Democracy Research Articles

Salafism, neo-salafism, and post-salafism. Evolutions of a radical current of Islam in France

ABSTRACT The issue of Salafism has become central to public debate in France today. While the Salafi movement in France has been portrayed in politics and media alike as a major security threat opposed to republican principles, its sociology reveals more complex patterns than one of radicalism alone, especially from a long-term perspective. An empirical analysis of discourses, behaviours and mobilization strategies within these puritanical fundamentalist communities leads us to hypothesize that since the early 2000s, the radicalism initially displayed by Salafism has proved unsustainable. Through looking at the long-term life trajectories of Salafi believers, we propose an overview of the different biographic scenarios that characterize these actors. What can we say about the way in which they have reinforced, reformulated, nuanced, or broken their ties with their Salafi socialisation? We show that Salafism in France today can be characterized as a fundamentalism diluted by a broader global dynamic of distrust towards violence and classic forms of political militancy, while at the same time maintaining claims to certain forms of religious radicalism. Based on a micro-sociological approach, we examine whether the respective prefixes ‘neo’ or ‘post’ most accurately characterize the long-term evolution of French Salafism.

STATUS OF INDEPENDENT REGULATORY AGENCIES IN THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA

The nineteenth and twentieth century determined a special connection and interdependence between political and economic branches , which set the right platform for presentation of the bodies or regulatory authorities. Macedonia was not overlooked by this connected determinism and interdependent. The formation of regulatory bodies by the Assembly in more diverse sectors in Macedonia began in 2002. The regulatory bodies have the status of legal entity by registration in court and their work is public. The role of the market, politics / government and civil society as a regulator with economic and political mechanisms that operate in democratic societies with market economies is, in fact, an appropriate balance of their roles as regulators of public affairs.

RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES AND THE FREEDOM TO PRACTICE RELIGION IN NORTH MACEDONIA

One of the most important assets that human society has inherited since its existence until now undoubtedly is the religious diversity. The freedom to practice religion or belief cannot be subjected to other restrictions except those provided by law which make up necessary measures in a democratic society including public security, public health and ethic order protection or for the protection of rights and freedoms of others. The protection and guarantee of freedom of religious belief, the right not to be affined to any other religion or belief as well as the opportunity that religious communities to practice their religion unhindered are the fundamental elements of the religious freedom right foreseen in democratic constitutions. Therefore, if the religious freedom in all its aspects it is not being implemented and guaranteed within a community or state indicates disrespecting of human rights and lack of constitutional values. The Constitution of Republic of North Macedonia, approved on November 17, 1991, defines the basic framework into which state relations with religious organizations are proceeded and examined, as well as the guarantees of religious freedom. Since its independence until today, in Republic of North Macedonia, the ideological and political pillars defining the Macedonian model of secularism have not always functioned in complete harmony and cohesion. This conclusion derived by the nature of legal provisions approved in this area, which are going to be discussed in this work of study.

Examining the spread of disinformation on Facebook during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic: A case study in Switzerland

Abstract Disinformation poses a significant threat to democratic societies, particularly in the context of the Covid-19 health crisis. This study delves into the prevalence and nature of disinformation in social media by analyzing Facebook accounts of political actors and alternative media within the unique Swiss landscape during the first wave of the pandemic. Using standardized quantitative content analysis, we categorize posts as either accurate, reconfigured, or fabricated. Our findings reveal a disconcerting pattern: Disinformation was shared more frequently than accurate information. Notably, right-wing politicians and parties, alongside alternative media sources, emerged as the most prolific disseminators of disinformation. Digging deeper, we discovered that the predominant form of disinformation shared on social media was reconfigured disinformation, signifying manipulated or contextually distorted information. This prevalence of reconfigured disinformation on social media platforms raises pressing concerns about the public’s ability to discern fact from fiction. Moreover, our study shines a spotlight on the inadvertent or perhaps deliberate contributions of right-wing politicians and parties and alternative media sources to the propagation of disinformation. By examining this phenomenon within the Swiss context during the initial wave of the pandemic, we provide valuable insights into the dynamics of disinformation and its implications for society during crisis situations.

Citizens’ perceptions of online abuse directed at politicians: Evidence from a survey experiment

AbstractOnline abuse is becoming an increasingly pressing issue for democratic societies. Citizens play an important role in curtailing abuse as they often moderate online content through counter speech and by reporting abusive messages. However, we know little about when citizens actually perceive negative comments directed at politicians as being abusive, and the factors shaping these perceptions are also understudied. In this study, we therefore investigate how citizens perceive criticism, insults, threats and sexist remarks directed at politicians on social media. Based on a survey experiment with 2,000 Danish citizens, we show that citizens’ assessments of the abusiveness of such remarks are not only affected by the content of the messages, but also by political ideology, political trust and gender. Surprisingly, partisanship does not seem to substantively affect perceptions of abuse. Our study provides novel insights into what exactly citizens consider to be abusive behaviour on social media.

