before the 1980s and focused on enforcement of protection, and efforts to decentralize governance and increase local participation in resource-management initiatives linked to markets. These critiques are subsets of the general criticism of neoliberal conservation, which is characterized by a lesser role for the public sector, privatization of natural resources, and a greater role for market forces (McCarthy & Prudham 2004; Igoe & Brockington 2007). When natural resources are treated as commodities and state control over them is reduced, local stakeholders in remote rural areas, in particular indigenous peoples, can lose access to critical resources for their livelihoods to economic elites with greater resources to respond to economic opportunities. In this essay, we discuss what conservation means for the indigenous peoples living next to Madidi and Pilon Lajas protected areas in the Bolivian Amazon, a region of high species diversity and levels of endemism, where the state, local stakeholders, and several nongovernmental organizations have implemented numerous projects focused on maintaining biological diversity and improving local livelihoods. These conservation initiatives have strengthened management of protected areas and buffer zones, promoted sustainable naturalresource-use projects, and strengthened mechanisms for local participation in management of natural resources and protected areas. In addition, governance conditions have enabled alliances between conservation organizations and indigenous peoples. Of particular importance, a strong indigenous political movement has established partnerships with conservation practitioners. These partnerships are based on the recognition of rights of indigenous peoples to develop their own representative organizations and secure legal property rights over their ancestral lands. In 1990, before most of the protected areas in Central and South America were established (UNEP-WCMC 2010), the indigenous peoples in the Bolivian Amazon mobilized to obtain legal recognition of their territorial rights. Hence, the importance of indigenous territories for the cultural survival and livelihoods of Amazonian groups, as well as their entitlement to maintain or develop organizational and representation structures and promote traditional practices of natural resource use, has been recognized since the creation of the national protected-area system in Bolivia. The majority of protected areas in Latin America were established after constitutional reforms recognized the multiple cultural and ethnic characteristics of their countries (Van Cott 2010). The principal focus of these reforms was the design and consolidation of democratic institutions, but indigenous movements capitalized on the reforms to demand political inclusion and minimization of the negative effects of development in their traditional lands. The reforms built on the global indigenous mobilization to obtain recognition of their rights through the International Labor Organization No. 169 Convention on Indigenous and Tribal People in 1989. Bolivia is in the heart of South America where the Andes, Amazon, and Chaco come together; thus, it is one of the most species-rich countries in the world (Ibisch & Merida 2003). This high species richness is accompanied by a high cultural diversity. The 30 different indigenous groups present in the country represent 66% of the population, the highest percentage in Latin America (Del Popolo & Oyarce 2005). Forty-four indigenous lands are linked to protected areas in Bolivia, 30 are in the buffer zones; 5 are entirely within a protected area, and 9 overlap partially with a protected area (Salinas 2007). The relation between biological and cultural diversity is exemplified in northwestern Bolivia, a region of exceptional species richness resulting from topographical and climatic diversity and where the Bolivian government established three protected areas: Madidi National Park and Natural Area of Integrated Management (1895750 ha), Apolobamba Natural Area of Integrated Management

Research on Latin American police: where do we go from here?

Studies on policing in Latin America became increasingly frequent during the past 15 years, as a number of political scientists, sociologists, and anthropologists from Latin America, the USA, and Europe focused on police reform in the region because of its implications for the consolidation of democratic institutions. This paper focuses on the substance of published or soon‐to‐be published research on Latin American police forces. We will describe some findings of the research that has been carried out and then analyze areas of research that have yet to be explored by researchers. Finally, we will examine whether we (researchers) have made progress in recent years and assess the limits of what we have accomplished.

Multilateral Development Banks, Governments, and Civil Society: Chiaroscuros in a Triangular Relationship

andmark events such as the end of the Cold War, the renaissance of market policies, and the worldwide expansion of liberal political K J systems have contributed to civil society being gradually accepted as a legitimate international actor. Although nongovernmental organiza tions (NGOs) have implemented microlending and resettlement projects since the 1980s, the setting is different today. So is the responsibility of th? players. For one thing, NGOs are now given the responsibility of iden tifying vulnerable groups and social needs in order to design effective as sistance programs; NGOs are also seen as vehicles for maximizing the ef fectiveness of international funds. Most important, they have become the main challenge to the agendas of international economic institutions. It is in this context that the World Bank and the Inter-American Devel opment Bank (IDB) initiated step-by-step adjustments in their mission and mandate on the one hand, and operational changes on the other. Both en larged their agendas to incorporate interventions in areas closely associated with public administration (that is, modernization of the state, consolidation of democratic institutions, strengthening of local governments, protection of human rights and the environment, and reform of social policies). Condi tions applied to the loans and their implementation in specific projects also became subject to public monitoring. The cultural change within the insti tutions themselves demanded new skills to initiate consultations with local civil society. These advances have not followed a linear progression. The new approach still coexists with the persistence of traditional top-down practices. Furthermore, country case studies show that there is a major gap between the incorporation of new modalities by the multilateral develop ment banks (MDBs) and their implementation in programs and projects at the national level, often as a result of borrowing governments' resistance. In this concluding essay, we bring together the various components of our project in two main parts. In the first, we deal with the governance

Trouble in paradise: Ethnic conflict in Mauritius

This article identifies the factors that led to inter‐ethnic violence in the Indian Ocean island state of Mauritius early in 1999. Until then, Mauritius had been one of the most successful of developing countries, achieving rapid economic growth, huge improvements in the average standard of living, and the consolidation of democratic institutions and procedures. Despite the multi‐ethnic character of its population, it avoided ethnic violence for more than three decades after becoming independent in 1968. We demonstrate that the increased inequalities associated with economic growth created social strains; that the failure of the education system to adapt to new social needs has helped to perpetuate inequalities; and that the fact that inequality partly coincides with ethnic divisions transformed those social strains into an explosive situation. Our analysis suggests a number of steps that might be taken to reduce the likelihood of a recurrence of inter‐ethnic violence in Mauritius and identifies some general lessons from the Mauritian experience.

International electoral assistance

We now live in a historical period characterized by a global “wave of democratization.” We can debate whether it constitutes a “third” or rather a “fourth” wave in the modern era, but there's no denying that the number of nations adopting democratic institutions and procedures in recent years has grown considerably. It may be that for the first time in history a majority of the world's population lives under a political regime we can cautiously call “democratic.” Of course, the transition from autocracy or anarchy to democracy, and the consolidation of democratic institutions, depends largely on factors internal to each polity. “Transitologists” have identified some of these factors, but there's little consensus yet over their relative importance and interplay. But these factors are also linked to influences from the international context. Some believe, for example, that the current wave of democratization represents merely a “contagion” passing from one country to another.

Mexican Popular Movements, Clientelism, and the Process of Democratization

The study of new social movements in Latin America has proven irresistibly attractive to many scholars. Examining these movements allows us to explore the formation of new identities, the emergence of new political and social actors, the creation of new political space, and the overall expansion of civil society. While all or any of these phenomena seem sufficiently intriguing to claim our attention in their own right, the most common rationale offered for the study of new movements is their apparent link to the democratization process. Through the last decade, in books, articles, and, above all, doctoral dissertations produced around the globe, scholars have justified their interest in new social movements in terms of the presumed importance of these organizations in the consolidation of democratic institutions. Most theorists writing in this field would agree with Alvarez and Escobar (1991) that these movements have “a democratizing impact on political culture and daily life” and “contribute to the democratization process.” The problem for most analysts is that we do not know enough about how this takes place, that is, the way in which “grassroots democratic practices [are] transferred into the realm of political institutions and the state.” When I look at the gap between the broader theoretical discussions of the question and