Research has conceptualized system justification as an overall perception of legitimacy of the status quo. However, there is mixed evidence to determine whether individuals construe political systems and values that uphold them as part of such status quo. We reasoned that if individuals construe the status quo as encompassing the political system and its values in the United States, system justification should predict support for current political institutions and liberal democracy. Relying on a representative survey and an experiment (N = 1994), we found that system justification was related to support for current institutions but not liberal democracy principles, even when making salient different components of the status quo (i.e. economic inequality and liberal democracy). Results suggest that researchers studying legitimacy of intergroup settings or political institutions should measure legitimacy of those institutions rather than general perceptions of fairness, as individuals might not construe the status quo as encompassing those institutions.

This study examines the institutional design of Indonesia’s representative bodies - the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia (DPR RI) and the Regional Representative Council of the Republic of Indonesia (DPD RI) - with particular attention to their constitutional status, functions, and competences within Indonesia’s democratic constitutional framework. Using a doctrinal (normative juridical) legal research method, the study analyzes relevant constitutional provisions, statutory regulations, judicial decisions, and constitutional doctrines governing Indonesia’s bicameral legislature. The findings reveal structural and functional deficiencies within Indonesia’s representative system that potentially undermine legislative effectiveness and equitable national development. These deficiencies include the asymmetrical distribution of legislative authority between the two chambers, overlapping competences, and procedural constraints that significantly restrict the DPD RI’s substantive participation in the lawmaking process. Such institutional imbalances weaken the system of checks and balances envisioned in a democratic constitutional state and limit the effectiveness of bicameralism as a mechanism for territorial representation. In response, this study proposes a strategic restructuring of Indonesia’s representative institutions aimed at strengthening democratic accountability and institutional equilibrium. The proposed reforms consist of two principal measures: (1) permitting independent (non-party-affiliated) candidacy for membership in the DPR RI in order to broaden political inclusion and enhance representational diversity; and (2) establishing functional and authority parity between the DPR RI and the DPD RI to reinforce genuine bicameralism and improve legislative coherence. The study concludes that such reforms are essential to enhancing democratic representation, consolidating checks and balances, and fostering inclusive and sustainable national development in Indonesia.

ABSTRACT This Special Issue examines the evolving transformation of the European public sphere, reflecting significant shifts since its initial conception in 2021. These changes reflect the politicisation of European integration and disruptions in communication processes within EU democracies. The politicisation of crises during the 2010s and the resulting fragmentation have led to shifts in the EU’s public spheres, empowering anti-democratic actors, dismantling communication industry models, and affecting consensus-building. The Issue emphasizes that these disruptions must be seen as a challenge to reconstitute democratic spaces and adapt to new communication dynamics. The articles explore the evolving nature of politicisation in EU politics, highlighting complex configurations that go beyond the typical pro-European vs. Eurosceptic dichotomy. The diversification of politicisation, the fragmentation of communication, and the emergence of new political forms, such as affirmative pro-Europeanism, have shaped a more competitive political landscape. The Special Issue discussed how these transformations impact European politics, including how pro-European forces are engaging with the increased polarisation and the changing dynamics within EU institutions. Ultimately, it investigates how the public sphere’s transformation influences political legitimacy, mobilization, and discourse in the EU, and how democratic societies can navigate the transformed landscape of public communication and the politicisation of European integration.

ABSTRACT Governments in advanced democracies often implement self‐binding mechanisms like regulatory offsetting schemes to counteract short‐term political incentives. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of Germany's offsetting scheme by analyzing over 3000 legal acts for restrictive clauses and passages related to replacing or repealing existing regulations. Despite Germany being a “least likely” case for failure, our analysis indicates that the scheme has not reduced regulatory burdens. These findings suggest that self‐binding measures struggle to override political incentives for rule production, especially with inadequate monitoring. We contribute to the literature by systematically assessing governmental self‐binding effectiveness, introducing a novel methodological approach based on large language models, and employing a robust difference‐in‐differences design to estimate counterfactual effects. Our study highlights the challenges of implementing effective self‐binding mechanisms in democratic governance.

