Representative Democracy Research Articles

The relationship between local councillors’ representative style and their support for participatory democracy

The last few decades governments have operated in a challenging environment which increasingly calls for extended citizen participation. The aim of the article is to demonstrate that representative and participatory democracy are not two distinct realities, but that politicians’ opinions about their representative roles are associated with their attitudes about participatory democracy. To this end, the present paper links representative styles (partisan-delegate-trustee) with support for (1) the amount of citizen participation and (2) the type of citizen participation. Elected politicians traditionally perceive their representative roles either as ‘partisan’ (party-driven), ‘delegate’ (voter-driven) or ‘trustee’ (driven by their own judgement). We conducted a large-scale survey among Flemish (Belgium) local councillors ( N = 791). We show the biggest differences in support being between ‘delegates’ and ‘partisans’. The first group seems to be more receptive to (far-reaching) citizen participation and we explain that by their general orientation towards citizens.

Analysis of Obstacles For Mangosteen Agro-Industry Revitalization In Karacak Agropolitan Area, Indonesia: An Interpretive Structural Modeling Approach

<p>This study aims to identify and propose solutions to the obstacles faced in the study of Karacak Agropolitan Revitalization based on Mangosteen agroindustry in Bogor Regency as outlined in a structural model. The revitalization of agro-industry-based agropolitan areas is studied through science, technology, and innovation which are then formulated and analyzed with the Interpretive Structural Modeling Method. Primary data were collected through expert-based surveys and questionnaires from seven relevant and representative government agencies to formulate policy studies. This research resulted in a study of 9 sub-elements of constraints and found 1 key sub-element, arrange hierarchically based on its importance. At the most critical level, we identified the government's political will towards agro-industrial development incentives and disincentive programs in agropolitan areas. This study recommends the government start an integrated agropolitan area revitalization program by utilizing local biological resources. The systems model approach will facilitate sustainable development at the village level, promoting inclusive economic growth and resilience.</p><p> </p>Keywords: Agropolitan, Barriers, Interpretive Structure Modeling, Mangosteen Agroindustry.

Interim Dismissal of DPRD Members Who Commit Criminal Offenses

Indonesia adheres to representative democracy within it’s constitutional system. This representative democracy is manifest by a general election mechanism to elect candidates who will occupy strategic position in managing the running of government. The candidate must be affiliated with a political party in participating in the general election because according to the laws and regulations the general election participants are political parties. A candidate needs a political party to take part in the general election, thus the relationship between the candidate and the political party is like superiors and subordinates with the theme of regeneration. This relationship persistes until the candidate is elected as a member of the regional people’s representative council (DPRD). In addition, political parties hace the authority to impose inter-term termination (PAW) on their cadres who are already sitting in the regional people’s representative council (DPRD) based on the terms and conditions set out in the law. This research is a legal research that uses a statutory approach and a conseptual approach to answer the legal issues contained in this research.

Voices Unveiled: Navigating Intersectionality in the Political Landscape of Chinese Women in Peninsular Malaysia

This study explores the factors influencing Chinese women's involvement in politics in Peninsular Malaysia, using qualitative interviews with ten participants selected via purposive sampling. Key informants include female political representatives, male politicians, academics and Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) activists. The research applies intersectionality theory to analyze how internal and external agents of political socialization and various challenges shape women's political engagement and culture. Internal socialization agents encompass education, economic status, family background, religion, ethnicity, and gender. External agents include Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), political parties, and community networks. The study identifies multiple challenges that Chinese women face, such as gender competition, cronyism, low political interest, time management conflicts, racial sentiments, sexist remarks, male dominance, competition from political opponents, and ideological barriers. These agents and challenges are intertwined and impact Chinese women's political culture, which, in turn, influences their empowerment in political, economic, and social spheres. The intersectionality framework reveals how overlapping social identities and systemic barriers shape their political experiences and efforts towards empowerment. This study provides insights into the complex dynamics affecting Chinese women's political participation and highlights the need for comprehensive strategies to enhance their roles in politics and broader societal contexts.