DEMOCRACY IN GLOBAL AND NATIONAL DISCOURSES

The article attempts an interdisciplinary study of the relationship between the forms of modern democracy and its essence in the context of global and national discourses. The priority of forms of direct political participation over individualized sovereignty of the people in quality democracy is argued. Promising areas of interdisciplinary research are the problems of balancing the forms of democracy and securing it from the manipulations of political elites.

The High Cost of Politics in Indonesia: An Exploration of Multi-perspectives from Academics, Students, Executive Officials, and Legislative Candidates

The issue of high electoral political costs in Indonesia has been a serious concern since the 1998 reforms. This study aims to explore the factors that contribute to the high political costs in Indonesia’s democratic electoral system. The research question posed is: “What are the factors that lead to high political costs in Indonesia’s democratic electoral system?” The study employs a qualitative method with an in-depth interview approach. The informants for this study included academics, students, executive officials, and legislative candidates, selected to explore perspectives from various levels of society and the state. The selection of these informants was based on their diverse backgrounds, which were considered capable of providing comprehensive views on this issue. The findings reveal that the high cost of politics is caused by several factors, including an unusual electoral system, a paradigm shift in political parties, the prioritization of popularity over competence, campaign finance sponsorship, payback politics, and the phenomenon of “dawn raids.” The conclusion of this study indicates that the high cost of politics is a complex problem that requires a cross-sectoral approach to find a solution. The implication of this study is the importance of a deeper analysis of the mechanisms of political financing and their impact on democracy in Indonesia. This study makes an important contribution to understanding and addressing the problem of electoral political costs in Indonesia and emphasizes the need for cross-sectoral cooperation to achieve sustainable solutions.

Press Freedom in Romania: Regulation, Realities, and Expectations in the Context of Adopting New European Regulations

Part of the freedom of expression, press freedom is guaranteed in Romania by the fundamental law. After the repeal, in 2012, of the press law adopted during the communist period, no new press law has been adopted. There have been initiatives in this regard, but the opposition from journalists, who feared the introduction of restrictions on press freedom, has been stronger. Although Romanian legislation is, as stated, aligned with European standards, in reality, the freedom of the press in Romania has been subject to some criticism. Reports from international organisations, such as Reporters Without Borders, have highlighted various issues, such as political pressures on journalists, self-censorship in the media, and excessive concentration of ownership in the media industry.The adoption of new European regulations could bring significant changes to the field of press freedom in Romania. Such regulations could impose higher standards for protecting journalists against political pressures and could promote transparency and pluralism in the media. In consequence, the adoption of new European regulations is expected to bring significant benefits for press freedom in Romania, strengthening the role of a free press in democratic society and contributing to the protection of citizens' fundamental rights to information and media pluralism. Keywords: Press freedom; Political pressure on journalists; European regulations; Right to information and media pluralism

Political Regimes and Climate Change: Learning from Past Civilisations

As the world is threatened by new and powerful climate-driven hazards, how are states and societies likely to react? In this paper, I explore the role of regime type in determining the likelihood of state survival under extreme environmental conditions. I begin with a theoretical and empirical analysis of public goods provision under different regime types, finding no evidence for the contention that any one particular regime is superior to others. Following from this, I argue that the survival of the state under increased hazard conditions will at least partly be a function of political flexibility, with more democratic regimes better able to weather crisis than non-democratic ones. I explore this argument by analysing two historical cases of climate change: the non-democratic Maya civilisation in the first millennium and the quasi-democratic Icelandic state at the start of the second millennium. These historical cases highlight potential advantages to the democratic system in allowing states to survive a world with increased hazards but also underscore how rising competition and political instability can negatively impact those same democratic institutions. This article was published open access under a CC BY licence: https://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0 .

„Es ist wichtiger denn je, unsere Erkenntnis in den öffentlichen Raum zu tragen“

Abstract Democratic values and social cohesion are under threat, said Simon Jäger in his acceptance speech on 17 September 2024 at the Gustav Stolper Prize at the annual conference of the Verein für Socialpolitik at the Technical University of Berlin. But what does this development mean for economists? Withdrawing science from the public discourse is not an option. On the contrary, precisely because of today’s challenges, the public’s engagement in science is more necessary than ever. Five principles should guide the participation in science in public discourse. The article contains the verbatim text of the speech.

