Democratic Culture Research Articles

Civic engagement and civic competences in adolescence: A gender-based perspective

As outlined by the Council of Europe’s Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture (RFCDC), civic competences are core elements for active participation in a democratic society. This study aimed to examine the linkages between four civic competences (empathy, respect, responsibility, and cooperation) and civic engagement (attitudes and behaviors) during adolescence, as well as test the potential role played by gender, both as a covariate and a moderator. We recruited a sample of 446 adolescents (70% females; M age = 16.51, SD = 1.35) from a high school in Southern Italy and administered a set of online self-report scales: civic attitudes and behaviors were evaluated through the Civic Engagement Scale; empathy was assessed through the Empathic Concern subscale of the Brief Interpersonal Reactivity Index; cooperation was assessed through the Cooperation Scale; responsibility and respect were measured through a set of descriptors provided by the RFCDC. A Structural Equation Model (SEM) was run to test the hypothesized associations, and a series of multiple group SEM was performed to evaluate the moderating role of gender on the relations between civic competences and civic engagement. Our findings showed only empathy and cooperation were positively and significantly related to civic attitudes and civic behaviors. Gender differences were found for empathy, cooperation, and respect, with girls reporting higher levels than boys. Adolescents’ gender was also found to be a significant moderator of relations linking empathy, cooperation and respect with civic engagement. Limitations and implications are discussed.

Tribalism vs Democracy in Africa: The Case of Liberia and Sierra Leone

Both Liberia and Sierra Leone are still grappling with legacies of brutal civil wars (1989 to 2003), with tribalism - the unfair treatment of others on grounds of tribal identity differences - widely regarded as a primary driver of these conflicts. The goal of this study is to find out how the Liberian and Sierra Leonean diaspora in Australia offer solutions to the problem of tribalism, drawing from their own exposures to Australia. The study revolves around the main research question: ‘To what extent, if at all, is tribalism perceived to be a major cause of conflict in your country?’ Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 Liberians and 25 Sierra Leoneans across Australia. The thematic content analysis technique was used to categorize themes and patterns across the various interview scripts. One of the main findings was that tribalism promotes conflict by demoting democracy: 76% of the Liberians and 73% of the Sierra Leoneans pparticipants were of the view that the consolidation of a strong civil society and sound democratic culture were essential for a sustainable state of peace and stability in Liberia and Sierra Leone, and that tribalism was thwarting the growth of a strong democratic culture in their home countries. To build a genuine democratic culture in Liberia and Sierra Leone, tribal politics must be banished. Educational and legislative measures should be instituted to stem ethnic voting in national elections.

Internal Democracy in Pakistani Religious Parties: A Comparative Analysis of Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam and Jamaat-e-Islami

Democratization is an important phenomenon in the contemporary world. An important feature of modern representative democracy is the emergence of political parties, as these are regarded indispensable for the successful working of democratic institutions. Democracy needs sound and democratic political parties. Democratic political parties ensure successful democracy in every democratic polity. Political parties are considered the lifeline of modern representative democracy and are critically significant in a democratic system. Internal Democracy plays a significant role in the democratization and institutionalization of political parties. The IPD is a broader term and is simply defined as “Rule by the party members”. Political parties must adopt and promote democratic culture in their ranks in order to encourage the participation of the masses in the political process. This research study was undertaken to investigate the concept of internal democracy in major religious political parties of Pakistan. This research work has also discussed the concept of internal democracy and its impacts on the overall quality of democracy in the country. It applies Michels’ (1911) “Iron law of oligarchy” theory to study the oligarchical and dynastical trends in political parties of Pakistan. Despite, the crucial role of political parties for strengthening democracy in the country, political parties continue to be termed as oligarchical and to be criticized on account of their internal practices. This research has primarily focused on the two major religious political parties of Pakistan including, JUI (F), and JI. This research study is qualitative. Moreover, this study is descriptive in character. The data is collected mainly through secondary sources. It has been found in this research work that, except for JI, the majority of political parties are not observing the principles of internal democracy. Political parties operate as family enterprises run by dynastical leadership and hereditary politics are in full swing in political parties of Pakistan. Political parties are highly centralized, and decisions are taken at a central level without involving the local chapters of the party.

