Death Of Democracy Research Articles

‘In good conscience’: Andy Flower, Henry Olonga and the death of democracy in Zimbabwe

Just before their first match of the 2003 Cricket World Cup, Zimbabwean cricketers Andy Flower and Henry Olonga issued a statement explaining their decision to protest the ongoing human rights abuses waged by the oppressive regime of Robert Mugabe. By donning black armbands, Flower and Olonga engaged in a political gesture designed to mourn the ‘death of democracy’ in Zimbabwe and draw attention to the social, political and economic problems of their homeland. For Flower and Olonga, the act of expressing their feelings represented an exercising of basic human rights denied to many of their fellow countrymen and women. In response, the authorities castigated the two athletes, reiterated the myth of apolitical sport, and tightened the connection between the government and the national team. While the protest failed to catalyse direct social change, it raised awareness of human rights issues in Zimbabwe and illustrated the relevance of sport in even the most beleaguered societies.

Democracy, Ambiguity, Scrutiny, and Evidence‐Based Medicine

Ambivalence, according to historian and political science professor Abbas Milani, is the fundamental principle upon which democracy is built.1 Admitting to not knowing the “truth” and a willingness to search for answers with others is the pledge that every believer of democracy should make. In Professor Milani’s view, totalitarian regimes, whether religious, military, or monarchist, can never coexist with democracy. These regimes generally claim to know the truth already, hence violating this foremost tenet of democracy.1 In an ideal democratic society, the people, or their representatives, agree that they do not know the truth, but they arrive at conclusions and act on those conclusions based on their best efforts at fact-finding.2 While searching for the truth and keeping an open mind amid new findings, the people are expected to remain critical of their administration and its decisions and keep the governing body in check. Demosthenes, a Greek philosopher, noted, “There is one safeguard known generally to the wise, which is an advantage and security to all, especially to democracies as against despots. What is it? Distrust.” Evidence-based medicine (EBM) in many ways follows these principles of democracy. By pursuing EBM, one admits to not knowing the definitive truth, expresses a willingness to hear different arguments and suggested solutions, and promises to be constructively critical of every proposal. Believers of EBM, just like supporters of democracy, carry an important responsibility on their shoulders. Selecting accurate and reliable information from a constantly growing pool of data demands exceptional skills: discerning high-quality studies, critically appraising them, and putting them to use in clinical practice.3 This strategy, combined with one’s clinical judgment and consideration of the patient’s values, preferences, and circumstances, guarantees a more accurate and satisfying decision-making process and a more favorable outcome for both the patient and the physician.4,5 It also promises the delivery of better and more updated care and management, fulfilling the principal mission of EBM: to improve patient care.6 In line with the mission of Academic Emergency Medicine (AEM) to promote EBM, a new series, the “Structured Evidence-Based Medicine Reviews,” is introduced in this issue. These reviews will be published under the “Progressive Clinical Practice” section. AEM is proud to provide another venue for showcasing up-to-date and high-quality extracts of evidence to its audience. The editors believe that producing and publishing such reviews through this channel will improve the transfer of evidence from research to the bedside, policies, and guidelines, thereby facilitating the closure of the existing knowledge translation gap.7 In the first of this series, the issue of early and aggressive treatment of postinjury coagulopathy—by way of transfusing packed red blood cell (PRBC) and fresh frozen plasma (FFP) in a 1:1 ratio to emergency department patients with severe trauma—is analyzed.8 In this structured EBM review, a carefully formatted research question is presented first, and the target population, type of interventions, comparisons, and desired study designs are then determined. These elements are specified to examine their impact on a clinically relevant and patient-oriented outcome: mortality. Next, a thorough search of the major medical databases is performed to identify the studies that match the predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria, set by the authors. In the fourth step, the previously published standard criteria are used to assess the quality of the selected articles. Finally, the results of the selected studies are summarized and the application of the existing evidence to clinical practice is discussed. These structured EBM reviews are not intended to replace rigorous systematic reviews. Rather, they are designed to provide and analyze the existing evidence related to patient-oriented research questions when high-quality systematic reviews are not available.9 Since the emergence of new studies over time may sway the evidence to one side or another, the authors of these structured reviews will be asked to update their reviews every 2 or 3 years, especially when new studies on the topic surface. Academic Emergency Medicine hopes that authors will welcome this opportunity, and by preparing similar structured reviews, help eliminate the myths and anecdotes that are still incorporated in our clinical practice. We encourage authors to contact the journal ([email protected]) if they are interested in writing a structured EBM review or if they have a research question that might be suitable for such a review. A detailed set of instructions on how to write these reviews is presented in the “Instructions for Authors” on the AEM website (http://www.wiley.com/bw/submit.asp?ref=1069-6563&site=1). The duty of AEM is to seek and disseminate strategies that bring EBM, and hence better care, to the patient’s bedside. Applying EBM to day-to-day practice, just like democracy, requires constant scrutiny, vigilance, and inquiry. The contemporary educator and philosopher, Robert M. Hutchins, rightfully said, “The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference, and undernourishment.”10

Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Citizenship: Towards Corporate Accountability

Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Citizenship: Towards Corporate Accountability

The Rule of Law under Siege: Selected Essays of Franz L. Neumann and Otto Kirchheimer

In the pathbreaking essays collected here, Neumann and Kirchheimer demonstrate that the death of democracy and the rise of fascism during the first half of the twentieth century suggest crucial lessons for contemporary political and legal scholars. The volume includes writings on constitutionalism, political freedom, Nazism, sovereignty, and both Nazi and liberal law. Most important, the Frankfurt authors point to the continuing efficacy of the rule of law as an instrument for regulating and restraining state authority, as well as ominous evidence of the rule of law's fragility in modern liberal democracy.

Editor's Introduction

This issue reflects many of the recent currents in Russian political life pushing President Yeltsin and the entire Russian political system further to the right, or at least further in the direction of the dispossessed and their political allies, the so-called "power ministries." In the Manichean world of Aleksandr Kazintsev, there are only "democrats" and "patriots." Arguing in favor of a "red-brown" alliance of the far left and far right, he believes that the Communist Party, however reconstituted, is "destined to become the party of state patriots." As for the "democrats," he considers that they have presided over the death of democracy as a result of the October 1993 storming of the Russian parliament building. He notes that the press attacks on Liberal Democratic Party leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky, by advertising his being in disfavor with the regime, had the same effect as similar attacks mounted by Gorbachev on Yeltsin several years ago: he became the champion of the little people. But Kazintsev's view of Zhirinovsky as "useful to the West" (by justifying the arms race and a cordon sanitaire around Russia), coupled with his belief that the West seeks the extermination of the Slavs (by Slavs), exudes a chilling paranoia. Relatively comforting, by contrast, is the measured statement by everyone's favorite Marxist, Roy Medvedev, that he opposes "the pro-Western domestic and foreign policy" of the Yeltsin government.

Death of a Watchdog, Death of Democracy

In a democracy, journalists are expected to safeguard the public interest and to provide truth and accountability to citizens. The media should not function as a megaphone for someone else’s agenda. It is meant to have an active place in society. But the career span of an investigative reporter is relatively short, and maintaining the freedom from censorship, in Sean Holman’s case at least, means going it alone as a freelancer. Unfortunately, the rise and fall of Public Eye demonstrates that independent investigative journalism is not a sustainable practice in Canada. Times Colonist reporter Lindsay Kines shares Holman’s convictions regarding the media’s watchdog function. To do good investigative reporting a journalist needs at least three to four months to focus on a story. But that is not good business – a lesson that Holman learned the hard way after receiving only $500 for his 2004 Jack Webster Award-winning five-month investigation into what became known as the Doug Walls affair.

The Nazi Seizure of Power: The Experience of a Single German Town, 1930-1935

Part 1 The death of democracy - 1922 to January 1933: the setting the anatomy of the town enter the Nazis exploiting victory authoritarians unite the depths of the Depression political crescendo things fall apart the last winter. Part 2 Introducing the dictatorship - January 1933 to May 1945: the last elections the uses of electoral success the terror system whipping up enthusiasm the atomization of society the positive aspect reaction and resistance from enthusiasm to ritual the great justification life in the Third Reich. Appendices: a descriptive list of individuals interviewed for this book tables the Northeim NSDAP.