Democratic Maturity Research Articles

Fiscal Illusion and Democratic Maturity: Exploring the Roles of Information, Trust, and Participation in Citizens’ Perception ff Taxes and Spending

The concept of fiscal illusion is a paradox in public finance; that is, people believe that it is possible to expand government services despite decreased revenues. Evidence suggests that fiscal illusion relates to democratic maturity, considering the lack of transparency, trust, and participation in developing countries. Accordingly, an important research question arises: What factors remedy such misperceptions of fiscal situations? This study explores these factors through a survey experiment. The empirical evidence indicates that citizens’ fiscal illusion decreases when transparency in the fiscal process is ensured through information, trust, and participation. This research contributes to the field of public administration by identifying the factors that reduce fiscal illusion in public finance management and providing important policy implications, namely, that developing countries should make more efforts to reduce citizens’ illusion regarding public spending for sustainable growth by transparently disclosing financial information and ensuring trust in government and civic participation.

Revisiting the nexus between corruption and gender: does women’s political participation in parliament matter?

ABSTRACT The study aims to empirically verify the hypotheses that the increase in the share of women legislator in politics has the potential to reduce levels of corruption within the Parliament and overall political corruption levels. Using data from the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) platform, fixed effects, and generalised method of moments (GMM-System) models are estimated for a set of 154 countries between 1995 and 2018. The results show that when considering corruption within the legislative house, the greater share of women in politics is associated with lower levels of corruption. Even after controlling for various societal factors, the results confirm the positive effect of women’s participation in parliament on the decline of corruption. Yet, this effect does not seem to spill over into other branches of government and sectors of the public sphere. When considering the level of more general corruption, it responds much more to variations in structural aspects, as democratic maturity and equality in the distribution of political power among different socioeconomic strata, than to women’s participation in parliamentary seats.

Negative impact of democracy on GDP annual growth rate in 2001-2019 and 2020 and mortality rate due to COVID-19 in 2020

The study examines the negative impact of democracy on the GDP annual growth rate in 2001-2019 and 2020 and the morality rate due to COVID-19 in 2020. Whether democracy has deteriorated in the first 20 years of the 21st century in terms of annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate and the mortality rate due to COVID-19 was investigated. Using various statistical data and by applying instrumental variable analysis with three instrumental variables. The negative correlation between democratic maturity and GDP growth rate and positive one between democratic maturity and COVID-19 mortality rate in 2020 were found. The same relationships were observed even when the data of China and the United States or those of China and G7 countries were deleted and even when only G20 countries were considered, indicating that this is a common phenomenon in the world. We also proposed that these relationships were casual. The decline in the growth of capital formation, the accompanying decline in the growth of value added in all three sectors, and the decline in the growth of international trade were suggested as the causes of democracy’s deterioration. Negative effects of democracy were also observed when GDP per capita growth rate was used, when democracy indicators proposed by different institutions were used, or when the Great Recession was considered. We confirmed the same negative effect of democracy by considering covariates and using the GDP growth rate in 2021, following the pandemic. This strengthened the conclusion that democracy in the first 20 years of the 21st century has deteriorated in terms of annual GDP growth rate and mortality rate due to COVID-19 in 2020.

Civic Innovation in Portugal

Democracy in Portugal is challenged by the lack of awareness regarding decision-making processes, disappointment with quality of life expectations, and a general lack of trust in politics. Citizens' disenchantment with the performance of governors and politicians is reflected in low electoral participation and radicalisation in the public sphere. Despite this, there is a growing inclination towards participatory dynamics and solidarity initiatives. The 50th Portuguese anniversary of democracy in 2024 should draw attention to innovative civic engagement projects that enhance democratic maturity and citizens’ commitment.
 The present article aims to conceptualise citizen innovation, and analyse its practices in Portugal, typify models of civic laboratories, and discuss their effectiveness, focusing on results, particularly those that are managed as a bottom-linked model This study carried out a literature review and analysed four recent initiatives in Portugal. Structured in three parts, it discusses civic labs as settings for structural change and analysis of civic innovation in Portugal.
 The study emphasises equally the transformative potential of collaborative collective action between citizens and communities, particularly when it is mediated and geographically delimited. Citizen labs are seen as valuable spaces for mapping resources, combining knowledge, and experiencing social transformations with low risk. Regarding civic labs governance models, the bottom-linked approach, although with limitations, tends to reveal a strong potential when compared to top-down institutional or bottom-up community approaches.
 Cover page: The conceptual and operative dimensions of the Urban Civic Labs