Eco-humanism and Democratic Culture in the Transformation of Education for the Wellbeing of Engineering Students

This study explores the transformative role of AI-driven applications in engineering education and their impact on student wellbeing. With the rapid advancement of emerging technologies, there is an urgent need to understand how AI can enhance educational outcomes while promoting holistic development among engineering students. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, this research combines quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews to assess the effectiveness of AI tools, including intelligent tutoring systems and adaptive learning technologies. The findings reveal that AI applications significantly improve learning outcomes and enhance student wellbeing by providing personalized learning paths, reducing cognitive load, and fostering engagement with educational materials. Furthermore, adaptive technologies support emotional resilience and a sense of belonging, which are critical for student success. This research emphasizes the importance of integrating AI with student-centric pedagogical strategies to create a more adaptive and supportive educational environment, ultimately contributing to sustainable transformations in engineering education.

Securing Election Processes: Interrogating the Role of Security Agents in Nigeria’s Elections

Election is a democratic mechanism that measures and reflects the political will of the people. Ideally, the election ought to be a peaceful process of leadership recruitment and succession. However, given the nature of the Nigerian state and the character of its politics, elections in the country often result in violence. The violence takes different forms and is mostly targeted at stakeholders like members of the opposition, election officials, electoral materials, and public and private infrastructures. Worse still, the electoral violence compromises the integrity and credibility of the outcome of electoral contests. Considering this, the study examines the role of security agents in protecting Nigeria’s electoral processes. The study explains security as the state of being protected from harm. To this end, it treats electoral security as keeping electoral processes safe and protected from harm. It argues that security agents play vital roles in safeguarding electoral officers and critical stakeholders as well as sensitive and non-sensitive electoral materials. It further notes that security agents maintain the sanctity of elections by ensuring adequate security throughout the electoral cycle: pre-election, Election Day, and post-election phases. Given this, the study recommends that security agents who are deployed on election duties should be trained and retrained as the needs arise. They should also receive lectures on democratic culture, civilian policing, and electoral ethics.

Perspectives on Academic Freedom in the Context of Transformation (insights Ukraine and Germany)

The article examines the current state of academic freedom in Ukraine and Germany in the context of their historical, social, and political challenges. Particular attention is paid to the impact of the Soviet legacy, bureaucracy, financial constraints, and the full-scale war in Ukraine on the functioning of educational and scientific institutions. The key aspects that define academic freedom are analyzed, including institutional autonomy, freedom of teaching, research, democratization of university culture, and international cooperation. The scientific novelty of the paper lies in identifying the interrelationships between the challenges of the post-Soviet legacy, structural barriers, the impact of war, and the prospects for international integration to strengthen academic freedom. The authors rely on the results of a thematic analysis of the discussion panel “Perspectives on Academic Freedom” held within the framework of the international conference “Open Science and Innovation in Ukraine 2024” (OSICU2024) and the German Year of Science 2024 - Academic Freedom initiative. The article identifies eight key thematic categories: academic freedom and autonomy, post-Soviet challenges, freedom of speech and censorship, funding and resource allocation, structural barriers, the impact of war on the academic environment, cultural and democratic development, and international cooperation. In each of these areas, the main challenges faced by Ukrainian and German universities are revealed and ways to address them are suggested. Considerable attention is paid to the issues of financial autonomy, which is the basis for the realization of academic freedom. The article discusses the need to increase basic state funding in Ukraine and to reform grant mechanisms in Germany. It is pointed out that international cooperation can play a crucial role in overcoming the challenges of war, involving Ukrainian scientists in the global academic community, and implementing best practices in university management. In addition, the study emphasizes the importance of developing democratic approaches to university governance and fostering a culture of openness and critical thinking. The results of the study offer recommendations for strengthening institutional autonomy, reducing bureaucracy, increasing the financial sustainability of universities, and ensuring academic freedom in the face of global and local challenges. The article contributes to the theoretical and practical understanding of the ways of transformation of the Ukrainian higher education system and its integration into the European educational space..

Budaya Demokrasi Masyarakat Sipil Manggarai di Media Sosial

This article explains the democratic culture of civil society of Manggarai on social media based on a case study in the Facebook group Manggarai Bebas Berpendapat. Data were collected through observation, in-depth interviews, and documentation. The result shows that political participation in the group is manifested in the form of information provision, discursive deliberation and contestation, and efforts to influence public policy. Discursive deliberation and contestation appear in the form of user-generated framing wars, symbolic discursive deliberation and contestation, and sentimentality. In general, the democratic culture of Manggarai civil society on social media is dominated by a posttruth democratic culture.