ABSTRACT This article develops a philosophical framework for understanding transgenerationality as a foundational concept for intergenerational justice. Drawing on social ontology and the philosophy of action, it introduces the notion of transgenerational civitas —a temporally extended community composed of past, present and future generations. The paper argues that transgenerational actions, characterised by epistemic and agentic asymmetries, require a diachronic conception of justice that moves beyond reciprocity. By integrating ontological commitments with normative reasoning, the article proposes a model of vertical justice capable of addressing long‐term collective responsibilities and mitigating the populist risks inherent in democratic systems.

Lobbying can support democratic governance, but when unchecked, lobbying can undermine public health interests, particularly in tobacco control. For almost a decade, Ireland has regulated lobbying but has yet to fully implement Article 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), in the context of its declared tobacco endgame goal. This study examined the extent, nature and targets of registered lobbying activities related to smoking and vaping in Ireland from 2016 to 2024. Data were extracted from the publicly accessible Irish Lobbying Register using keywords pertinent to tobacco and vaping. Each submission was analysed and categorised by lobbying entity, purpose, communication method and designated public officials (DPOs) targeted. Quantitative descriptive statistics identified trends and thematic analysis explored lobbying content. A total of 511 lobbying submissions were registered by 39 entities. Health-related policies dominated lobbying activities (64%), followed by trade (13%) and taxation (7%). Vape Business Ireland, Japan Tobacco International Ireland and the Irish Heart Foundation were the most active lobbying groups. Tobacco industry efforts often relied on third-party organisations, a high proportion of which led to meetings. Lobbying targeted 481 individual DPOs. Newer industry arguments to shape the regulation of e-cigarettes appeared alongside well-worn tactics to subvert taxation. Despite Ireland's well-established lobbying regulation, the tobacco and vaping industries maintain a persistent and influential presence within policymaking circles, often overshadowing health advocates. While necessary, transparency mechanisms alone are insufficient and must be complemented by comprehensive implementation of FCTC Article 5.3 to build a pathway for tobacco endgame.

Scholars have been quick to try to assess the consequences of the U.S. Supreme Court’s monumental ruling abrogating abortion rights in the U.S. ( Dobbs ), with several studies showing that the decision seems to have ushered in a new era of significantly diminished support for the Court. But important issues remain unresolved. Perhaps most important, how have racial minorities, especially African Americans, been affected by the Court’s ruling? Based on an unusually large and representative subsample of African Americans, I discover that a substantial proportion of Black people extend remarkably little legitimacy to the U.S. Supreme Court after Dobbs . Some of the difference between Black and White people seems to be associated with the abortion ruling (as I carefully document), but another portion has to do with much lower levels of support of the Court before Dobbs , and with weaker attachments to legitimacy-enhancing democratic values. I conclude that studies of the attitudes and values of minorities, while important in and of themselves, can also help researchers understand more general processes by which citizens update their institutional attitudes.

ABSTRACT Despite repeated attempts to democratize, Thailand has yet to consolidate a stable democratic system. In the twenty-first century alone, the military has overthrown elected governments twice, encountering limited public resistance. This raises important questions about the depth of political interest among Thai citizens, even after decades of economic development. Several theoretical frameworks seek to explain political interest: modernization theory argues that economic growth fosters greater political interest, while alternative perspectives emphasize the role of the working class or individual personality traits. This study examines these proposed determinants of political interest in Thailand using cross-sectional data from Wave 6 of the World Values Survey. Employing ordered logistic regression, this study tests competing hypotheses drawn from these theories. The results provide partial support for both modernization and personality-based explanations, though no single framework fully accounts for variations in political interest. These findings underscore the complex and multifaceted nature of political interest in Thailand and contribute to broader debates about state – society relations in authoritarian and semi-authoritarian contexts.

