Democratic Form Of Government Research Articles

Basins at Risk: Predicting International River Basin Conflict and Cooperation

Growing demands for water combined with supply constraints may lead to an increased potential for international water conflicts, because many of the world’s freshwater systems cut across national boundaries. Which international river basins are likely to experience greater conflict risks or more cooperation? What factors increase or decrease conflict risk (cooperation)? We use prediction and forecasting approaches to address these questions and compare the results with findings of an earlier “basins at risk” study. Whereas the earlier study identified twenty-nine basins at risk, our study identifies forty-four such river basins. We also arrive at different findings with respect to key determinants of river basin conflict and cooperation. Our analytical approach also can help to increase the robustness of explanatory models in other areas of environmental politics, and could make research findings more policy-relevant by moving from ex-post analysis to in-sample prediction and out-of-sample forecasting.

Spirituality for democracy: Spiritual resources for democratic participation in the 21st century

The topic invites us to explore spirituality for democracy and to identify and critique the spiritual resources that are needed for democratic participation in the 21st century. The statement specifically focused on for and not of democracy. Modern expressions of democracy are in crisis. Every context is teething with challenges and conflicts between government sand their citizens concerning how much influence through participation should be allowed in the decision-making process of governance. This topic is of extreme importance for academic discourse because the malaise that has crept into contemporary forms of democratic governance calls for urgent attention. Democratic forms of governance are not set in stone. Rather, they are formed as a result of human deliberation and praxis and cultural developments and must therefore remain open for further reformation. It is this intrinsic capacity for renewal that opens democracy to converse with spirituality. This article begins with identifying the key terms that constitute the academic building blocks of this study. The inherent contradictions in the use of these terms are noted in order to arrive at a theoretical construct to converse with the key concepts of spirituality, democracy, spiritual resources and democratic participation.Through the use of the post colonial lenses of Rastafari hermeneutics, a theoretical framework will be employed to map a life-giving path for contemporary expressions of spirituality for democracy and to identify the resources needed for democratic participation.

From Empire to Democracy, Turkish Republic Model, Role of One Party

From Empire to Democracy, Turkish Republic Model, Role of One Party From Empire to Democracy, Turkish Republic Model, Role of One Party Abstract Democratic form of government and democratic society mark an important achievement in the development of nations. There are basiclly two approaches to democracy. In stable and strong democracies people have fought for it. An alternative approach is up-to-down, observed in societies without serious history of independent social institutions, free legislation and educated citizens. Turkish Republic, in spite of its present deficiencies and past military interventions, is the most developed democracy in the Islamic world and in the middle east along with Israel. A basic rule of the democracy is changing of the government by free elections. Turkey has experienced several examples of this fact. Republican People’s Party played a major role in the establishment of Turkish Republic. The party spent efforts for implementing contemporary institutions and legislation, realizing reforms, and achieving a multiparty political regime in the early years of the republic. The results of the election in 1950 was a victory for the main opposition Democratic party (DP), and there was a swift change of the government. The RPP has been the main opposition party since 1960 and in many critical episodes has become a coalition partner in different governments. Full Text: PDF DOI: 10.15640/rhps.v2n3-4a2