The impact of conspiracy belief on democratic culture: Evidence from Europe

The spread of conspiracy theories is expected to have an increasing impact on the vitality of Western democracies and their political culture. Drawing on a 2022 survey from 10 European countries (with n = 20,449), this study uses narratives about immigration and COVID-19 to examine their relation to individual democratic attitudes and preferred forms of political participation. Overall, the findings suggest that while conspiracy belief can generally be seen as a side effect of democratic backsliding and an amplifier for the erosion of a vibrant civic culture, its interplay with people’s political attitudes varies and is dependent on the specific context. On the other hand, conspiracy believers generally tend to identify more strongly with the region and country in which they live.

Undoing a Hybrid Regime: What Lessons can be Extracted from the Case of North Macedonia?

This study primarily aims to draw attention to the role of the European Union (EU) and the United States (US) in North Macedonia’s1 transition from a hybrid regime to a standard democracy from 2015 to the present. The stability of the country has been of paramount importance for the Western interests, thus the EU and US have continuously supported successive governments to uphold the de-facto powersharing system that prevailed since its independence in the early 1990s. By employing Levitsky and Way’s theoretical framework of linkage and leverage, this study aims to elucidate the decisive roles played by the EU and the US in cultivating the conditions necessitated for North Macedonia’s gradual democratic transition after 2015. To do this it addresses political developments in North Macedonia, discusses the problems that aroused during this transition period, which are inherited in a lack of democratic culture and widespread corruption, and finally, suggests that as the Macedonia example demonstrated, EU support and tutelage is critical during such challenging transitions.

Belief Bias in Individual and Collective Reasoning.

In this paper, we investigate whether collaborative group performance is better than individual performance in solving a syllogism evaluation task. We hypothesise that collaborative group settings will outperform individual settings and that the belief bias effect will be mitigated in a group setting. Two empirical studies were conducted with Argentinian undergraduate students. Study 1 (N = 239) used a between-subjects design with two conditions: individual resolution and interactive group resolution. Overall, the group condition performed better than the individual condition, but there were no significant differences in evaluating invalid syllogisms. Study 2 (N = 115) used a within-subjects design with three conditions: individual resolution, interactive group resolution, and individual after-interactive group resolution. Overall, the group condition performed better than the individual condition, and the individual after-interactive group condition showed an increase in accurate answers compared to individual resolution. However, as observed in Study 1, the collaborative group setting did not improve the evaluation of invalid syllogisms. We propose an explanation for the group resolution of invalid believable syllogisms within the framework of the selective processing model of the belief bias. This research provides new data on the effects of collaborative settings in deductive reasoning beyond the Western Educated Industrialised Rich Democratic (WEIRD) cultures.

Populism and Accountability: Interdisciplinary Researches on Active Citizenship, edited by Antonio Maria Baggio, Maria-Gabriella Baldarelli, and Samuel O. Idowu. XVIII, 325 pp. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-20032-8

This book comparatively analyzes various forms of populism in countries with democratic political systems and regimes. In various chapters, the authors draw attention to the common elements of populism that have already emerged: the desire for political representation, a charismatic leader, a nationalist idealization of the historical role of ‘the people’, criticism of the EU, the Council of Europe, the OSCE and international law. In this book, various authors point out that populist phenomena are used to destroy both the tools and the rules and culture of democracy. Most populist political parties gain widespread acceptance among young people because of their extreme views and statements, thereby calling for the abandonment of democratic principles, that is, the political order and the rule of law. In this book, the authors use an interdisciplinary approach to highlight the importance of political and social accountability and responsibility, examining the major challenges facing current and future corporate leaders. In its various chapters, the authors propose counter-populist approaches for effectively measuring political and socially responsible action and accountability. In this context, the authors offer tools to combat the causes of populism in both the political and social spheres, as well as in business.

Implicit cultural policies in Zimbabwe: insights from Stephen Joel Chifunyise’s plays and theatre