Compromised policing: An evaluation of the criteria used to appoint police commissioners in South Africa

ABSTRACT The police agency is an important institution that deals with the safety and security of the inhabitants of the country and with corrupt practices that affect the fiscal and public morale. That is why the appointment of an independent police commissioner, who executes his/her mandate without any fear or favour, is critical. In this study, an analysis of documents on the appointment of police commissioners in South Africa was conducted. After four successive police commissioners failed to complete their tenure because of either corruption or incompetence, this study is an attempt to determine the suitable criteria that can be used to appoint a suitable commissioner. Due to geopolitics of different countries, there is no ideal method that guarantees the appointment of a suitable police commissioner, whose office is insulated from unwarranted external influence to guarantee its integrity and public trust in the police department. It is evident that the appropriateness of the appointment method is determined by the values and democratic maturity of each country. Irrespective of the method used, there is a need for such a method to be fortified by objective appointment criteria that guarantees the capability, skilfulness, integrity, honesty and professionalism of the person appointed.

PAPUA "NOKEN" LOCAL WISDOM FOR THE STRENGHTNESS OF DEMOCRATIC PANCASILA VALUES IN INDONESIA

This paper discusses noken Papua as a local wisdom that gives its own meaning in democracy in Indonesia. For Papuans, noken has its own value for their lives. Because noken cannot be underestimated its existence in Papuan human civilization. There are many values ​​of life that can be explored as principles in life. In this context, noken represents values ​​for Pancasila democracy in Indonesia. For example, consensus, social, unity, justice, dignity as a human being and human personal relationship with God. The methodology in this paper uses literature study, by analyzing books, scientific journals and magazines. In addition, by developing the opinions of Papuan leaders who have talked about noken and Pancasila democracy. This writing contributes to developing democratic maturity in the life of the nation and state through the values ​​obtained from Noken as a local Papuan wisdom. Thus noken is not only an inanimate object, but contains living values ​​for democracy in Indonesia. So noken is the ancient heritage of the Papuan people who give life values.

Reaching out to affluent interest groups? Assessing the moderating role of membership influence across old and new democracies

AbstractThis paper seeks to explain under which conditions policymakers actively reach out to interest groups. Policymakers are often expected to contact affluent groups more often than resource‐strapped ones because these organizations can provide them with more and better policy expertise. I argue that economic resources are less important than often assumed and expect that the role of financial means in enjoying outreach from policymakers is contingent on the degree of membership influence. To test this argument empirically, I rely on survey data of over 2.500 interest groups active in six European countries varying in democratic maturity. The results demonstrate that wealthy groups are contacted more frequently than economically deprived ones, but only when members exert a strong influence over the group's political positioning. This is true except for relatively new democracies where the effect of economic resources does not vary systematically across differential levels of membership influence.

Moulding democratic citizens: democracy and education in modern European history – an introduction