Internal Party Conflict and Democratic Governance in Nigeria, 2015–2022

Federalism remains one of the most significant constitutional mechanisms for managing diversity, distributing power, and sustaining democratic governance in large and plural societies. While the constitutional text defines the formal allocation of authority, the operational reality of federal systems depends upon political practice, judicial interpretation, fiscal arrangements, and intergovernmental negotiation. This paper undertakes a comparative analysis of centre–state relations in India and the United States to examine how federalism functions in practice rather than merely in theory. The study investigates constitutional architecture, legislative distribution, fiscal federalism, judicial arbitration, emergency provisions, and evolving political dynamics. The paper argues that although the United States represents a “coming together” federation characterized by constitutional symmetry and state autonomy, and India embodies a “holding together” federation with structural centralization, both systems demonstrate dynamic federal evolution. Judicial interpretation and fiscal instruments have significantly reshaped federal balance in both countries. The analysis concludes that federal resilience depends less on rigid constitutional text and more on institutional maturity, cooperative political culture, and adaptive governance mechanisms.

Press freedom and the right to privacy are twin pillars of democratic governance and human dignity. In Nigeria, both rights enjoy constitutional protection under the 1999 Constitution (as amended), yet their coexistence has remained contentious. Media investigations, crime reporting, political exposés, and the proliferation of digital and social media have intensified clashes between the public’s right to know and individuals’ claims to privacy. This paper undertakes a doctrinal and analytical examination of the tension between press freedom and individual privacy rights in Nigeria. It analyses the constitutional and statutory framework, judicial attitudes through Nigerian case law, and relevant international and regional human rights instruments. Using the social responsibility and rights-balancing theories, the paper demonstrates that neither press freedom nor privacy is absolute and that Nigerian courts have increasingly adopted a balancing approach anchored in public interest and proportionality. The paper identifies persistent challenges such as weak enforcement, sensational journalism, and technological disruption, and proposes reforms aimed at achieving a principled and predictable balance between media freedom and the protection of individual dignity. It concludes that a responsible press and a coherent legal framework are essential for sustaining democracy and human rights in Nigeria.

Abstract While many African countries face democratic setbacks, authoritarianism, and electoral violence, Somaliland offers a compelling alternative. Since declaring independence from Somalia in 1991 without international recognition, Somaliland has held multiple peaceful and credible elections, sustained internal stability, and built a participatory political system with minimal foreign aid. This paper explores its hybrid democratic model, which blends traditional clan-based governance with modern multiparty politics. The integration of customary institutions has fostered local legitimacy, effective conflict resolution, and political consensus, allowing Somaliland to avoid the turmoil seen in neighboring states. Despite these achievements, Somaliland remains largely overlooked in global discourse. The paper argues this neglect is due to entrenched geopolitical interests, rigid interpretations of state sovereignty, and limited international interest. By examining Somaliland’s institutional innovations and community-driven democratic practices, this study calls on African states, scholars, and policymakers to recognize and learn from this underappreciated model of democratic governance.

The Enlightenment, an intellectual movement in 18th-century Europe, was stimulated by the Scientific Revolution. Like the scientific revolution, the Enlightenment involved an application of the natural, humanistic attitudes typical of the Renaissance. The Enlightenment or the Age of Reason is names given to the predominant intellectual movement of the eighteenth century. It was an intellectual movement among the upper and middle-class elites. It involved a new worldview that explained the world and sought answers through reason rather than faith, and through an optimistic, natural, humanistic approach rather than a fatalistic, supernatural one. The central doctrines of the Enlightenment were individual liberty, representative government, the rule of law, and religious freedom, in contrast to an absolute monarchy or single-party state and the religious persecution of faiths other than those formally established and often controlled outright by the State. The article explores how the concept of the social contract serves as a theoretical foundation for legitimising political authority through the consent of the governed. For Locke, the establishment of political society was aimed at protecting natural rights—namely, life, liberty, and property—while Rousseau highlighted the significance of the general will in promoting collective freedom and equality. Montesquieu’s support for constitutionalism and institutional checks further bolstered the Enlightenment critique of concentrated power. By revisiting these concepts, the article underscores how Enlightenment political thought has laid the intellectual foundation for contemporary democratic governance, constitutionalism, and discussions surrounding human rights. Simultaneously, the article offers a critical reassessment of the limitations and contradictions inherent in Enlightenment political thought, particularly the tensions between universal ideals and their inconsistent application throughout history. Through this analysis, the study illustrates that the principles of liberty, equality, and the social contract continue to be central to modern discussions on democracy, political legitimacy, and justice. Ultimately, the Enlightenment remains an essential normative framework for understanding the development of the contemporary political order and the ongoing quest for freedom and equality in political life.

