Democratic Political Culture Research Articles

Research on political participation in contemporary Albania – an overview

ABSTRACT This article takes stock of research on political participation and civic engagement in Albania, a country generally perceived as lacking a civil society and a democratic political culture. Rather, Albanian political culture since the 1990s has been characterized by political conflict and a dysfunctional parliamentary life. On top of this comes widespread public dissatisfaction and a general lack of interest in politics. The general assumption is that a democratic political culture remains to be developed. Reviewing articles on public engagement in English-language journals and reports published in the recent decade, the overall picture is that research on Albanian political participation is poorly developed. There is a considerable amount of research and NGO reports dealing with formal political activity (electoral participation and party membership) and – in particular – studies of social movements, including protests and demonstrations. Other forms of participation are largely overlooked, like political consumption, social involvement, and civic engagement.

Political competence of Croatian secondary school students 2010–2021

Political knowledge and democratic attitudes are recognized in contemporary studies as important dimensions of democratic political culture. Furthermore, knowledge and attitudes can be seen as integral parts of political competence. Unlike other dimensions of political culture such as, for example, political participation, political interest, etc., research on political knowledge and democratic attitudes are more an exception than a rule. This assessment is especially true for Croatia. In this paper, we attempt to address some of these gaps by focusing on the exploration of political competences of Croatian final-year secondary school students. The paper is divided into two major sections. In the first part, we discuss the meaning and importance of political competence for the functioning of democratic political systems. The second part consists of a presentation and discussion of the research results on political knowledge and democratic attitudes of Croatian final-year secondary school students conducted in three time points - 2010, 2015 and 2021. By doing so, we want to detect the levels of political knowledge and democratic attitudes, as well as the possible changes that occurred in these levels during the research period. Finally, we are also interested in the relationship between these two dimensions of political competence.

The digital revolution contributed to practical reality according to the stages of its emergence in contemporary history (A model)

The digital revolution has politically affected the actual political reality through the transformation of the relatively free digital public sphere, under official digital censorship systems, and also for major global digital companies. Digitalization has today become a tool for building digital pressure groups that exercise their criticism and demands outside partisan frameworks and outside constitutional and legal systems, and outside The traditional mechanisms of a representative democratic system, including party pluralism, competitions, parliamentary and party elections within each party, municipal elections, referendums, and the formation of governments based on the results of the elections, or presidential elections in presidential systems such as the United States of America, or parliamentary and semi-presidential elections in the French style. Therefore, this study seeks to highlight knowledge of several questions about the possibilities of modifying the system of representative democracy towards introducing some forms of direct democracy, and not waiting for general elections to change the policies of elected governments, according to the political phenomena of digitization and its impact on democratic political culture as part of the processes of liquidity, and transformation in terms of the emergence of some phenomena. Populism, the post-truth world, and fake news in politics.

Development and Dilemmas of Mass Democratic Identity Construction in the Context of the Myanmar Coup: An Analysis of Political Narratives

This study examines the process of mass democratic identity construction in Myanmar and delineates the distinct characteristics of the government's political narratives during the period of Myanmar's democratic reform. The research finds that Myanmar managed to establish a democratic identity that continues to exhibit resilience in the aftermath of the coup. This resilience, observed at the level of political narratives, can be attributed to the transcultural features of ideological construction and the prominent influence of Buddhism, both well-suited to Myanmar's deep-seated social and religious foundations. However, following the coup, the loss of agency by the original narrative source, combined with the long-standing issues within Burmese society, has resulted in several political dilemmas hampering the development of democratic consciousness. These dilemmas are characterized by an immature democratic political culture, underdeveloped civil society, and frequent ethnic conflicts. The underlying reasons for these challenges can be traced back to the limitations of democratic political culture during Myanmar's democratic reform period and the absence of historical and cultural foundations in the country's democratic political system, which may constrain the long-term development of democratic consciousness following changes in the power structure.