ABSTRACT Politicians and intellectuals across Europe largely agree that democracies require educated citizens. However, current conflicts surrounding disinformation on social media, right-wing populism and religious fundamentalism seem to cast doubts on the democratic maturity of Western societies. At the same time, controversies exist around the thorny issue of what kind of education befits democracy and whether and how governments should intervene in the political education of their citizens. These controversies have a long and complicated history, which stands at the centre of this special issue. By both exploring how states, political parties and social movements tried to shape political identities and assessing the resulting successes, failures and contradictions of these attempts, the articles provide a unique window into the conflicted history of West European democracy. Educational programmes attempted not only to empower individuals, but also to manage, control and frame political and civic engagement. While these schemes also always entailed the promise of equality, in practice, they often identified certain social groups – such as women, the working classes or immigrants – who ostensibly lacked the moral or cognitive preconditions for democratic citizenship and therefore needed special educational attention. The individuals to be educated did not passively give in to the competing programmes of governments and political movements. Rather, they often circumvented or even openly resisted educational schemes from above that sought to change their lifestyles and political consciousness. In order to place the articles in this special issue in a wider historiographical context, this introduction illuminates the nineteenth and early twentieth-century roots of the tensions that haunted the endeavours to educate post-1945 democratic citizens.

English

Ghana’s multiparty democracy continues to attract global attention. While every election comes with its dynamics, it also provides valuable lessons for the country’s democratic maturity. Drawing mainly from desk study and using Linz and Stepan’s three dimensions of democratic consolidation, the study examined how the two presidential election petitions, 2012 and 2020, have catapulted the democratic drive of the country. The paper unearthed that the Ghanaian political demagogues are largely willing to stick to the rules of the game for democratic maturity. In addition, the judiciary in their rulings upheld the results of the two respective elections as declared by the Electoral Commission. However, the actions and the inactions of the jurists and rulings in the two cases have different implications for electoral reforms and democratic maturity in Ghana.   Key words: Presidential election petitions, democratic maturity, elections, Supreme Court, electoral commission, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo, John Dramani Mahama,  

EXPLAINING POLITICAL PARTY VIGILANTISM AND VIOLENCE IN PARLIAMENTARY BY-ELECTIONS IN GHANA

Electoral violence often perpetrated by political party vigilante groups in Ghana has been a major setback to Ghana’s drive towards democratic maturity. In particular, acts and incidence of violence have been alarming during parliamentary by-elections at the constituency level, which have often led to major casualties like deaths, injuries, destruction of property, inter-party conflicts, as well as social and communal tensions. Yet, very little attention has been given to electoral violence and vigilantism during parliamentary bye-elections. This study fills this gap by drawing on interviews, general observations, and archival sources to examine the causative factors for the persistence of parliamentary by-election violence, at the constituency level. The central questions addressed in the paper are: what is the motivation for the involvement of political party vigilante groups in parliamentary by-elections and associated conflicts?; what strategies do political parties use to mobilize vigilante groups during parliamentary bye-elections; and what are the implications of parliamentary by-election conflicts for inter-party and communal relations, at the constituency level? The study concludes on the note that, the stakes are often high in the conduct of bye-elections, as the whole concentration of the nation is deployed to small constituencies where such elections are held, culminating in a more pronounced activities of vigilante groups in such communities, during by-elections. It finally raises the question with regards to how to manage the rising incidence of vigilante group activities in the conduct of bye-elections, and suggests this, as being the focus of any future research activity on political vigilantism in Ghana.

The role of political opposition: A pre-requisite for democracy

No doubt for a democracy to be triumphant, multi-party system or, at least two party systems is obligatory. A country where there is one party system and lack observant and efficient opposition there are every chances for the incumbent party to become autocratic and domineering. One party system is most of the times susceptible to transform into dictatorship. Most of the times where there is one party system, the opposition is stifled and trampled and the dictatorship of the single party is established. Germany during Hitler’s rule and Italy during Mussoloni rule are the cases in point. One cannot imagine of a democratic set up without a healthy and watchful opposition. For the success of any parliamentary democracy, an effective opposition is must to carry out its functions courageously and effectively. The paper analyses the rights, responsibilities and obligations of opposition in a democratic system. For this purpose, the techniques adopted by the researcher for data collection include a detailed survey of the available literature covering different aspects of the topic. The internationally reputed authors and experts have been quoted. It is for the government to allow the opposition to fulfil their functions, which indicates a sign of democratic maturity on the part of government. The opposition has to focus on its democratic functions and if it fails to do so, it will be a sign of dysfunctional democracy.