Arctic disinformation on X (Twitter) – an empirical investigation

ABSTRACT Disinformation campaigns have been deployed on social media by foreign states to target democratic elections as well as sow distrust in traditional authority figures. Scarce attention has been devoted to study the intensity and nature of online disinformation in relation to Arctic issues. This article presents evidence from an empirical study that gathered 1.7 million messages posted on the social media X (Twitter) that addressed Arctic issues. In total, we manually coded 12 500 to detect if and how disinformation was present. We found that Arctic disinformation is first and foremost climate disinformation: climate deniers or minimizers are the main drivers of disinformation on the region. These accounts have used common strategies including cherry-picking data, providing anecdotal evidence and attacking scientists to push their arguments forward. Finally, we observed an increase in Arctic disinformation since Elon Musk expressed his intention to acquire the platform.

Chinese Perspectives on Chinese Indentured Labourers during the First World War

ABSTRACT This article explores Chinese perspectives on the indenturing of Chinese labourers during the First World War and Chinese official intervention in the indenture system. In contrast to the Qing government’s reluctance to send people overseas, the Republican government formed in Peking in 1912 believed in integration into the international capitalist system, and that indentured Chinese labourers working abroad would benefit the country and its people. The government sought to regulate indentures to prevent the recruitment of labourers by rogue agents and to establish new standards for the indenturing system. To some extent this arrangement reflected the characteristics of a new system under which the labourer was relatively free. The popular press was the main vehicle through which the Chinese reading public constructed their perceptions of the indenture system. The terrible conditions endured by Chinese labourers in Russia was portrayed in newspapers as a consequence of the fraudulent practices of Chinese recruiting agents. Labourers recruited by the British and French were judged to have received better treatment. The perceptions of Chinese labourers and their families varied, but especially after the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, their memories of indenture were influenced by anti-colonial and nationalist perspectives.

Ungleichheit – Gift für den gesellschaftlichen Zusammenhalt und für die repräsentative Demokratie

Abstract The socio-economic inequality that has been growing for some time now is poison for social cohesion and representative democracy. In order to break through the indifference that still prevails towards socio-economic inequality and make more equality possible, people must become aware that the future redistribution of wealth to those who created it is not just about achieving more social justice, but also about preserving social peace, preventing centrifugal tendencies and weakening anti-democratic forces.

Democracia representativa-una lectura interseccional

Objective: Analyze, from a critical and intersectional perspective, the organization, composition and legislative performance of a commission focused on women's sexual and reproductive rights, called the Parliamentary Front to Combat Abortion – Pró-Vida. Methodology: An intersectional reading was carried out regarding the constitution of the Parliamentary Front to Combat Abortion - "Pró-Vida", of the Legislative Assembly of the State of Goiás (ALEGO), and the sociodemographic profile of its members was outlined, discussed in light of social markers, gender, race/ethnicity, social class and religion and problematized about a topic that directly affects women's health and lives, abortion. Results and discussion: analysis of the results points to female underrepresentation, the prevalence of white people and the predominance of conservative ideology in customs and religion in the sociodemographic profile considered. In contrast, the literature, when discussing the social markers under investigation, portrays those who choose to have an abortion as black women, with low income and education, and who look to parties with a progressive bias to advocate for their causes. Conclusion: The traditional structure present in the Parliamentary Front investigated faces challenges in building a representative debate capable of reproducing in public policies the complex identities, needs and experiences of women at risk of miscarriage. In this argument, the construction of political practices and legislative approaches must primarily consider the complexities of identity and the intersections and oppressions that lead women to abortion in order to, ultimately, build an inclusive, equitable and representative democracy. Submission: 02/22/24| Review: 03/12/24| Approval: 04/24/24

The Rise of India's Second Republic

Abstract: At first glance, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s narrow 2024 general election victory—a win only made possible thanks to the cooperation of alliance partners—suggests a return to a previous era of coalition government in India. While the ruling party may be weakened, the nature of the political order has fundamentally shifted in ways that will have a lasting impact on Indian democracy. India is witnessing the dawn of a "Second Republic," an inflection point that is equal in magnitude to the constitutional moment in 1950, when India's "First Republic" was established. Several elements of the Second Republic were visible prior to these elections, and the BJP's narrow victory has not dislodged them. The nature of electoral democracy, liberal constitutionalism, national identity, secularism, and federalism have all undergone significant transformations. Yet, true to India's nature, its new political settlement cannot be readily captured using simple binary distinctions.