FROM DEMOCRATIC OPENING TO DEMOCRATIC BREAKTHROUGH: A STUDY OF DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION IN POST-COMMUNIST KAZAKHSTAN

As the Soviet Union's collapse loomed, many predicted chaos and ethnic strife in Central Asia. However, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, the five republics, defied these expectations by swiftly establishing democratic institutions and market-driven economies. This successful transformation was largely due to the adept leadership in each republic, which skillfully navigated the challenges of the post-Soviet era and metamorphosed into advocates of democracy, fervently committing themselves to democratic values within their respective territories. Taking these factors into consideration, the paper aims to investigate the roots of democratic wave in Central Asia and to explore the democratic transition in Kazakhstan. To analyze any democratic transition in the post-Soviet era, it is essential to consider the historical context shaped by the rise of Mikhail Gorbachev in 1988. “Institutions do matter” and restructuring or formulating institutions shapes the country’s political development. Institutions such as, legislature, executive, political parties etc. are cornerstone for shaping and institutionalizing democratic political culture. While restructuring Political infrastructure in Kazakhstan, the study will focus on the role played by these institutions in facilitating democratic opening in Kazakhstan while emphasizing the transformative power of institutional dynamics.

Democratic Practice and Reverence

This article sheds light on the synergy between Catholic social thought and community organizing. By deploying reverence, a notion from classical-Greek political philosophy, this article examines the dynamic relationship between democratic practice and public action, on the one hand, and the cultivation of the interior life, or spirituality, on the other. For moderns, the dominant culture views these realms as distinct and disconnected. In contrast, the article argues that they are mutually reinforcing, each better with the other, in greater service together for both the common good and a healthy, democratic political culture. This hypothesis is advanced through an analysis of three skills necessary for effective democratic practice: relational conversation through story; designing, implementing, and evaluating political action; and negotiation, compromise and agreement. Scholarship from political theory and philosophy, theology, and Catholic social thought, as well as direct practical professional experience, is integral to this article.

Militarism, Authoritarianism and Corruption: Post-Coup Honduras and the Decline of Democracy

This paper uses the Americas Barometer survey series, 2004-2021, consisting of national probability surveys representative of the voting age population to examine the evolution of democratic political culture in Honduras. As our analysis indicates, there has been significant democratic backsliding since 2009. Many of the events we trace in our analysis –the decline of rule of law, rising violence, illegitimate elections, the generalized environment of repression, endemic corruption, and economic decline– are largely the consequences of the 2009 coup and reflect the underlying structural and political conditions that help explain the unprecedented electoral victory of Xiomara Castro in 2021.

POLITICAL CULTURE LEGACY HINDERING EUROPEANIZATION EFFORTS IN PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS

In recent years, the democratization efforts required for EU integration have been challenged by authoritarian regimes' persistence across some Southeast European countries. This study focuses on Albania as a case study, examining the endurance of political and administrative cultural legacies within its public institutions. Despite numerous reforms aimed at EU integration and democratization processes, institutional transformation remains impeded by outdated behavioural attitudes, concepts, and mindsets. The efficacy of democracy is intrinsically linked to the adherence to fundamental principles within the realm of Public Administration, encompassing key values such as meritocracy, impartiality, professionalism, and a steadfast commitment to public service. Moreover, a resilient judiciary is pivotal in upholding integrity by acting as a bulwark against malfeasance and procedural impropriety. Additionally, the autonomy of the media and the empowerment of civil society are indispensable requisites for sustaining a robust democratic framework. Collectively, these elements serve as the bedrock for establishing and perpetuating a well-functioning democratic system. Various scholars highlight that political culture can impact the implementation of good governance practices, values, and behavioural methods. This research delves into the challenges Albania, an early-stage EU aspirant, encounters over three decades as it endeavours to adopt EU norms during the transformation of public institutions. The study considers the influence of internal hindrances, including political memory and past legacies, on the reform process and the Europeanization of Public Administration. By analysing these factors, the research aims to gain insights into the negative internal dynamics and provide recommendations for fostering a democratic political culture that strengthens institutions through effective reforms.