Cutting the apron strings: the South African experience of decolonisation

Decolonisation is a recurring constitutional and political theme in the process of change and reform in South Africa’s history during the 20th century. The constitutional emancipation of the erstwhile Union of South Africa and the subsequent internal decolonisation of designated black ethnic population and cultural groups, are two kindred processes which have interesting similarities, but also important differences. The former involved British Imperialism, the latter involved Afrikaner Nationalism and African Nationalism. The former was a natural, legitimate and spontaneous process, the latter was an artificial process that was induced by Afrikaner Nationalism, that was spurned internationally and domestically by the the international community of nations and indigenous people of South Africa respectively.The article examines the legitimacy of the process of the decolonisation of the Union of South Africa resulting in its independence, followed by the adoption of a republican form of government. In contrast, a comparison is made with the controversial and questionable evolution of the Bantustans, which emerged out of the erstwhile native reserves, a stratagem designed in effect to thwart the liberation struggle for a truly democratic form of government for all the people of South Africa. This pseudo decolonisation was an analogous process to that of genuine decolonisation. The former involved political fragmentation, whatever it was designated, that in effect, denied to the indigenous people, freedom and liberation for decades. As an odyssey it was a very protracted and painful process. Ultimately, in a belated and circuitous manner, after the inordinate suffering and oppression of South Africa’s indigenous people, a genuine democracy in a unified and consolidated state for all the people of South Africa was to transpire. This was liberation and not decolonisation, and was the final stage in the historic and traumatic process for South Africa.It is also argued that only with the inception of the Interim Constitution, following the first historic democratic election of 27 April 1994, did South Africa and its people adopt an authentic democratic and republican constitution.Keywords: Union of South Africa, Status, dominions, decolonisation, liberation movements, Afrikaner nationalism, African nationalism.

Geostrategic Interest and Democracy Promotion: Evidence from Post-Soviet Space

To become successful, the American policy of promoting democracy abroad needs to be scaled down and decoupled from geopolitics. In the post-Soviet world, the democracy–geopolitics doublespeak breeds cynicism and achieves mixed results at best. Particularly discouraging are the outcomes of democracy promotion in the so-called cleft countries, straddled by a cultural divide. In Ukraine, American foreign policy achieved some success at the price of intensifying inter-regional antagonisms, which subsequently compromised and offset the progress that had been achieved in democratic forms of governance. In Belarus, democracy promotion failed altogether because inter-regional antagonisms in that country are too modest and are therefore difficult to leverage.

Classification of the Tasks of Local Governmental Units in Poland in the Light of Fundamental Legal Acts — Discussion of Selected Aspects

The purpose of this article is the presentation of a summary of tasks which local governments in Poland perform and to illustrate their diversity and specificity. The article deals with local government and its specific tasks, which every level of self-government carries out. It is true that self–government is a very important institution operating in most democratic countries in the world. The proper structure of local governmental bodies, as well as the rules of their work and how they make decisions, support the performance of tasks by individual units. The issue of local government concerns its tasks. It is very extensive. These elements are regulated by the Constitution of the Republic of Poland and laws, especially the Act on Commune Self-Government, the Act on County Government and the Act on Voivodship Government. Self-government is the most democratic form of government as an instrument of socialization in the exercise of public authority. Emphasing that local government is a fundamental cell in public administration is one of the aims of this article. Local government carries out tasks in appropriate forms, supported by the European Charter of Local Self Government and national legislation. Being fundamental, universal and compulsory, local government creates a community. Otherwise of an administrative nature, local government is a political phenomenon. The essential feature of the structure of local government in Poland is the fact that local government performs a substantial part of public administration at the level of commune as well as those of district and voivodship. Tasks of local government in Poland are dualistic. Local authorities have powers of their own while performing the tasks assigned to them by law and government. Moreover an important part of this article is about local government as a form of decentralization of public authority.

Basic equality as a post‐revolutionary requisite

PurposeThe Arab Spring poses challenges to governments of the countries involved; the author aims to present a way to respond to them. To this end, the notion of “basic equality” is proffered as a decisive element to be realized in a democratic form of government, democracy itself being necessary if one seeks to evade a return to the former forms of government.Design/methodology/approachNo single answer suffices to realize stable while generally acceptable forms of government; basic equality is shown to be a necessary starting point in each case, to be supplemented by specific policies. The practical implications of the article's analysis are evidenced in the limitations governments must recognize and warrant: through legislation, basic equality is to be realized.FindingsPeople's (formal) equality must be acknowledged. It may be difficult to reconcile this demand with, for example, religious convictions, but it is not necessary to compromise what one believes. One need only act in accordance with the dictates of formal equality, which is the corollary of basic equality. For example, an employer only has to treat his employees equally, and may, accordingly, not distinguish between race, gender or religion, but he is not required to believe that people are, in some fundamental sense, equal.Originality/valueEqual treatment has often been proposed as a “moral” directive. The author presents a realistic alternative to this approach while realizing a state of affairs in which people are treated equally. Since this alternative is based on their self‐interest, this will lead to both a convincing theory and a viable practice.