The Role of Political Parties in Maintaining Democratic Stability in Indonesia

The Indonesian state is one of the many countries that use a democratic system. Democracy is a system in which the people hold the highest position in government. This is in accordance with the etymological meaning of democracy, namely demos which means people and cratos which means power. And democracy has a reciprocal relationship that is from the people, by the people and for the people. This proves that democracy puts the people in the highest position. The requirement for democracy is the existence of elections. General elections occur when there are several political parties competing with each other for power and realizing the goals and ideals of the people or their members. In addition to realizing the ideals or goals of the people, political parties also have a very important role, namely conveying the aspirations of the people to the government in power, and political parties are also representatives of the people in overseeing the course of government so as not to deviate from pancasila. This writing uses a qualitative method approach using library research methods or literature studies. Where in the content of our material there are opinions of experts in their fields in the material we get by exploring previous studies related to the role of political parties in maintaining democratic stability in Indonesia. And in this writing we as writers really hope that our writing can be useful for readers, and we also hope that through our writing readers will be more concerned about the role of political parties in maintaining democratic stability in Indonesia.

The Counter-Majoritarian Referendum: Popular Voting Processes and Constitutional Change

ABSTRACT On the one hand, it seems important to bring real citizens into the constitutional processes of making and amending constitutions. This is important in order to foster a sense of ownership and commitment to constitutional principles, have those documents reflect the interests and concerns of ordinary people, and fulfill the principles of popular sovereignty and constituent authority of the people. On the other hand, there are many misgivings about handing over decisional power to the people (for example through referendums) on constitutional issues. The worry here is that these means of bringing citizen into the process are easily hijacked by majoritarian or populist forces and may be used to undermine rather than strengthen principles of constitutional democracy. Constitutions are, among other things, supposed to protect individuals and minorities from majorities. This is the classic tension between democracy and constitutionalism. One solution is to shift ideas of popular sovereignty away from voting and towards fostering public dialogue. In this paper, I argue that one of the most effective ways to foster public dialogue about constitutional essentials is through initiating a referendum. Thus I defend constitutional referendums on the counterintuitive grounds that if properly structured they are effective in promoting the recognition of the limits of majoritarianism.

Democracy, Autocracy, and the Politics of the Covid Pandemic

This essay discusses the challenges facing research on the politics of the covid pandemic by reviewing studies focusing on how regime type affected the nature and effectiveness of covid responses both by governments and the broader public, and how these responses, in turn, have shaped the politics of both democratic and authoritarian regimes. The essay highlights the importance of accounting for the changing nature of the pandemic over time, and of thinking carefully about the scope conditions of covid-related arguments and findings.

Digital transition, data-and-tasks crowd-based economy, and the shared social progress: unveiling a new political economy from a European perspective

The current unequal distribution of the benefits of digital transition and data-and-tasks crowd-based economy is directly linked to an incomplete interpretation of the behaviour of economic agents and their effects. This article proposes a new economic vision of digitalisation based on overcoming the postulates of neoclassical (automation-oriented and implemented mainly in the US) and autocratic (control-oriented and implemented mainly in China) economics. It suggests recovering the evolutionary, social, institutional, ethical and humanistic precepts of political economy. Following this more plural and European conceptual orientation, the analysis shows that current inequality arises from a digital R&D&I process plagued by network, platform, bias and polarisation effects, from business models that foster automation, and from the emergence of large superstar firms or control organisations with excessive market and political power. The redirection of technological progress towards more democratic individual values and shared social welfare requires digital governance based on new incentives and taxes, a greater strategic and political orientation towards social sustainability, and a new transformative role for the State.

Television in the Republic of Moldova: years of ambiguous editorial policies (1998 - 2008)

The activity of television in the Republic of Moldova, the editorial policies promoted during the reviewed period, show us a regression on the path of a modern audiovisual, based on the fundamental principles of democracy – freedom of expression, pluralism of opinions, transparency, the right to fair and impartial information. And since 2001, after the communist political forces of the past came to power, there has been a return to the practices of the totalitarian system – the dominant media coverage of the activities of the authorities to the detriment of the opposition, the reduction of television funding and the reduction of broadcasting volume, which has directly affected the constitutional right of citizens to be informed, the suppression of diversity of opinion, the suspension of certain programmes of public interest, etc. Since August 2004, the title of the company „TeleradioMoldova” has been qualified as a public institution, but the high expectations from the new status were in vain.

