Concept Of Democracy Research Articles

The Political and Historical Identity of the North African Mediterranean Region: A Case Study: Tunisia

The paper outlines the importance of historical identity in the Southern Mediterranean region through a case study of Tunisia. It explores Tunisia’s political development up until the fall of the Ben Ali regime in January 2011, and its influence on the post-Arab spring period of constitutionalism of the new democratic government system. The theoretical framework of this paper involves a strategic approach to transition, emphasizing the influence of the historical relationship between religion (Islam) and politics on the role of the Islamic party in transition. The influence of the historical relationship between the military and politics on the role of the military in transition is also evaluated. These transition actors are chosen for a deeper investigation because of their historically negative image in Arab societies. In line with all available data, this article shows that the pre-independence ‘twin tolerations’ between the State and religious citizens as well as the civilian control over the military positively influenced Tunisia’s contemporary democratic development. Post-independence Bourguiba’s ‘state-controlled Islam’ and Ben Ali’s ‘zero tolerance’ towards Islamists, somewhat paradoxically, contributed to the reaffirmation of Tunisian Islamic values and Ennahda’s concept of Muslim democracy. The political and economically marginalized position of the military determined its promotional role in the democratic transition. Applying the single case study as comparison method developed by Landman and Linz-Stepan, we came to the conclusion that, due to the positive role of Ennahda and the military, Tunisia achieved a successful democratic transition even though its democracy is not yet fully consolidated.

Panchayat System in Karnataka: Democracy, Representation and Political Parties

Abstract: As far as the Indian sub-continent is concerned local governance/panchayat has an elaborate history. The rural population have for long practiced this system of governing themselves through their representatives. The mode of working and the powers vested in the local bodies, have not been uniform throughout. The federation conferred constitutional status to the local governance bodies in 1993 and this system has progressed in an interesting way. Karnataka, a southern State in India has been ahead of time in enacting legislations dealing with local governance. Even before the amendment inserting provisions to the Constitution of India was passed, Karnataka had and was implementing extravagant laws pertaining to panchayats. Since democracy and decentralisation are closely associated with the panchayats, the idea of representation has a key role to play. The concerns with respect to involvement and influence of political parties in the local body elections are an important aspect as well. This paper ventures out to understand the panchayat system in Karnataka, pre and post the Constitutional amendment. The paper intends to throw light on the essence of the legislations relating to panchayats in Karnataka and understand the idea of democracy, representational factor and the concept of elections on a non-party basis. The researchers have keenly pondered upon the implementation of apolitical elections in Karnataka, the flaws in the proposed phenomenon. The paper also aims to look into hurdles in the way of these local bodies and propose suggestions to get over the same. Purpose: To Analyze the panchayat system in Karnataka, both before and after the 1993 constitutional amendment. Examine the essence of Karnataka's panchayat-related legislation. Explore the concepts of democracy, representation, and non-party elections in the context of panchayats. Evaluate the implementation of non-partisan elections in Karnataka and identify potential flaws. Analyze the challenges faced by panchayats and propose solutions. Theoretical Reference: Mainly Doctrinal research methodology. Relies on primary sources like the Indian Constitution, relevant statutes relating to panchayaths, and relevant data. Draws on secondary sources like articles and research papers. Method: Analyzes relevant legal documents and scholarly works. Analytical Method of Study Comparative Studies in relation to various factors pertaining to the research between the three levels of Panchayat (Gram Panchayat, Taluk Panchayat and Zilla Panchayat) Results and Conclusion: Non-partisan elections in Karnataka are largely theoretical; political parties influence local elections. Political interference hinders effective panchayat functioning. The paper likely proposes recommendations for strengthening panchayats and minimizing political influence. Implications of Research: Provides insights into the challenges and potential of decentralized governance in India. Informs policymakers and stakeholders about improving panchayat effectiveness. May contribute to debates on non-partisan elections and local democracy. Originality/Value: The study offers a focused analysis of Karnataka's panchayat system within a specific theoretical framework. Its findings on the limitations of non-partisan elections could be valuable for other regions considering similar approaches.