According to the rather pessimistic diagnoses dominating in contemporary political research, the digitisation of information and the digital transformation of modern society tend to both a new form of (post-democratic) technocracy and a resurgence of populist democracy. These two main perils posed by the digital era can be confirmed by an in-depth theoretical approach eliciting that the practice of digital democracy generates a couple of threats that could eventually outweigh all available options offered by digital technologies in terms of facilitating democratic participation and deliberation. However, the focus on existing risks of digital democracy must not neglect the inherent opportunities. Hence, this article demonstrates how the corresponding debate benefits from an overarching theoretical foundation contributing equally to a systematic and well-balanced analysis. By applying the theory of democratic antinomies, it becomes possible to manage the difficult traverse between the requested openness to new technological developments and the indispensable defence of classic democratic principles. On this path, an adequate reflection on the conceptual change to which the notions of authority and participation are exposed in the age of digitalisation is crucial.

As democratic governance increasingly relies on digital infrastructure, the boundary between efficient administration and intrusive surveillance becomes increasingly complex. India’s proposals for One Nation, One Election (ONOE) and the creation of a National Voter Database represent ambitious attempts to modernize the electoral system through synchronization and digitization. These reforms aim to conduct simultaneous elections for the national and state legislatures while consolidating voter information into a unified digital database. Proponents argue that such measures could significantly reduce the financial and administrative burden of conducting frequent elections, improve electoral roll accuracy, and enhance governance efficiency. However, critics caution that these reforms may simultaneously create risks related to data privacy, surveillance, and the erosion of federal democratic structures. The ONOE proposal seeks to address these inefficiencies by synchronizing elections across the country, thereby minimizing election-related disruptions and enabling governments to focus on policy implementation. Similarly, the creation of a centralized voter database could streamline voter registration processes, eliminate duplicate entries, and improve electoral management through digital verification systems. If integrated with digital identity systems such as Aadhaar, the aggregation of personal data may enable large-scale monitoring of citizens’ political behavior. These concerns are particularly relevant in light of the recognition of the right to privacy as a fundamental right under Article 21 by the Supreme Court of India in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India (2017). Additionally, critics argue that simultaneous elections could weaken federalism by overshadowing regional political issues.This paper analyzes the legal, political, and technological implications of ONOE and a national voter database. Keywords: Aadhaar Linkage, Data Protection, Digital Governance, Electoral Reforms, Federalism, Mass Surveillance, National Voter Database.

ABSTRACT Circular economy and the bioeconomy are increasingly recognised as complementary innovation pathways for achieving environmental sustainability, preserving economic competitiveness. A growing body of literature has examined circular- and bioeconomy-related innovation at the firm and sectoral level, yet there is little evidence investigating whether a company’s organisational architecture impacts circular and bioeconomy adoption. In this paper, we delve into the worker cooperative model, where workers collectively own and manage the company. Accordingly, we propound that the drivers and barriers shaping circular-bioeconomy innovation in worker cooperatives may follow distinct patterns compared to conventional, investor-owned companies, due to the democratic governance and the embeddedness of such companies within territories and communities. This paper reviews academic literature on circular economy, bioeconomy and the union of the two, and worker cooperatives. Based on a sample of 28 peer-reviewed studies from Web of Science, we conduct a thematic analysis to identify and systematise the main drivers and barriers to circular and bioeconomy innovation of worker cooperatives. The analysis is organised along multiple analytical dimensions. In addition, the paper maps the indicators used in the literature to measure circular bioeconomy-related innovation, highlighting differences in operationalisation and the limited attention devoted to labour- and worker-related dimensions.