If at First You Don’t Succeed… A Critique of the Australian Human Rights Act Proposal and the Inquiry into Australia’s Human Rights Framework

Australia, being rather an outlier, does not have a national Bill of Rights. The Australian Human Rights Commission (‘AHRC’) has recently sought to reinvigorate the issue, recommending the enactment of an Australian Human Rights Act. Its proposed model went before the Commonwealth Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, as part of the Inquiry into Australia’s Human Rights Framework. This article considers the need and support for an Australian Human Rights Act, incorporating recent developments during the COVID-19 pandemic. It provides a detailed critique of the AHRC’s proposed model and elements for human rights protection. In doing so, the article draws upon the experiences of certain Australian state and territory jurisdictions with Bills of Rights. It concludes by strongly endorsing the AHRC’s proposed model, subject to some reservations (about a participation duty, equal access to justice duty and power to exempt certain public authorities) and suggested clarifications or enhancements.

Rotspanier. Debate with Regard to the Classification of the Spanish Prisoners Deported to the Mauthausen Concentration Camp

Spanish prisoners deported to the Mauthausen Nazi concentration camp were treated and classified in an anomalous and problematic fashion that did not correspond to the real reasons for their detention. Thus, despite being prosecuted as Rotspaniers – ‘red Spaniards’ – a category initially employed to designate those Germans who had fought in the Spanish Civil War in support of the republican government, they were systematically forced to wear a blue badge that, according to the codes usually implemented in camps, classified them as ‘emigrants’, an equally strange category that was applied to all those Jews or political exiles who had fled Germany following the rise of Nazism but had been arrested upon their return to the country. This reality, however, was not shared by the other Spaniards distributed across the other camps in the system or by the other Rotspaniers present in Mauthausen, who were given the red badge that indicated they were political prisoners. This is the anomaly addressed by this article, which, based on study of the administrative sources at Mauthausen and thorough analysis of ‘protective custody’ as a legal instrument employed by the Nazi authorities to neutralize their enemies, enables us to revisit the debate and propose a new interpretative framework through which to re-evaluate the Spanish experience in the network of German camps.

Between Nation and the State: The Formation of the Populistic Vertical Antagonism in South Korea by Colonial Legacies and Anti-Communism

This study argues the discrepancy between the spatial and temporal imaginations in South Korea and North Korea since nation-building yields populistic political antagonism as vertical, especially in South Korea. In this vein, this study first discusses the implantation of the word ‘people’ and other competitive terms like ‘nationals’ and ‘nation’ during and after the colonial rule. After that, the time-space of independence will be discussed based on how the political associations were formed during the military rule by the US Army. Lastly, the study concludes that the absence of horizontal political cleavage under the electoral democracy in South Korea had been due to colonial legacies and strong anti-communism, which is even relevant to the recent political history in Korea.

DEVELOPMENT OF PARTICIPATION IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT OF UKRAINE: ADMINISTRATIVE AND LEGAL RELATIONS

The article reveals trends in the development of participation in local self-government of Ukraine. The purpose of the article is to study trends in the development of participation in local government. The methodology in this article is based on a number of normative legal acts of Ukraine, which today regulate the components of participation in local self-government, in particular the Constitution of Ukraine, normative legal acts on local self-government and public participation in local self-government, as well as international reports and norms. The main result of the research is the study of the development of local self-government from the foundations of democracy to its implementation in the national legislation of Ukraine at the current stage. After all, understanding the essence of partisanship is impossible without the concept of the essence of "participatory democracy", which is an innovative concept and is a mixed form of direct and representative democracy. The concept of participatory democracy as a basis for the development of participation in local self-government of Ukraine is revealed, the legal basis of the concept of "territorial community" as a subject of participation in local self-government is analyzed, and the basis the principles of community coexistence and local self-government are synthesized. The main problems of participation are identified and the main forms of public participation in local self-government are presented as a promising innovative method of management at the local and local levels. This article successfully delineates the transformation of participatory democracy in Ukraine, marked by a profound commitment to enhancing the mechanisms of public participation within local government structures.