Sometimes cultural policies are dismissed and criticized by some artists and cultural practitioners as banal and other times they are deemed pivotal in the democratization of culture, cultural democracy and the advancement of a democratic society. This ambivalent perception of arts and cultural policies results in many missed opportunities in the production and distribution of cultural and creative expressions like plays and theatre. This paper sets out to answer the question about how cultural policies shape the advancement of cultural and creative expressions in post-independence Zimbabwe. Stephen Joel Chifunyise’s plays and theatre as case examples provide insightful snippets of the role and power of cultural policies in the advancement of the cultural and creative sector and the broader society. This is achieved through a review of academic publications, policy documents and cultural policy texts. The theoretical lens partially deployed here is interpretive policy analysis, which reads the meaning of cultural policies through authored and constructed policy texts such as plays, theatre productions, theatre infrastructure, theatre festivals, publishing houses, book fairs, policy documents and public pronouncements. In addition to the interpretive policy analysis, I also deploy the concept of explicit and implicit cultural policies to comprehensively look at the role of direct cultural policies and indirect cultural policies in the theatre sector in Zimbabwe. The second lens is used to analyse the impact of Zimbabwean implicit and explicit cultural policies on the theatre sector through Chifunyise’s plays and theatre. In critically answering the central question, this paper argues that Zimbabwe has several implicit cultural policies whose effect on the theatre is felt more through constructed cultural policy texts than authored cultural policy texts, and thus, all cultural expressions are inevitably shaped by one cultural policy or the other.

El retorno del sofista: herramientas para una educación democrática en contexto de posmodernidad

Sophistry constitutes an intellectual movement, typical of the Greek democratic culture of the 5th century B.C. Among its most notable features, it is the vindication of the importance of education for public life. The text operates a counterpoint between the Platonic perspective and the sophist perspective of truth, politics, and education, and, at the same time, it postulates the possibility to rethink current education from a renewed perspective of the sophist movement.The expression "the return of the sophist" reflects the desired aspect in a Postmodern pedagogy with a democratic tone.

Digital Actors and Digital Platforms in the System of International Relations: Between Complex Interdependence and Online Sovereignty

The article analyzes deep changes in international relations that are taking place in the context of the increasing role of digital actors and platforms in shaping the global agenda. The emergence of the Internet was a turning point in the development of the entire system of global communications. The Internet changed the way information is spread and public opinion is shaped, while digital platforms became a new factor of globalization. At the same time, as the authors demonstrate, the original nature of the Internet, which was viewed by the United States and the West as an integral part and technology of the liberal order, in the end started to reflect the increasing confrontation between states, and became a space for the spread of political conflicts, stereotypes and information wars. In addition, new digital oligopolies began to shape the digital space based on their corporate interests, prioritizing their market share rather than the quality of online discussions and the strengthening of the civic democratic culture. The weaponization and securitization of the Internet is a logical continuation of the crisis of the global liberal order. The complex interdependence, which was strengthened by digital actors and digital platforms, is increasingly being replaced by the idea of digital sovereignty. States aim to decouple from a single communicative space and to create norms protecting them and their citizens from the excessive influence of the Big Tech. The authors conclude that we are experiencing the sunset of the era of information openness. Depoliticization of the Internet is impossible without reducing international tension and reviving the spirit of rationalism in world politics. Only through getting back to reason can we return to the Internet the role of a creative, rather than destructive technology.

Educação para uma Cidadania Democrática: da formação inicial de professores às práticas de sala de aula em Portugal

Teacher training, at Escola Superior de Educação de Lisboa, has since 2020 included a curricular unit in the master's degree in Teaching in the 1st cycle and Portuguese and History and Geography of Portugal in the 2nd cycle, which aims to develop Competences for Democratic Culture (CDC). Taking as a reference the 20 CDC (Council of Europe, 2017), the training component in the field of Didactics of ​​Social Sciences (DSS) was reformulated, introducing changes in the curricular unit Society, Culture and Territory. These changes have produced visible results in supervised teaching practices (6-12 years old). This article focuses on critical reflection on the teaching and learning strategies experienced in initial training, within the scope of DSS, mobilized in the practices with students aged 6 to 12. The objectives are: (1) to recognize the effects of the strategies implemented in initial training in the field of CDC; (2) analyse the skills developed by elementary school students and reflect on the practices for the development of these skills; (3) analyse the CDC valued in students' practices and the results of their pedagogical-didactic projects. Methodologically, a documentary analysis is carried out that frames the CCD in initial teacher training and a content analysis of the twelve final master's reports (2021 to 2023), which focus on a pedagogical-didactic intervention and research on development of CDC (strategies, activities and evaluation indicators). The first result points to the recognition of the role of DSS in initial training within the scope of CDC: through content and training methodologies, SS facilitate practices aimed at building critical and democratic citizenship. Secondly, the impact of projects implemented in elementary school classes is highlighted, with the purpose of promoting CDC: evidence of the relevance in guiding future teaching practice towards training children and young people to read, interpret critically and intervene in the social reality in which they are inserted.