ABSTRACT This paper exhorts communication specialists to look beyond English language knowledge by providing evidence to disrupt the unsubstantiated belief that there are few assessment and intervention resources for supporting multilingual children’s speech. The Multilingual Children’s Speech website https://www.csu.edu.au/research/multilingual-speech/home has curated 1337 (mostly free) resources for supporting multilingual children’s speech acquisition, assessment, and intervention in 131 of the world’s languages and dialects (86 languages). Specifically, there are 658 speech acquisition studies in 55 languages, 423 speech assessment resources in 77 languages, and 178 speech intervention resources in 21 languages. This free website includes links to assessment tools, intervention manuals, journal articles, books, chapters, theses, and video recordings for 16 of the top 20 most spoken languages in the world and many minority languages, Indigenous languages (e.g. Māori, Samoan, Sesotho, Setswana, Warlpiri, isiXhosa, Zapotec, isiZulu) and languages and dialects impacted by colonisation and slavery (e.g. African American English, Fiji English, Jamaican Creole, Tok Pisin). Only 17.95% of the resources are about English, with 51.68% about 39 other Indo-European languages, and 30.37% about 46 languages belonging to 15 non-Indo-European language families. Previous analyses of curated knowledge about children’s development in psychology and linguistics have found a WEIRD bias ‘Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic societies’; however, only 29.07% of the languages included on the Multilingual Children’s Speech website are WEIRD. While only 1.23% of the 7000 world languages are represented on the website, these assessment and intervention resources will continue to grow due to ongoing work of multilingual communication specialists across the globe.

ABSTRACT Liberal peacebuilding, aimed at fostering mature democratic systems in post-conflict societies, faces significant challenges. Meanwhile, illiberal peacebuilding under authoritarian regimes following one-sided military victories has garnered increasing attention. However, existing research has failed to clarify the mechanisms underlying the acceptance of illiberal peace – specifically, whether such acceptance is from fear (repression) or performance (legitimation). To address this, it is necessary to examine the underlying logic of residents’ acceptance of illiberal peace. This study analysed residents’ discourses in interviews conducted in Chechnya, where illiberal peace has been established. It specifically examined whether the regime’s hegemonic discourse aligns with those of residents. While acknowledging problems with the Kadyrov regime, those interviewed recognized its achievement of ‘peace’, stability, and reconstruction. Their insights suggest that the regime has achieved illiberal peace not only through repression (acceptance from fear) but also by gaining residents’ support (acceptance from performance). Compelled by repression and co-optation to accept the current regime, residents appear to rationalize their acceptance of illiberal peace by attributing meaning to it.

This article examines India's evolving stance on digital sovereignty within the broader context of international public policy and global digital governance. Although much of the current literature has concentrated on the United States, the European Union, and China as leading models, India is progressively establishing itself as an alternative player. The article utilizes a qualitative interpretive policy analysis to evaluate India's domestic initiatives, such as Aadhaar, the Unified Payments Interface, and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, while also considering its participation in global forums like the G20, the World Trade Organization, and the United Nations Internet Governance Forum. It posits that India is positioning itself as a norm entrepreneur, promoting a model of digital sovereignty that integrates inclusivity, innovation, and strategic autonomy, which aligns with the developmental goals of the Global South. Concurrently, the article underscores the contradictions that complicate this ambition, including conflicts between democratic principles and surveillance practices, openness and protectionism, as well as dependence on foreign technology. By placing India within these dynamics, the study enriches academic discussions on digital sovereignty by recontextualizing India not merely as a passive recipient of global norms but as a potential architect of a more pluralistic and inclusive digital landscape.

This paper explores the contributions of Carmen Aldecoa, scientist and professor of Natural History, whose professional trajectory took shape in Madrid and Santander during the 1920s and 1930s. Firmly aligned with republican values, she voiced her political stance at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, in the newspapers El Diario Montañés and España Libre (New York/Toulouse). Forced to flee Spain, she settled in the United States in 1940 where she taught Spanish at New York University. Her articles, essays and lectures were compiled into the book, Del sentir y pensar (1957). This article analyses part of that legacy.