Civil Society Associations and Political Participation: A Normative Exploration

This paper aims to explore the relation between civil society associations and political participation in a normative framework. Civil society associations are widely regarded as the basis for citizen involvement and participation, and as the location for democratic action. There is an increasing scholarly recognition that associationalism is essential for a healthy democratic society for the reason that it tends to strengthen democratic political culture. Associations encourage citizens to take part in public discourse and civic projects. And, thus they shape civic engagement. Through such participation and communicative interaction, identity formation also takes place. Associational members, as a result, learn public-spiritedness and democratic art of participation. It leads us to the debate on ascriptive and voluntary associations in civil society. At the same time, the notion of associational dichotomy is much contested. It is argued that exploration of the link between civil society associations and political participation calls for a much more intricate analysis that would entail going beyond associational dichotomy, particularly in the Indian context. The research presented in this paper, based on analysis of some prominent and relevant theoretical conceptions, aims to contribute to the ongoing debate on the relationship between civil society, active citizenship, and democracy.

Latvijas politiskās kultūras jēgas konstrukcijas žurnāla Ir politisko žurnālistu publikācijās 2021.–2022. gadā

Based on the constructivist-system theoretic approach to the explanation of the communication processes of the media society, the system theoretic approaches to the study of political communication and political culture, using the explanations of party democracy and party state offered by political science, as well as hermeneutics in the comprehension of its method of understanding, the article analyzes the shape of the meaning of political journalists and the relationship of meaning in publications of the journal Ir describing the activities of the government formed by Latvia’s poorly developed political parties and their parliamentary majority factions. The results confirm the realities of Latvia’s weak democratic political culture subcultures identified by international democracy measurements. The formulations of the meaning and meaning of the goals declared by political parties and the coalition government and the activities aimed at achieving them, constructed by political journalists, are mainly addressed to representatives of critical citizen political subcultures who are dissatisfied with the instability and insufficient performance of political democracy in Latvia. The texts of political journalists focus on the stability of the political “cadre parties” of Latvia and the instability of the coalition government, which are mostly described rather than analytically evaluated, making it difficult for readers to recognize the shapes of meaning and the overall relationship of meaning in the existing party state.

The Grannies of Shaheen Bagh: Hindutva Power and the Poetics of Dissent in Contemporary India

AbstractThis essay focuses on contemporary India and the rise to near hegemony of “Hindutva power,” which works through both the transformation of the exercise of sovereign power and the inculcation of a distinct habitus, or structure of predispositions, in more and more sectors of society. This Hindu supremacist and nationalist habitus marks a far-reaching transformation not only of democratic political culture but of religious belief and practice as well. But despite their sense of inevitability, these developments are part of a scene of contestation and the staging of prodemocracy and anti-fascist dissent.

РОЛЬ ОРГАНІЗАЦІЙ ГРОМАДЯНСЬКОГО СУСПІЛЬСТВА ЯК БУСТЕРА РОЗВИТКУ ДЕМОКРАТИЧНОЇ ПОЛІТИЧНОЇ КУЛЬТУРИ (НА ПРИКЛАДІ ЗАКАРПАТСЬКОЇ ОБЛАСТІ)

This article analyzes the influence of civil society organizations on Political culture formation through their involvement in the decision-making process. The crucial features of the region’s civic society made it possible to find out the type of political culture inherent among inhabitants of Transcarpathian region of modern time. The regularity of the development of civil society during the crisis period in Ukraine, in particular in the Transcarpathian region, has been determined. It is argued that the war became a consolidating factor in society. The data on the existing directions in which the CSOs of the Transcarpathian region work are summarized. Furthermore, the study determines the regularities of the development of the volunteer movement in the region. The article characterizes the economic potential of civil society organizations using national and international fund resources. The need to encourage the population to form CSOs as a driver of the development of democratic political culture at the local and national levels is substantiated. Moreover, the study updates the influence of decentralization processes on the development of civil society, the level of participation of citizens in the political life of the region, and interest in the economic and resource development of the region on the example of the Transcarpathian region. The research highlights particular instruments of cross-border cooperation, in which participation is possible for non-governmental, educational, scientific, sports entities of the region. Recommendations have been developed regarding the necessary steps on the way to the further intensification of the civil movement and the creation of CSOs with the aim of developing a democratic political culture.