PERKEMBANGAN DEMOKRASI DI TUNISIA

This paper discusses the development of democracy in Tunisia. The goal is to understand the development of Tunisian democracy which is full of dynamics of the effects of the Arab Spring. This research uses the library method. Data collection through journals and books. The results of this study found that the long journey of the Tunisian people, in achieving independence from the occupation of the Tunisian government itself, was a road that was not easy, steep and sharp. Many became victims, in the name of the revolution. Both physically and psychologically. However, the struggle is carried out not only in the name of religion but also human humanity at stake, the rights and obligations desired by the Tunisian people, who become their driving force in their journey to achieve a democratic government. Of course, this requires a sacrifice in the long journey of democracy in Tunisia. Although in some Middle Eastern countries the process of democratization is still uncertain, Tunisia is not. Tunisia has become a hope for countries in the Middle East to rise from adversity. Tunisia has successfully held elections to democratically appoint a leader. Tunisian democracy is getting better with the inauguration of a new constitution that provides equality between men and women so that Tunisia becomes a pioneer of feminism in the Middle East. Although we cannot compare it with other contexts of Islamic government, Tunisia is a system that continues to rise to renew the slump of democracy by removing the influence of secular, far-right ideologies, and the monarchical system. Therefore, the political dynamics of the state system is a transition period whether it will lead to destruction or even towards democratic maturity, thus there is still optimism for the implementation of Islamic democracy in the Tunisian government system in the midst of all the dynamics that are faced.

Impact of Political Institution Role to Anti-Corruption Perception Index: An Experience From Indonesia

Indonesian democracy from every period of government will continue to experience development towards maturity. In the life of the state, corruption cannot be separated. The role of political institutions and democratic maturity is very large in eradicating corruption, collusion and nepotism. This study uses secondary data, with used the Indonesian Democracy Index (IDI) and the Anti-Corruption Perspectives Index (Indeks Persepsi Anti-Korupsi/IPEK) which is sourced from the Indonesian Central Statistics Agency. Data processing using multiple linear regression statistical analysis. The Indonesian Democracy Index consists of variables of the role of the DPRD, the role of political parties, the role of the local government bureaucracy and the role of an independent judiciary. It was found that the role of DPRD has a significant positive effect on IPAK, the role of political parties has a significant negative effect on IPAK, the role of local government bureaucracy is significant positive and the role of an independent court is not significantly negative for IPAK. It is hoped that to improve the social community that is aware on anti-corruption, it is necessary to increase the role of the DPRD and the role of the local government bureaucracy in accordance with their duties and functions in the government together to eradicate corruption and form a new culture oriented towards the prevention and eradication of corruption.

The Power of Emak-Emak: Perempuan dalam Pusaran Kampanye Politik Pemilihan Presiden 2019

This research describe the militancy shown by women in the presidential election at 2019 in Indonesia. This paper aimed to explore women's political participation in presidential elections at 2019. The research approach used Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) in the construction of the power of emak-emak (motherhood). The author explored a series of political actions by a group of mothers who were skilled at producing unique song texts and interesting political campaigns as an expression of support for one of the candidates. These findings indicated that the role of women in current general election was increasingly apparent by involved joining creative campaigns, controling government policies, and giving voice of women`s independence. One side of the political activities is a form of democratic maturity phase, but on the other hand cannot be separated from the power and authority relation of the opposition groups.

Election Security and Violence in Ghana: The Case of Ayawaso West Wougon and Talensi By-elections

Conducts of by-elections in recent times have been fraught with a lot of security challenges. This has been as a result of the violence that characterized the conduct of by-elections in recent times in Ghana. Violence during by-elections in Ghana plays a vital role in securing election victories for political parties. In all the by-elections characterized by violence in Ghana, they were won by parties that were accused of inciting the violence. The main tenets of election violence as identified by the paper included, actors, motives, timing, consequences, and patterns. The paper adopted the content analysis method in its investigation of the two violent by-elections in Ghana.
 The paper revealed that there was a correlation between violence during by-elections and victories of incumbent parties. This was because, in the two by-elections understudy, those accused of starting the violence and using national security operatives won the elections. The paper also found out that by-election violence impacted negatively on Ghana’s democratic maturity in several ways, such as; low voter turnout, weakening of democratic foundation and breeding an atmosphere of insecurity. Finally, the paper also revealed that political parties especially those in government resort to violence during by-elections in Ghana because they fear losing it will mean the government was underperforming as argued out by Feigert and Norris and also because they want to add to their tally in parliament.

