Democratic Political Development Research Articles

A Comparative Analysis of the Implementation of 'Consensus Democracy' in China and Switzerland

The Consensus Democracy Theory, put forward by Lijphart, emphasizes the construction of a multi-consensus democracy. Switzerland is a typical country putting consensus democracy theory into practice. Its consensus democracy belief is rooted in its historical development and domestic political practice, and has become a typical case of practice and research. China also has the soil of consensus democratic theory, that is, the exploration and practice of the fundamental political system of multiparty cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. As one of the three basic political systems in China, the practice of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) system has prominent significance for the development of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Swiss democracy shares similarities with CPPCC because of the same theoretical model between China and Switzerland. On the other hand, differences exist resulting from different social systems and historical development. Exploring the similarities and differences is of positive significance for the further development of socialist democratic politics with Chinese characteristics in the new era.

The transformation direction of the formation mode of contemporary Chinese public policy based on sociology

After the reform and opening up, with the change of state-society relationship structure in China, the formation mode of public policy in China is shifting from state-led to state-led and limited interaction between state and society. This transformation with modern value orientation shows that after the reform and opening up, China has begun the cooperation and interaction between the state and society, and the value concept of social fairness and justice has been paid more attention and manifested. The ultimate realization of the modern transformation of China's public policy formation mode depends on the establishment and improvement of the state-society cooperation and coordination mechanism, and the realization of positive interaction between the state and society, so that it can ultimately promote the development of democratic politics and social progress.

Politik Primordial dan Politik Identitas dalam Perkembangan Demokrasi dan Politik Lokal Di Indonesia

Indonesia is one of the Muslim countries in the world that is able to gradually implement democracy in its political system. In the 25 years after the reform, Indonesia has tried various schemes to be able to carry out democratization so that it can be accepted by the Indonesian people themselves and even aims to get a positive international image. In the dynamics that occur, the development of political democracy in Indonesia gives rise to a social and political dynamics known as primordial politics and identity politics. These two approaches become true when we look at the conditions and dynamics of politics and democracy that occur in Indonesia. Moreover, the position of the regions has a significant role in contributing to the development of democracy and politics at the center. The region is an interesting area to discuss considering that the region is part of the political administration which has a strong influence on the center. This happened during the Indonesian reformation that occurred in 1998. Where the centralized concept became decentralized with the emergence of regional autonomy. In other words, the region has full power and authority to determine its political and economic direction. Of course, under other conditions it would be better. But on the other hand there are sociological consequences that must be accepted after the reform. The development of democracy in Indonesia actually produces primordial politics and identity politics, which are difficult to avoid. So it could be that Indonesia itself is aware that these two approaches are indeed taking place and cannot be avoided. Therefore, it is necessary for us to understand that primordial politics and identity politics today are a social reality and fact that occur in the dynamics of politics and democracy in Indonesia.

PROMOTING SYSTEM REFORM AND GETTING OUT OF THE MIDDLE-INCOME TRAP — FROM THE PERSPECTIVE DRIVEN BY EMOTION AND PSYCHOLOGICAL BEHAVIOR

BackgroundIn recent years, China's per capita income has reached the upper limit of developing countries and is about to become a high-income country. However, with the acceleration of China's aging process and the deepening of the technology embargo against the United States, some studies show that China's economic growth has slowed down. Academia began to explore whether China has fallen into the middle-income trap, and tried to explore the middle-income trap from the perspective of psychosocial reconstruction.Theme and MethodsUnder the background of China entering the era of monopoly economy, this paper analyzes the aging population, the polarization between the rich and the poor, and the guidance and control of vested interest groups on China's economic slowdown. This paper uses the neoclassical economic model to explain the middle-income trap. At the same time, this paper studies the impact of income changes on the emotional regulation of middle-income families. This study refers to the existing literature and adopts the emotion regulation scale to select eight emotions: happiness, love, satisfaction, anger, anxiety, tension, frustration and helplessness. The first three are positive emotions and the last five are negative emotions; Using Likert's 5-point rating method, give a rating of 1-5 points from “never” to “always”. The higher the score, the higher the frequency of experiencing the emotion in classroom teaching. In this study, the 0 coefficients of positive emotion and negative emotion were 0.83 and 0.80 respectively.ResultsThe vested interest groups represented by monopoly groups no longer carry out technological innovation under the constraint of unable to obtain foreign advanced technology, but strive to make use of institutional defects, or even create institutional defects. They guide public opinion and exercise psychological and social control over government officials and the public, which is beneficial to them and safeguard and strengthen their own economic interests. The study found that the main reason for China's economy falling into the middle-income trap is the adverse impact of vested interest groups on economic development in terms of system and social psychology. As the economy enters the era of monopoly, this impact has changed from positive to negative. Through the research, we found that when the ownership income changes, the emotion and behavior will also change to the corresponding positive stage and depression level. Therefore, we can think that groups with high internal psychological capital can alleviate the psychological pressure, anxiety and depression brought by psychological capital to a great extent through their own psychological quality. Farmers with high level of individual psychological capital are relatively less affected by family factors, work and life, traffic safety, their own health and future fear. Farmers with high level of psychological capital can better deal with the impact of family factors. They are full of hope for the future, optimistic about life and less worried about the impact of life.ConclusionThis paper points out the institutional risk factors faced by China's middle-income trap, and puts forward some suggestions on how to reform China's middle-income trap: reposition the government function from promoting economic construction to night watchman function; Reform the income distribution system in the aspects of inheritance tax, gift tax and real estate tax as soon as possible; Establish a rule of law economy, effectively protect intellectual property rights, implement anti-monopoly laws and anti-monopoly measures as soon as possible, reform the current system, reshape social psychology, and strengthen inter provincial political and economic exchanges and communication. With the further reform of China's current system, especially the real establishment of a society ruled by law and the further development of democratic politics, China's economy will cross the middle-income trap.AcknowledgementsSupported by a project grant from Shandong Provincial Bureau of Statistics: Research on the current situation and Countermeasures of high-quality development of private economy in Shandong Province under the background of the transformation of old and new kinetic energy SDJJPC15.