Does Crime Undermine Public Support for Democracy? Findings from the Case of Mexico

DOES CRIME UNDERMINE PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR DEMOCRACY? FINDINGS FROM THE CASE OF MEXICO Mary Fran T. Malone University of New Hampshire “What is at stake today is not just the result of an election, but rather the future of democracy, of representative institutions,” announced Mexican President Felipe Calderón shortly before midterm elections in July of 2009.1 Declaring that Mexico was at an historical crossroads, President Calderón cautioned that the future of democracy depended quite heavily on the outcome of his government’s fight against organized crime and corruption. Calderón’s concerns have spilled beyond Mexico’s borders. In the United States, officials have expressed alarm over the increasing tide of violence with a series of controversial statements that have angered Mexican officials. For example, Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair charged that Mexican drug cartels “impede Mexico City’s ability to govern parts of its territory and build effective democratic institutions” (Blair 2009: 30).2 The media have prominently featured such statements, as the outbreak of violent crime in Mexico has dominated headlines in newspapers around the world. Such reports warn that the current crime wave is “the most serious crisis . . . faced since the 1910 Mexican Revolution and its immediate aftermath” (Krauze 2009). Indeed, since Calderón assumed office in December of 2006, over 47,000 people have died from violence related to the drug trade and organized crime.3 In Mexico, crime now shares the national limelight with economic issues . While the global economic crisis has exacerbated historic problems of poverty and inequality, national attention has increasingly focused on crime. When Mexicans were asked to name the most pressing problem facing their country in a recent national survey, crime ranked at the top of the list, together with unemployment and the economic crisis.4 In the week that Calderón gave his warning, the Mexican media coverage of crime dwarfed that of the economy, as reports on crime more than doubled those devoted to economic issues.5 Official statements warning that crime could completely destroy Mexico ’s democratic institutions are clearly exaggerated, but the current crime wave does highlight a question of growing importance throughout the developing world – what impact does crime have on democracy? To answer this question, this study examines the effects of crime on Mexican democracy , but from a different perspective than those of the headlines. The focus here is on the micro level political consequences of crime in Mexico, as this C 2012 Southeastern Council on Latin American Studies and Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 17 The Latin Americanist, June 2013 paper aims to determine whether crime can jeopardize Mexicans’ support for democracy and its norms. To this end, this paper utilizes data gathered by the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) in national surveys of Mexico in 2008.6 These surveys contain numerous questions regarding political attitudes and behavior, as well as items measuring experiences with and perceptions of crime. Thus, these data are a particularly valuable resource for examining the linkages between crime and political attitudes and behavior. To examine the micro level consequences of crime for Mexican democracy , this study proceeds in four parts. The first section provides an overview of crime trends in Mexico during the period of democratization , culminating in an examination of the current crime crisis and the responses of the Mexican government. Following this background on the Mexican case, the second portion of the paper turns to examine the literature on crime and democracy. With this theoretical framework, the third section relies upon statistical analysis to gauge the impact of crime on citizens ’ political attitudes (support for democracy and the rule of law) and political behavior (voting behavior and protest participation). The concluding section of the paper discusses the implications of the analysis for political attitudes and behavior in Mexico. Crime and Democratization: The Case of Mexican Exceptionalism Throughout the Latin American region, democratization has coincided with skyrocketing crime rates (Lafree and Tseloni 2006). As most Latin American nations made the twin transitions to neoliberal economies and democratic forms of governance throughout the 1980s and 1990s, they were plagued with rising crime rates, particularly violent crimes like homicides. Cruz (2008) finds that during this time frame...