La formación inicial del profesorado de primaria en educación para la ciudadanía. Estudio de casos en Latinoamérica

This article identifies, analyzes and interprets what happens with citizenship education in the initial training of generalist teachers, in university programs in Latin America. The methodological strategy is the documentary analysis of the citizenship education curriculum in three academic programs in Chile, Argentina and Colombia, which train primary school teachers and who agree to participate voluntarily in the study. The results identify that the purposes and objectives of the programs for the initial training of generalist teachers focus on global citizenship. In the study plans, the contents planned for teaching the area are few and focused on theoretical concepts related to national citizenship, which do not favor the development of critical thinking or the political training of teachers, which are essential aspects to train students future teachers and transformative intellectuals (Giroux, 2006). The analysis concludes that general teachers are not being trained to educate primary school boys and girls as critical and democratic citizens. Academic programs have the challenge of proposing problematizing curricula, in which future teachers acquire the professional skills to analyze and understand the complexity and interdisciplinarity of social knowledge and, to guide the area of ​​citizenship in primary education in the construction of democratic culture and social justice.

Cultural considerations when working with Jewish students and supervisees

ABSTRACT The author examines the marginalization of Jewish identities in multicultural clinical education and supervision amid rising antisemitism in the U.S., proposing the use of cultural democracy to address these issues. He critiques the erasure of Jewish identity due to the neglect of Jewish backgrounds in key theories and inaccuracies in clinical literature. He further underscores the importance of Jewish cultural considerations, including accommodating Jewish practices such as holidays, Sabbath observance, mourning customs, and dietary laws, while advocating for flexibility and sensitivity. Finally, he addresses considerations when supervisees experience antisemitism from a person at the center of a clinical encounter.

Integrating ethics and democratic principles in chemistry education: a case study

Abstract This study presents a novel approach to integrating ethics and core values into chemistry education through the module “Culture of Democracy Through the Didactics of Chemistry.” Developed as part of a broader initiative aimed at educating future teachers for democracy and human rights, this module explores the ethical dimensions of chemical knowledge and its social and environmental impact. Utilizing the Council of Europe’s Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture, it introduces pre-service teachers to concepts such as responsibility, human dignity, and the rule of law. The module involved six pre-service teachers and two schoolteacher-mentors. Key activities included student-led discussions, such as exploring personal responsibility and moral dilemmas in chemistry, exemplified by the Heinz dilemma, and engaging in discourse on the possibility of breaking a law for morally justifiable reasons to comprehend the delicate balance between legal duties and moral responsibilities. Through reflective exercises and collaborative learning, pre-service teachers engage critically with the ethical implications of their future profession. Initial feedback highlights the value of integrating ethical discussions into chemistry education, fostering deeper reflection and a sense of responsibility among pre-service teachers. The study provides a valuable framework for educators integrating ethics into science curricula, fostering responsible chemistry practice aligned with social values.

The ‘death’ and ‘rebirth’ of museums in colonial Hong Kong: three decades of community endeavours to restore reputation and culture, 1933–1962

ABSTRACT For nearly three decades, from 1933 to 1962, Hong Kong was deprived of a proper museum. This article explores the prolonged absence of public museum services in the colony and their arduous restoration. It investigates the reasons behind this extended hiatus and scrutinises the efforts made by the Hong Kong colonial government and the local community to reintroduce public museum services. The article argues that the resurgence of museums in Hong Kong was primarily propelled by community initiatives. While the colonial administration displayed indifference towards museum provision, Hong Kong's civil society considered it essential for enhancing the colony's reputation and cultural landscape. Through a public campaign for cultural democratisation, they compelled the government to establish a new museum. Their lobbying and preparatory efforts showcased the significant determination and agency of the local community in shaping the cultural outlook of the colony despite their limited political representation.

Democratic deficit and underdevelopment in Nigeria: a qualitative study of the 2023 Presidential Elections

Discontentment with democracy in West Africa centres on abuse of power and political corruption. In Nigeria, dissatisfaction lies not just with these but also with insecurity, economic recession and the electoral process – a system fraught with complications, controversies and contradictions. Using the political economy of elections as its theoretical framework together with mixed research methods, this paper interrogates the relationship between Nigeria’s democratic culture and the 2023 presidential elections. Here I present a politicised electoral management institution, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Its performance is shaped, not by legislative instruments and constitutional guidelines, but by a dysfunctional democratic culture that reflects the extent to which ethnicised politics, class, institutionalised loyalty and money politics determine election results and Nigeria’s version of democracy. Although fragile and prebendal, democracy continues to consolidate amidst delayed development. The paper recommends increased media advocacy for reform.