LEVERAGING BIG DATA TECHNOLOGIES FOR ENHANCED PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN PUBLIC FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

The article is devoted to the topical issues regarding the implementation of Big Data technologies in public finance management. The application of Big Data has the potential to enhance transparency and accountability in the use of budgetary resources, increase trust in government, improve the efficiency of budget resource utilization, better understand citizens' needs, and engage the public in public finance management. The purpose of the study is to explore theoretical, methodological, and practical aspects, as well as to develop recommendations for the implementation of Big Data processing and analysis technologies to enhance public participation in public financial management. The article examines traditional methods of civil engagement in the budgetary process, identifies their disadvantages, and explores Big Data technology potential based on Computational Linguistics and Machine Learning to strengthen public participation. Developments in sentiment analysis and opinion mining have been adapted to the field of public finance. A generative model for analyzing public sentiment on social networks regarding public finance management has been constructed and tested. The approaches developed for using Big Data technologies can be implemented in the field of public finance to enhance public participation in their management as advisory tools for the realization of representative democracy and require further theoretical elaboration and practical application to improve the analysis of alternative sentiments, prevent manipulation of public opinion, and abuse within the network.

Is Personal Branding The Key To Success In Simultaneous Elections In 2024?

In the context of representative democracy, elections play a central role in determining the direction of a country's policies and leadership. In Indonesia, the moment of general elections, especially the presidential and vice presidential elections, is very important to determine the political future of the nation. With the development of democracy, the phenomenon of first-time voters has emerged-a new generation that is actively involved in the political process. This study aims to examine the impact of personal branding of presidential and vice presidential candidates on novice voters in the 2023 general election. The method used is quantitative with data collection through questionnaires and data analysis using Smart PLS. The results showed that personal attributes such as honesty, professional background, populism, and wealth have a significant positive influence on the perception of personal branding of presidential and vice presidential candidates among novice voters. These findings make a significant contribution to the understanding of how personal branding elements can influence the decisions of novice voters in general elections.

Parliamentary Democracy in Lithuania, 1920–1927: Its Power and Limits

Parliamentary Democracy in Lithuania, 1920–1927: Its Power and Limits

Autocratization Spillover: When Electing an Authoritarian Erodes Election Trust across Borders.

The rich literature on election trust predominantly uses domestic determinants as explanatory factors. But given the international nature of the autocratization wave, can an autocratization event across borders erode election trust? This article argues that an authoritarian's electoral success in a neighboring country can shatter democratic norms and demonstrate the viability of authoritarians. This autocratization event abroad can thus reduce citizens' principled support for democracy and its political system. Consequently, citizens across borders are less likely to see democratic elections as the "only game in town" and they have less trust in elections. To test this idea, I study the spillover effects of the 2018 Brazilian presidential election, in which an authoritarian candidate won decisively. Using the AmericasBarometer in Colombia that was launched throughout this election, I find that the election trust of Colombian citizens erodes after Jair Bolsonaro's electoral success. To probe into the mechanism, I uncover that his electoral victory leads Colombian citizens to be less supportive of the domestic political system and reduces their principled support for democracy. The causal mediation analysis demonstrates that these two variables mediate the effect of the authoritarian's electoral success on election trust. These findings on autocratization spillover effects illustrate the importance of external autocratization events in the study of election trust.