The Evolution of Popular Politics in 19th-Century Sweden and the Road from Oligarchy to Democracy

In the 20th century, Sweden distinguished itself as one of the most organized and participatory democracies in the world. But in the late 19th century the situation was much the opposite – Sweden had for Western Europe a low degree of suffrage, and low political participation. To explain the turnaround, this paper explores the evolution of a democratic political culture in the final third of the 19th century, in opposition to the oligarchic system. The empirical material consists of digitalized newspapers from the south of Sweden in the period 1866 to 1900, studying about 2700 articles that mention ‘popular meetings’, folkmöten, which was the contemporary description of political meetings. In the 1860s and 1870s a farmer-centred democratic critique dominated, combining proposals for widened suffrage with criticisms of banks and the bureaucracy. In the 1880s and 1890s, the social base was widened as urban workers – socialist and antisocialist – took a greater part and the ideological composition became more heterogeneous. The paper suggests that the folkmöten constituted an important arena for democratic socialization in a country with an oligarchical political system, creating a road forward for democratic reforms and a democratic society.

Demokrasi Sebagai Diskursus dan Deliberasi Menurut Jűrgen Habermas

<p><strong>Abstract:</strong> This article attempts to reconstruct and analyse the Habermas’ view on democracy as discourse and deliberation. The concept of deliberative and discursive democracy is a model of criticism toward an attempt to narrow the conception about democracy simply as an institutional matter. The concept of deliberative democracy emphasizes the importance of public discursive participation of citizens by establishing critical public sphere that is the heart of democracy. Furthermore, Habermas highlights that there is no rule of law without radical democracy. Such radical democracy is expressed through the active involvement of citizens in public sphere to express ideas that have impact on political decisions and public policy. This article accentuates that the transformation of public opinion to be a political power is an ongoing process. Therefore, an authentic democracy presupposes a critical publicity and democratic political culture. Without a voluntary citizens’ initiative in this regard, a state will have no future. To support thisarguments, the writer uses literature research method by analyzing the main work of Jȕrgen Habermas on deliberative democracy namely Faktizitӓt und Geltung (Facts and Norms), as well as some secondary literatures dealing with the thoughts of Habermas on democracy.</p><p><strong>Keywords:</strong> Habermas, deliberative democracy, discourse, pluralism, state</p>

Savagery in right-wing populist leadership: between theatricality and political social engineering

Contemporary leadership practices in politics are full of emotions, which, on the one hand, may be a manifestation of various types of expressions or moods in the individual and collective dimension, and on the other hand, are an important source of political mobilization or an instrument enhancing effectiveness in the election competition. In this article inducing and politicizing savagery among followers – defined as an emotional social engineering strategy for articulating given goals and interests – will be treated as a populist manifestation and an expression of planned radicalization of political competition. The aim of the article is a meta theoretical reflection on the instrumentalisation of wildness in the leadership of the right-wing populist – Donald Trump. A practical rationale for discussing collective savagery in politics will be the attack on the Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021. This event will serve as an example to explain the political exteriorization of the confrontational Trump followers, thanks to which the right-wing populist leader not only articulated his own goals, shaped public self-presentation or theatrical political presence, but also redefined and challenged the existing rules and principles of democratic political culture.

Colours of democracy: Trade union banners and the contested articulations of democratic spatial practices

AbstractThis paper locates trade union banners and those of other campaigns and left organisations as part of the ongoing work and labour of producing democratic political cultures. It argues that engaging with the ways in which they were used, shaped, produced and re‐worked can shed important light on often neglected spatial practices and forms of agency of democratic politics. We contend that engaging with the geographical imaginaries and practices shaped by trade union engagements with democracy offers important and original perspectives on different articulations of spatial relations, labour, and democratic politics. The paper engages with Clive Barnett's influential work on the geographies of democracy and outlines an alternative position based on engaging with the generative character of political activity. The empirical part of the paper offers three cuts through different articulations of labour and democratic politics. The paper engages with the Banners of Glasgow Shipwrights to explore aspects of trade union politics and struggles for democratic reform. We discuss the relations between the STUC Black Workers’ Committee and generative spaces of organising and the relations between banners and the peace movement to engage forms of antagonist democratic cultures.