Civic reasoning depends on transcendent thinking: Implications of adolescent brain development for SEL

Accumulating evidence from developmental social-affective neuroscience and educational research reveals striking affordances for adolescents’ academic, psychosocial and neural development of transcendent thinking—the disposition to integrate concrete, context-specific thinking and emotions into deliberations on the abstract, systems-level, ethical and personal implications of information, ideas, and skills. Here, we highlight the coordinated psychological and neural processes by which adolescents leverage transcendent thinking for civic reasoning. From qualitative field data, we argue that civic reasoning in the context of academic learning supports the coordination of conceptual understanding with intellectual agency, identity and communal orientation, leading youth toward process-oriented, rather than outcome-oriented, approaches to learning. From longitudinal interview and neuroimaging data, we argue that civic reasoning drives developmental coordination among brain networks involved in agency, self-awareness, and consciousness; internal reflection, abstraction and narrative; emotional feelings; memory; executive functioning and attention. These brain changes longitudinally predict resilience, identity development, and wellbeing (Gotlieb et al., 2024b). This transdisciplinary research underscores the power of civic reasoning for adolescents’ healthy development into young adulthood, and the benefits of schooling designed to center civic reasoning and personal reflection. In today’s globalized society, civic reasoning may be among the most important core social-emotional dispositions for youth and community thriving. Impact statementCivic reasoning is among the most important capacities youth must develop to sustain a functioning and equitable democratic society, and hence should be among the central aims of education. New research is demonstrating that adolescents’ dispositions toward civic reasoning, and the emotionally motivated transcendent thinking that undergirds it, are associated with a cascade of beneficial brain and psychosocial developmental effects that extend into young adulthood. Organizing adolescent education around civic reasoning and reflection could provide a powerful opportunity to support youths’ deep scholarly learning and psychosocial development in a coordinated way.

The United States and the revolution of 25 April 1974

25 April 1974 is a symbolic date not only for Portugal but also for Europe and the world. How did Washington react to this event? The White House of Richard Nixon/Gerald Ford and Henry Kissinger as Secretary of State and National Security Advisor embodied a democratic government that did not hesitate to support antidemocratic governments to defend its interests or those of the Western side in the Cold War. The aim of this article is to analyse the attitude of the United States towards 25 April and its attitude towards a movement that Kissinger described on 29 April 1974 as ‘superbly organized and well directed’.

How Organized Crime Threatens Latin America

ABSTRACT: Organized crime has emerged as the most important security threat to democratic governance in Latin America. This essay explains why Latin American democracies have been able to curb other security threats (from the military, insurgents, and oligopolists) but are struggling to contain organized crime. Organized crime possesses power assets associated with traditional security threats (military capacity, territorial control, and access to markets). But it also operates innovatively: It infiltrates and coopts the state, which makes it difficult for presidents to rely on state institutions (such as the police, the army, the courts, and prisons) to act in a unified way to fight organized crime. To date, there are no successful cases of Latin American states truly defeating organized crime. But states have means of rendering organized crime less predatory and violent.

Ethical Judicial Restraint and the Rule of Law: Strengthening Constitutional Integrity in the UK

This article establishes the theoretical framework for evaluating the concepts of ‘elective dictatorship’ and ‘partisan politics’ within the broader context of UK rule of law and ethics. It critically examines these notions to diverge from the conventional practice of parliamentary sovereignty in instances of power abuse. The term ‘elective dictatorship’ describes a scenario where an elected political party wields substantial power without effective checks and balances, leading to a concentration of power within the ruling party. This situation raises concerns about the erosion of democratic principles and potential power abuse. Closely linked to this is the concept of partisan politics, where alignment with a particular political party leads to abuses of power, challenging the principle of parliamentary sovereignty. Various factors contribute to this dynamic, including ideological, social, and economic considerations. In a healthy democracy, political parties play a crucial role in representing diverse interests and offering voters choices. However, when partisan politics becomes overly polarised and prioritises gaining and maintaining power at any cost, it can foster an elective dictatorship. This article reviews existing literature in this domain and addresses these concepts within the context of the rule of law and ethics. It aims to fill a gap in the literature by establishing the conceptual parameters for ‘elective dictatorship’ and ‘partisan Politics’, and argues that when both are used to undermine the judiciary, the court has a duty to depart from traditional norms. It further recommends that courts assess any legislation enacted by the government and Parliament against the rule of law, morality, and ethics. Keywords: Elective Dictatorship; Partisan Politics; Ethics; Rule of Law; Parliamentary Sovereignty.

Fighting Fascism on Empire’s Doorstep

Abstract From 1936 to 1939, the Cuban magazine Mediodía brought together Communists, socialists, and other progressives in a common battle against fascism, imperialism, and racism. Published in Havana, Mediodía was centrally concerned with Cuban domestic politics, in particular with struggles for democratic representation and for racial and gender equality. But for the magazine’s editors, these battles could not be disconnected from the broader turbulence afflicting the world in the 1930s, from the Spanish Civil War to the Japanese occupation of China and the Nazi threat in Europe. As a case study in imaginative radical publishing, Mediodía would be worthy enough of scholarly attention. But it also provides a compelling window onto Cuba’s Popular Front politics of the 1930s. Not only were the antifascist, antiracist convergences reflected in Mediodía’s pages formative for a generation of Cubans; they also anticipated the ideological alliances that shaped the island’s trajectory after the 1959 revolution.