Sustainability Governance in Democracies

The pursuit of sustainable development requires a political system that secures effective citizen participation in decision-making, an economic system that is able to generate surpluses on a sustained basis and a social system providing for a solution to tensions arising from disharmonious development; it recognizes also the rights of the individual to adequate conditions of life through balancing environmental, economic and social norms. Although international law is neutral towards different forms of government, increasingly democracy is regarded as the only form of government truly reflecting the “consent of the governed” and therefore being in accordance with the right of the self-determination of people and thus the basis for the realization of human rights. But the theoretical and practical linkage between democracy and sustainable development is still weak. Although there is a burgeoning literature on democratic mechanisms and sustainability, democracy is not regarded as prerequisite for sustainability. The authors argue in this paper that although sustainable development seemingly does not need democratic forms of governance as the values attached to SD could also be implemented in a non-democratic system, research on democracy, human rights and sustainable norms need to be better linked to each other in order to be able to implement the political requirements simultaneously. The authors propose an integrated approach that respects the ideas of sustainable development, as well as human rights and democratic forms of governance. Thus, the authors present different systems of democratic governance, sustainable development indicators systems as well as human rights systems. From there the authors develop ideal-type models that represent those ideas and develop an integrated approach to a democratic sustainable development system in accordance with human rights.

Secretly Political: Civic Engagement in Online Publics in Kazakhstan

The proliferation of networked forms of communication has captured the attention of media and scholars alike. We have never had quite as many resources for communication as we have today, and such communicative potential has implications for social change. In this article we consider public spheres that emerge through communication in the digital realm, paying attention to how networked publics operate within such spheres. We present results from a study of a popular local online discussion forum in Kazakhstan. Steeped in Habermas's idea of the public sphere, this study focuses on cultural public spheres defined through engagement and participation of diverse publics. We consider a range of publics that might emerge, such as mundane-publics, issue-publics, and counter-publics and how these differ in their content and purpose. While the majority of work on networked publics has been situated in states with democratic forms of governance, we consider whether similar constructions are possible in an authoritarian state. We find that networked publics are not only present in an environment rife with online blocking and censorship, but take on a range of forms, generating participation that can at times result in substantial social change, despite the inability to hold open political discussions online.

Economic democracy: A path for the future?

As opposed to political democracy and its attempts at power control in the public sector, the concentration of economic power, and its antidote, the concept of economic democracy, has received much less attention. In the paper, we first offer a definition of economic democracy as a “a system of checks and balances on economic power and support for the right of citizens to actively participate in the economy regardless of social status, race, gender, etc.” Based on our definition, we suggest six possible faces of economic democracy and look at their implications for the vision of a sustainable, equitable and non-growing society, as discussed within the degrowth movement: (1) Regulation of market mechanisms and corporate activities. Regulation is one of the most obvious paths to curbing economic power, hence we highlight the issue of deregulation vis a vis possible degrowth policies. A revision of the free-market paradigm is suggested. (2) Support for social enterprises. We discuss different forms of democratic governance within enterprises and suggest that co-operative approaches, common in social enterprises, are better suited to a degrowth economy. (3) Democratic money creation processes, including pluralist community currencies, are suggested to counter economic power caused by the practice of fractional banking. (4) Reclaiming the commons (especially in their original sense as communal land stewardship systems) both conceptually and physically is seen by us as an important aspect of enhancing economic democracy. (5) Redistribution of income and capital assets is discussed as another approach to achieving economic democracy. (6) Finally, inspired by Vandana Shiva, we suggest that a broader view of economic democracy would involve a diversity of production scales and modes, including small-scale, subsistence and self-employment.