Analisis Sentimen Twitter Terpilihnya Prabowo - Gibran Menggunakan Metode Neural Network

One of the most important elections in Indonesian democracy is the presidential election, which chooses the country's leader for the next five years. In the 2024 presidential election, there are three candidates for president and vice president, including the Prabowo Subianto - Gibran Rakabuming Raka pair. The election process has taken centre stage on social media, particularly Twitter, where people interact, share information, and express their opinions and feelings. This study aims to look at public opinion towards the Prabowo-Gibran team, which has attracted a lot of attention since Gibran was nominated as a vice presidential candidate until he was declared the winner in the 2024 presidential election by the KPU. This analysis provides valuable insight into understanding public opinion and feelings towards the president and vice president-elect. The method used in this research is neural network (NN), which is proven to be effective in text data classification and capable of producing high accuracy. The dataset used is public opinion on Twitter, which is taken through the data crawling process. The initial data of 1511 tweets was then cleaned and prepared into a dataset of 1500 tweets, with the main attribute being the content of the tweet. Based on the findings, the neural network model created was able to classify the sentiment of tweets related to the Prabowo-Gibran pair with an accuracy rate of 93%. Thus, this sentiment analysis makes an important contribution to understanding the public's response to the presidential election process and the election of a new president and vice president

X. „Eycke von Repkow war kein Revolutionär“ – Festrede von Hilde Benjamin am 28. Juni 1959 im Eike-von-Repgow-Dorf Reppichau

Summary The village Reppichau in Sachsen-Anhalt, situated near the towns Dessau, Köthen and Aken (former principality of Anhalt), is closely connected with Eike von Repgow – the author of the most famous mediaeval German law book “Saxon Mirror” (Sachsenspiegel). The law book was written by him between 1220 and 1235. Based on this fact, representatives of science, politics and justice periodically organized in collaboration with the villagers anniversary celebrations, for example 1934 (700st year of the death of Eike von Repgow) and 1959 (800st year of the first documented mention of the village Reppichau). So it happened that the minister of justice of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), Hilde Benjamin (1902–1989), held a keynote speech in Reppichau on 28 June 1959. She was one of the leading representatives of the ruling Socialist Unity Party of Germany during the early years of the GDR. She became famous as a presiding judge in political show trials with court rulings including exceptionally harsh punishments up to the death penalty. This women, who was also known as “Red Hilde” or “Bloody Hilde”, used the opportunity of her speech in Reppichau in order to integrate Eike von Repgow, the Saxon Mirror and the villagers into the ruling ideology of the early GDR. Furthermore, she attacked the NATO in general and the Federal Republic of Germany in particular with propaganda phrases. The text of this speech, representing an interesting example of contemporary legal history, is edited here for the first time based on an original copy.

VIII. Der Gastaufenthalt Otto Koellreutters in Tokio (1938/39): Eine Facette der Rezeption der nationalsozialistischen Staatslehre in Japan

Summary The Schieder-Conze controversy questioned the relationship between the German academic community and the National Socialist government; however, research on how the Japanese academic community dealt with the German-Japanese alliance is still in progress. This study focuses on Toyowo Ōgushi, a Ministry of Education official who invited Professor Otto Koellreutter of the University of Munich to Tokyo as a Japanese-German exchange professor, and his academic friend Teiji Yabe, an assistant professor at the Imperial University of Tokyo. Ōgushi, whose mentor was the conservative constitutional scholar Uesugi Shinkichi, left the graduate school of the Imperial University of Tokyo, which had highly liberal and socialist tendencies. He studied constitutional law at the University of Jena between 1928 and 1933, where he was influenced by Koellreutter and Carl Schmitt. Upon returning to Japan, Ōgushi became a proponent of German National Socialist jurisprudence. Ōgushi and his former schoolmate Teiji Yabe invited Koellreutter to visit Tokyo. As a researcher of democratic theory, Yabe had become an assistant professor at the Imperial University of Tokyo, but he had moved to the University of Munich in 1936 to study under Koellreutter after becoming increasingly critical of parliamentary democracy. The Faculty of Law of the Imperial University of Tokyo, which retained liberal tendencies, was not entirely at ease with Koellreutter. Nonetheless, the Faculty of Law at the Imperial University of Tokyo conducted systematic research on the already established German National Socialist regime; moreover, its tone was not always critical, and it did not prevent the alliance between Japan and Germany as they moved towards war.