Populism and Development of Democratic Politics: The Case of India

Populism and Development of Democratic Politics: The Case of India

Research on the Role of New Media in Thailand's Democratic Politics

With the rapid development of emerging technologies such as the Internet, new media in Thailand have started to develop fast. In terms of freedom of opinion, new media have a higher degree of freedom compared to traditional media. In Thai democracy, the new media is a "double-edged sword" with both positive and negative effects. It is a booster for political parties' election campaigns, a medium for Thai people to express their political views and communicate with the government, an important propaganda and mobilization platform for political campaigns, and a tool for foreign forces to interfere in Thailand's internal affairs. The duality of new media brings new opportunities and great challenges to Thai democracy. In the future, new media can both increase people's motivation to participate in politics and achieve two-way interaction between the government and the people. However, some of Thailand's new media have deviated from the track of democratic political development and have become political weapons for political parties to fight with each other. Some of the new media will also be influenced by Western forces and Western ideology, making Thailand's democracy appear alienated.

Democratic Governance and Political Development in Africa

Democratic Governance and Political Development in Africa

Blood Ties and the Native Son: Poetics of Patronage in Kyrgyzstan by Aksana Ismailbekova

Reviewed by: Blood Ties and the Native Son: Poetics of Patronage in Kyrgyzstan by Aksana Ismailbekova Fengfeng Zhang (bio) and Laiyi Zhang (bio) Aksana Ismailbekova, Blood Ties and the Native Son: Poetics of Patronage in Kyrgyzstan (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2017). 219 pp., ill. Bibliography. Index. ISBN: 978-0-253-02539-5. Born in Bishkek and trained in Germany, the anthropologist Aksana Ismailbekova studies the transition of Kyrgyzstan from a Soviet Republic to an independent nation-state using a case study of one village in Northern Kyrgyzstan. She uses her ethnographic observations of the intrinsic connection between kinship relations and political patronage to argue that clan politics help sustain rather than undermine democracy in Central Asia. In the course of fourteen months in 2006 and 2007, Ismailbekova observed daily life in the village of Bulak in Chüi Province, conducted interviews with its inhabitants, and participated in their activities. Her study focuses on the rise and fall of a local politician and businessman, Rahim, a "native son" of Bulak raised in Bishkek, who manipulated the ties of kinship and patronage to fulfill his political ambitions at the local level and throughout northern [End Page 304] Kyrgyzstan. Ismailbekova argues that Rahim's strategy was typical of many other Kyrgyz politicians, which made his case paradigmatic for the development of democratic politics in Kyrgyzstan. The book consists of an introduction, seven chapters, and "Concluding Words". The introduction presents the setting of the story and conceptual frameworks used for its interpretation. Chapter 1 discusses the structures of kinship and patronage in Kyrgyz society from the pre-Soviet era to the post-Soviet period. Chapter 2 charts Rahim's place on the genealogical map of local society in Bulak and beyond. Chapter 3 explains the categories of kinship and the operation of patronage networks and kinship practices in the village. Chapter 4 discusses the concept of the "circle of trust" supported by patronage networks, using the example of Rahim's private farm Emgek. Writing about negotiations on the building of a mosque in the village of Orlovka, in chapter 5, the author explicates the link between patronage networks and state structures. Rahim's election to the Kyrgyz parliament from the local election district highlights his return "as a native son" of Bulak. This part of the story is told in chapter 6, which also deconstructs the symbolism of election day to demonstrate how democracy functions in rural Kyrgyzstan and what it really means to ordinary Kyrgyz. Chapter 7 presents Rahim's victory feast as a celebration not only of his election success but also of the power of traditional social ties. The concluding section of the book mentions Rahim's death and the subsequent collapse of patronage networks. The author offers her interpretation of the political meaning of patronage in the modern world and criticizes the normative Western concept of democracy as incompatible with clientelism and tribalism. Ismailbekova speaks of informal social networks in terms of "social poetics": they are omnipresent and deeply ingrained in the society but not formally institutionalized and need to be explicated by a scholar as both violating and adhering to the official norms. Historically, Kyrgyz tribes were organized along common genealogies and hierarchies, and knowledge of family lineage was transmitted through sanjyra (oral genealogical legends). The lineage was organized according to patrilineal descent. Patron–client relations were established between clan leaders (bii or manap) and the poor, but they were not necessarily blood-based. During Soviet times, kinship and patronage networks survived, even if somewhat modified, as many lineage groups were integrated into the kolkhoz structures. The post-1991 period witnessed the revival of interest in genealogies at the private [End Page 305] and state levels, as the foundation for rewriting the country's official history and promoting national culture. The historic rivalry among different lineages in the north and south of the country contributed in part to the escalation of political tensions that brought about the Revolutions of 2005 and 2010. It is against this historical background that the author identifies Rahim's position in the structures of kinship in Bulak village. She argues that Rahim was integrated into the segmentary lineage system (which implies a combination of...