Migration and Marginalisation in the ‘Himalayan Kingdom’ of Sikkim

A close look at the political history of Sikkim during monarchic rule unravels some disconcerting features. If the first phase of history (pre-British phase) showed marginalisation of the Lepchas and the Limboos by the immigrant Bhutias, the second phase of history (after the British became the de facto ruler) reflected the political hegemony of the minority Bhutia–Lepcha combination over the majority Nepalese who were mostly landless. The entry of the bulk of Nepalese did contribute to bring in changes in production techniques, especially in the agricultural sector, but appropriation of surplus by the landed gentry of Bhutias and Lepchas only helped to sustain feudalism. Demand for land rights and proportionate representation of the Nepalese paved way for integration of Sikkim with India, and monarchy was replaced by a democratic form of governance. By dint of absolute numerical majority, the Nepalese became the guiding force in shaping the economy of post state-hood Sikkim.

The State and Democracy After New Public Management: Exploring Alternative Models of E-Governance

This article considers the evolving role of information and communication technology within the modern liberal state. Most of the literature focuses on e-government projects, usually seen as opportunities to innovate the business processes of government in close alignment with ideas drawn from New Public Management (NPM). This article argues that the adoption of such a view of e-government overlooks the opportunity to pursue wider innovation in state governance to create more democratic forms of governance. It outlines alternative models for e-government and illustrates them with successful cases of projects based on such models.

Loss of Sympathy and the Platonic Death of Democracy

Recapitulates the devolution of the democratic form of government as Plato described and the issues needed for stability as noted by Aristotle and will demonstrate that the utilitarian analysis of Dr. David Levy and Sandra Peart give an academically rigorous explanation of Plato’s writings on the dissolution of democratic forms of government and the rise of tyrants.

‘Up Close and Personal’ – How does Local Democracy Help the Poor Access the State? Stories of Accountability and Clientelism in Johannesburg

The paper revisits participation and decentralization in relation to local clientelism, arguing that they share the personalization of links between residents and the state and the local possibility to adapt state policies. The line between decentralization-participation on the one hand, and clientelism on the other, is therefore easily blurred. The paper then argues that clientelism is not per se anti-democratic, some forms allow for local and immediate accountability of politicians. However, in most cases, it contributes to fragment or sedate local organizations or social movements and it prevents contestation of existing policies and dominant power structures. The paper thus challenges the idea that the promotion of decentralization and participatory institutions intrinsically leads to more democratic forms of government.

W poszukiwaniu Rzeczy-pospolitej

Współczesność została zredefiniowana, przejście się dokonało. Symptomami jego końca były: przewartościowanie pojęcia demokracji, kryzys klasycznego pojęcia wartości i klęska unilateralizmu USA. Obiektywne determinanty nowego porządku tkwią w wynikającym z kryzysu suwerenności rozdzieleniu legitymizacji i skuteczności. Władza konstytuująca zostaje zredefiniowana jako immanentna dla działań porządkujących. Biopolityczna struktura rzeczywistości z jednej strony wchodzi dzisiaj w konflikt ze starym pojęciem prawa, a z drugiej zaburza relację między technicznym a politycznym składem siły roboczej. Paradygmatyczną dla współczesności staje się utrata kontroli przez władzę nad nową, uspołecznioną postacią żywej pracy. Pracownik stykając się już nie z zyskiem, a rentą, staje przed „kolektywnym kapitalistą” jako fałszerzem pracy społecznej.W tej sytuacji konstytuujący opór realizuje się w praktyce exodusu, który staje się także procesem odzyskiwania dobra wspólnego. Dobro wspólne przeciwstawiając się „temu, co własne”, będącemu podstawą zarówno tego, co prywatne jak i tego, co publiczne, staje się urządzeniem radykalnego demokratycznego zarządzania.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and the triangle of autocracy, oil and foreign powers