Acceleration of the Legislative Procedure and Legal Consolidation

The Parliament is the key point of both the legislative process and the consolidation of law. On the one hand, the issue is about the role of the Parliament as the public arena of the legislative branch. Hence, the question arises as to which extent the legislation is created by the Parliament itself or seems to be rather of pre- and thus extra-parliamentary character. This is not only a sign of the democratic maturity of the relevant actors but also an outflow of the constitutional culture in dealing with the first power of state, especially given the significant influences of the second power. On the other hand, it is also about how to deal with constitutional law as a political instrument. Projects of legal consolidation fulfil a different set of functions, depending on the respective legislative level. Anti-Gold-Plating is more and different than just mere legal consolidation. These issues will be discussed from a legal policy perspective.

As formas de privatização no Brasil e no Chile e as implicações para a democratização da educação pública

This paper examines different forms of privatization in the case of Brazil and Chile and the implications for the democratization of public education. The historical period defined for the study corresponds to the dictatorial regimes of both countries and the so-called “transitional phase”, which presupposes policies for justice, reparation and reform of political institutions. The methodology used for the study was a bibliographic review. Considering the specificities of each country, it analyses the advances, limits and possibilities in the strengthening of the role of the state in the promotion of public education, and the degree of democratic maturity and the extension of privatization.

Youth political participation in the EU: evidence from a cross-national analysis

ABSTRACT Youth political disengagement continues to be a major issue facing contemporary democracies that needs to be better understood. There is an existing literature on what determines youth participation in terms of socio-demographic factors, however, scholars have not given much consideration to the macro-level determinants. In this paper, I outline an empirical analysis of what determines political participation among young people using the Eurobarometer 375 survey data from 28 European Union countries. I argue that while socio-demographic factors are crucial for youth political participation, context matters in shaping levels of political participation among young people. The results from the logistic regression analyses indicate that democratic maturity influences patterns of political participation among young people in the EU. The results show that youth engagement in different modes of political participation varies significantly across distinctive democracies, where individuals situated in established EU democracies are more likely to be politically active. The findings raise fresh concerns about existing levels of young people’s engagement in politics in advanced and new democracies. This paper also contributes to the comparative research on young people’s participation in politics.

Denetmenlerin Etik Dışı Davranışlarının Betimlenmesi/Inspectors’ Unethical Behaviours

Denetmenlerin Etik Dışı Davranışlarının Betimlenmesi/Inspectors’ Unethical Behaviours

The Church and Ghana's Drive toward Democratic Consolidation and Maturity

Ghanaians are regarded as notoriously “churchical,” and church activities are organized and attended by many Ghanaians almost every day of the week. A survey conducted by the Ghana Evangelism Committee on religions in Ghana in 2008 showed that 62 percent of Ghanaians are churchgoers. A comprehensive demographic study of more than two hundred countries highlights the tremendous presence of the church in many parts of the world. Indeed, there are 2.18 billion Christians of all ages around the world, representing nearly a third of the estimated 2010 global population of 6.9 billion.1 The church therefore has a huge presence in Ghana, solving the spiritual, physical, and socioeconomic needs of its members. The annals of Ghana's political history attest to the fact that the church has also played a pivotal role in governance and democratic consolidation. At the minimum, “the bulk of state or government officials and personnel has been, and are, Christians, whether it is in democratic political regimes or military regimes.”2 Beyond this, the church has, since independence, been directly or indirectly connected with Ghana's democratization process and contributed immensely toward the nation's drive toward democratic maturity.