Democratic Political Development: A Case Study of Pakistan 2008-2013

Democratic Political Development: A Case Study of Pakistan 2008-2013

Youth Political Strategy in Political Contestation in 2014 Legislative Electio

Not many young people actively participate in or take part directly in political contestation and become part of the success of winning the contest. In this paper, it reveals the strategies of the youth to win political contestation and become a member of the DPRD of Medan City for the period 20142019, within the scope of a democratic system and succeeded in becoming one of the elected parts to represent the community in the regional legislature. The purpose of this paper is to encourage more democratic political development in increasing the participation of young groups in developing their regions. The methodology used in this paper is a qualitative approach that produces descriptive data.

Royal figures “build new kingdoms” A picture of direct election for regent/mayor/governor in Bali

There is an interesting aspect in the studies of the local leadership in Bali which has not been exposed, namely, the involvement of the royal figures in the direct election for the regent/mayor/governor. The role played by the palace in the selection of leadership in general and in the direct election for the regent/mayor/ government particularly is highly crucial. Before the Dutch people came in the 19th century, the political role played by the royal figures had been known to be prominent. After the expedition made by the Majapahit Kingdom in 1343, which was popularly known as the agricultural feudalistic era during which power was determined by a tight caste system, the political role played by the royal figures was prominent. The fact that one kingdom subjugated another supported social stratification in which the palace became the center of power. This present study is intended to reveal the role played by the royal figure as the symbol of traditional power and its implication on the development of democratic politics in general and the direct election for the regent/mayor/governor in particular after the era of reformation. This study was conducted using the historical descriptive qualitative method. The data were collected through library research, field survey, and in-depth interview. These techniques were used to collect opinions and views on the succession of leadership and were supported by the concept of political culture. The result of the study showed that the royal figure still played a role and appeared in the political affairs, and that some were able to “build new kingdoms” successfully, had been made to disappear for a long time by the national political change. Several royal figures were able to combine economic capital, socio-cultural capital, and symbolic capital as stated by Piere Bourdieu, the French sociologist

A Study on the Legalization of Political Parties in Contemporary World Democratic Politics

The degree of democracy and the rule of law are the two important indexes to measure the political modernization, and the political party is gradually developed along with the political modernization. As an important carrier of political modernization, how to play a correct and effective role in political parties has become a common topic of exploration all over the world. The legalization of political parties is the trend of the development of party politics all over the world, and it is also the exploring path for the countries to realize the political modernization. The legalization of political parties is an important component of the legalization of party politics. The development of democratic politics needs the promotion of the rule of law of party politics.

The Research on Democratic Quality of University Students

Democracy is one of the hallmarks of human civilization and a landmark issue in the process of achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Improving the quality of all democratic awareness has a very important strategic significance on the development of socialist democratic politics and the establishment of socialist political civilization. Being the future builders and successors of the socialist cause with Chinese characteristics, college students are continuing momentum of social development and a significant group in the process of advancing the construction of socialist democratic politics which can not be ignored. The aim of this research is to strengthen the importance of democratic construction of student organizations and building a democratic living environment so as to help them to get access to experience of democratic life, thus practical improvement of contemporary college students’ democratic quality and ability can be achieved.