This article is based on an executive summary of a forthcoming Arabic-language book to be published by the Centre for Arab Unity Studies. It examines the reasons underlying the failure of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to achieve stability and realize their developmental goals, despite their concerted endeavours to do so since the oil boom of the 1970s. This failure is attributable to the fact that these countries have fallen prey to a vicious cycle of autocratic governments, using the oil wealth of their people to stay in power, and which are being supported and maintained by foreign governments – especially the United States and its allies – in return for a share of the oil booty and other concessions. Accordingly, and on the basis of the experiences of these countries over four decades, any change in current conditions is not foreseeable unless the unholy alliance of autocracy, oil, and foreign powers is dismantled and replaced by a system that is more conducive to both prosperity and stability; where autocracy is replaced by a democratic form of government; where the role of oil is transformed into what will engender productive citizens; and where regional integration and co-existence with neighbours replaces foreign presence and the ‘protection’ or destruction that comes in tandem with it.

A.2. Democratisation of Greek society during the Archaic Era?

The purpose of this paper is to ask critical questions about the widespread conception of the universal democratisation of the Greek society during the archaic and classical periods, leading from the Dark Age monarchies via archaic aristocracies to the establishment of the classical Greek democracy. The concept is based on the opinion of Aristotle, and on the combination of the evidence from the Homeric epics, the poems of Hesiod, archaic poetry and what is known about the late archaic and classical Greek city states, mostly on the example of Athens. Crucial for it are the assumptions that Homeric epics predate the Hesiodic poems and the lyric poetry, and that they give a reliable depiction of the poet's contemporary society, which allows to consider the 'Homeric kingship' as a normal social phenomenon of the Dark Age and to view everything known from the other sources as a result of further development. If we question these assumptions about Homeric epics, neither of which can be considered as certain, the whole conception will be seriously weakened. The other evidence we have - the half-legendary stories about the archaic era and the information we possess about the archaic legislation - does not depict any clear trend in the social development. It is therefore asked in this paper, if it would not be more reasonable to view the Dark Age and archaic communities as preserving a social balance between the nobility and the commoners by giving the initiative to the elite, but still preserving the participation of the fighting commoners in the governmental affairs. In such case there would be no reason to assume a general development from monarchies to aristocracies and from aristocracies to the more democratic forms of government during this period.

Crime and social control in Asia and the Pacific: an examination of larger social institutions and processes

Asia and the Pacific is a dynamic region of expanding economic development, deepening political reform, and sweeping cultural transformation. Amid rapid, drastic, and multifaceted social change, crime, deviance, and social problems occur in unprecedented volumes, forms, and complexities, posing serious challenges to social control systems in countries throughout the region. This paper examines larger social institutions and processes – capitalism vs. socialism, Eastern civilizations vs. Western development, and democratic forms of government vs. authoritarian leadership – their changing dynamics and possible impacts on crime and social control. Upon examination of each contrast with respect to its past, present, and future, the paper points out that crime and social control will inevitably lie in the fusion of opposing social forces within and without national borders across Asia and the Pacific and around the world.

The Euro and the European Demos: Money and Community beyond the Nation-state

Money represents a form of trust among the members of a community. They share a belief that certain symbolic tokens constitute real value. Sceptics frequently point out that the euro area does not have the characteristics of a community. In particular they view the euro as money without a demos. According to this sceptical view, then, the euro is backed by an insufficient level of solidarity and suffers from a deficit of legitimacy. This article identifies the main flaws and contradictions of the no-demos theory. Most importantly, no-demos theory suffers from the fundamental misconception that political community and democracy are possible only in the nation-state. This conceptualisation of community represents a zero-sum understanding of community that cannot capture the dynamic interaction of multiple communities as well as complex and overlapping identities. In addition, no-demos theory is trapped in an internal contradiction. In order for democracy to be possible among the members of a community, that membership in the community is given and rests on pre-democratic criteria. I argue in this article that we need to accept the notion of disaggregated communities and should drop the concept of a unified and fully sovereign demos altogether. Moreover, under conditions in which the gap between sovereignty and authority continues to grow, European Monetary Union is actually a more democratic form of governance than the pre-Maastricht monetary regime in Europe.