Civic education in post-conflict societies: The case of Serbia

Our main goal is to provide a preliminary, descriptive, and thematic overview of civic education courses in Serbia until 2020 from the perspectives of international political sociology, critical pedagogy and critical curriculum studies. After clarifying pertinent conceptual assumptions of curriculum analysis, we review the methodology employed to examine the curriculum. Firstly, our task is to describe how a civic education course in Serbia looks in relevant educational aspects. Secondly, we explore the role civic education plays in postsocialist and post-conflict Serbian society within the educational system and policies, considering transformative processes and reconciliation goals. Among the main findings, we emphasise the inadequacy of the initial phase of implementation of civic education in Serbia. There is insufficient recognition in the broader public regarding the cosmopolitan and social justice values crucial for generating a democratic political culture.

2005년 이후 폴란드의 자유민주주의 공고화 전략과 정책

This paper analyzes the consolidation of liberal democracy in Poland after 2005 based on the system transition stage theory. The nine indicators are selected for it: the guarantee of basic rights, the separation of powers, the government changes by elections, the existence of non-official power groups, the stabilization of the political party system, the operation of the market, the guarantee of private property rights, economic development, the development of civil society, the spread of democratic political culture, and a fair free media. Since PiS took power in 2015, the independence of the judiciary has been greatly threatened through reforms to the constitutional order. The basic rights guaranteed in the constitution were also limited by the enactment and revision of the Police Act, the Anti-Terrorism Act, and the Assembly Act. The changes of government through elections have been successfully implemented since the system transition in 1989, but the party system has not been stabilized due to the merger and division between parties. Almost all economic indicators in the economic sphere show that Poland has succeeded in its transition to the market economy system. Polish civil society has gradually increased its power. PiS is increasing its control over the media through the amendments of related laws. Overall, during the PiS rule, the consolidation of liberal democracy is regressing.

Socio-Political Crowdfunding as the Latest Philosophy of Cooperation and Solidarity

Socio-political crowdfunding as a technology of social investment and co-financing is studied. High efficiency of realization of public interest through crowdfunding is proved. The authors explain the emergence of socio-political crowdfunding by the transition from hierarchical to network structures in management. Emphasis is placed on the equality of participants in the socio-political crowdfunding network, the voluntary interactions, the need for trust, self-determination of each participant in the amount of contribution to the common cause. The set of characteristics of socio-political crowdfunding is considered by the authors on the examples of cases of electoral and anti-corruption crowdfunding. Prerequisites for the formation of a stable tradition to co-finance the socially significant projects involve a high level of social capital in society, democratic political and legal culture, presence of public trust and others. Socio-political crowdfunding is positioned as a new philosophy of cooperation and solidarity.

Radical Democratic Inclusion: Why We Should Lower the Voting Age to 12

AbstractDemocratic societies such as the United Kingdom have come to fail their young citizens, often sacrificing their interests in a political process that gives much greater weight to the preferences and interests of older citizens. Against this background of intergenerational injustice, this article presents the case for a shift in the political system in the direction of radical democratic inclusion of younger citizens, through reducing the voting age to 12. This change in the voting age can be justified directly, with reference to the status, interests, and capacities of younger citizens, and it can also be justified as a remedy to existing forms of intergenerational injustice. This change in the voting age would require a parallel transformation in the role of secondary schools as part of the ‘critical infrastructure' of a democratic society, which would be part of a broader shift towards a more genuinely democratic political culture. The proposal is defended against less radical alternatives (such as votes at 16) and more radical alternatives (such as votes for younger children). The article concludes with some reflections on democracy and intergenerational justice in light of the Covid pandemic and the climate emergency.