The Constitutional Consciousness of Chinese Citizens over 60 Years of Social Change

Constitutional consciousness is a general term for citizens’ knowledge, opinions, ideas and thinking about the Constitution. It not only drives the implementation of the Constitution and the development of democratic politics and the rule of law, but also serves as an indicator for the extent of the rule of law. In the course of social change, constitutional consciousness constitutes an inner spiritual force within the constitutional order. It is a force for change in itself, especially as “a cultural soft power” that remolds normative judgments and value bases. A stable and mature constitutional consciousness provides a foundation for the benign operation of social change. Over the past 60 years, the development of Chinese society has followed a tortuous path, but due to citizens’ constitutional consciousness the 1954 and 1982 Constitutions were always vehicles and forces for social cohesion and harmony. The way to improve supervision of constitutional implementation is to truly make rule of law thinking centered on constitutional consciousness into the basic value consensus of citizens and different groups at the level of the nation, the government and society. Adhering to the concept of the supremacy of the Constitution and exploring ways and means of adopting a more reasonable, pragmatic and open approach to its implementation will provide a solid constitutional foundation for the full implementation of governing the country according to law and will advance the construction of a rule of law China.

‘Hollow promises?’ Critical materialism and the contradictions of the Democratic Peace

The Democratic Peace research programme explicitly and implicitly presents its claims in terms of their potential to underpin a universal world peace. Yet whilst the Democratic Peace appears robust in its geographical heartlands it appears weaker at the edges of the democratic world, where the spread of democracy and the depth of democratic political development is often limited and where historically many of the purported exceptions to the Democratic Peace are found. Whereas Democratic Peace scholarship has tended to overlook or downplay these phenomena, from a critical materialist perspective they are indicative of a fundamental contradiction within the Democratic Peace whereby its universalistic aspirations are thwarted by its material grounding in a hierarchical capitalist world economy. This, in turn, raises the question of whether liberal arguments for a universal Democratic Peace are in fact hollow promises. The article explores these concerns and argues that those interested in democracy and peace should pay more attention to the critical materialist tradition, which in the discussion below is represented principally by the world-system approach.

Democratic Political Development: A Systemic Model Based on Regulative Policy

Democratic Political Development: A Systemic Model Based on Regulative Policy

Identity and Politics in Late Modernity

Late modern society seems to be inescapably permeated by a conflict between universalizing and particularizing dynamics. The article discusses this basic condition from the perspective of late modern identity formation and its implications for the development of democratic politics. A critical discussion of a number of prominent positions in the theoretical debate on identity opens the argument. In the wake of this critical discourse, an alternative position based on contemporary critical theory is suggested, and the potentials and risks of late modern identity work are outlined in relation to the perspective of democratic civil society. The article concludes that identity-based processes of politicization are fragile and unpredictable, but that they nevertheless form necessary preconditions for creating and maintaining the necessary popular engagement in developing universal democratic civil society. Finally, the potentials and limitations of a European cultural policy in relation to the characteristics of late modern identity work are briefly discussed.

Poland's Quasi-Institutionalized Party System: The Importance of Elites and Institutions

This paper examines the evolution and characteristics of the Polish party system in the period 1991–2007, using the framework of institutionalization. Key moments in the development of the party system are identified by analyzing the results of six consecutive parliamentary elections. At the onset of the development of democratic politics, the party system was characterized by instability and under-institutionalization. By the end of the second decade, it displayed strong signs of structural stabilization and some evidence of the stability of inter-party competition and party institutionalization, implying that the Polish party system is quasi-institutionalized. Moreover, the paper attempts to explain the results by focusing on elite behaviour and institutions.

The Permanent Campaign of Rafael Correa: Making Ecuador's Plebiscitary Presidency

Analysts developed the notion of the permanent campaign to describe how presidents and prime ministers employ political marketing techniques in their quest to mobilize public support. To date, most scholarly studies of the phenomenon have focused on its features and consequences in advanced democracies. This study expands the analysis of the permanent campaign by examining its relationship to the rise of an extreme version of the plebiscitary presidency in the Andean region of Latin America. Through an examination of the administration of Rafael Correa in Ecuador, we show how the permanent campaign has been used as part of a strategy to secure the president's stay in office and effect far-reaching constitutional change. In countries where mechanisms of accountability are already weak, we conclude that conjoining of the plebiscitary presidency and the permanent campaign is likely to exacerbate the accountability deficit and generate problematic consequences for democratic political development.

More than location: crafting a US policy for the Black Sea region

This article is a survey of key foreign policy issues in the Black Sea Region (BSR) which will confront the next United States (US) administration. The article argues that interrelated issues of security, energy and political development make the region a critical, but often overlooked, area for US policymakers. Increasing regional integration, and encouraging pro‐Western and democratic political development is key to resolving the security issues and unleashing the economic potential of the region. However, this is a difficult task given the political, historical and cultural diversity of the region, ongoing ‘frozen conflicts’, and the newly empowered Russian Federation.