European Union defensive democracy’s responses to disinformation

ABSTRACT Disinformation has become a central topic in the European Union (EU) since the mid-2010s due to the disinformation campaigns used by the Russian Federation during the hybrid war against Ukraine in 2014, the Brexit referendum, the 2017 French presidential election and the 2019 European Parliamentary (EP) election. This paper aims to provide an overview and analysis of the EU’s counter-disinformation policy and measures within the theoretical framework of militant and defensive democracy with the aim to fill the gap in the relevant literature. The paper hypothesises that the concepts of militant and defensive democracy are applicable to the EU in its fight against foreign interference and disinformation. The main research questions are: What kind of measures has the EU developed to counter disinformation? Can we identify rights restrictive measures, in other words, does the EU follow a militant strategy in defending its democratic order? The paper finds that democratic self-defence is a crucial contemporary issue for the EU regarding foreign interference and more specifically disinformation, and that the concepts of militant and defensive democracy provide appropriate theoretical framework for analysing not only the challenges of democracy emerging inside the EU, but threats from the outside as well.

East Germans in the political elites of reunited Germany: the problem of underrepresentation

The underrepresentation of East Germans (“ossis”) in German elites is studied. After more than 30 years since the reunification of Germany, the share of former GDR citizens in high government positions in the political system of the state at large is far smaller than their percentage in the population. Historical preconditions for the predominance of West Germans in leadership positions are explored, the share of East Germans in different elite groups is analyzed, and the factors that could facilitate East Germans’ entry to elite positions are suggested. Based on a large amount of data, it is concluded that East Germans are unevenly represented even among political elites. But the territorial principle and the democratic form of recruitment (elections) could facilitate East Germans’ entry into an elite. The research based on statistical data published by German scholars as well as data on the German political elite collected by the author and her colleagues is introduced in Russian and foreign academic literature for the first time. The database consists of information about 736 members of the Bundestag, 17 members of the federal government, 173 members of the federal state governments, and 59 state secretaries for the period up to November 16, 2023.

Democracy and freedom in Robert A. Dahl: democratic principles and the minimum model of democracy

Robert A. Dahl is one of the most important American thinkers of the 20th century, having written about democracy and political science in a troubled era in the post-World War II era. The author brings in his writings definitions of the concept of modern democracy and institutes a new way of conceiving this form of government, which he describes as "polyarchy". The author is highly critical of theorists of idealistic societies and is quite sensible in his analyzes free of ideological tendencies. The present work aims to describe how Dahl thinks about democracy, describe his democratic conception of "polyarchy" and critically compare Dahl's thinking with some contemporary liberal ideas, in order to explore the understanding of the relations between liberalism and democracy.

The Principles of Democracy that are included in the Social, Citizenship, and Civic Education Textbooks, and the Level of Practicing them By the Teachers from the Viewpoint of the School Principals in Jordan

This study aimed at identifying the democratic principles that are included in the social, citizenship, and civic education textbooks from first to tenth grade. This study also aimed at identifying the implications of the social education teachers from the of principals point of view. Therefore, for the purpose of this study, the researchers have analyzed the content of these books to answer the first question of this study. In addition, the researchers developed an instrument to distinguish the highest level of practicing the social studies' teachers who practice the principles of democracy. It was a questionnaire consisting of (41) items. The sample of this study included (750) principals randomly selected. 
 Results of the current study revealed that the social, citizenship, and civic education textbooks for the first to tenth grade contain four fundamental concepts of democracy, namely: freedom, justice, equality, and classroom teaching practices. The study also indicated that the teachers of the social studies gained an advanced level of practicing the principles of democracy. The current study recommended the necessity of reconsidering the mechanism of improving the Jordanian curricula, especially at the level of the social studies curricula, which should consist of the principles and concepts of democracy in a more comprehensive manner.

Potential determinants of voting behaviour of the electors of Assam

The political parties are the backbone of the democratic form of government. The political parties are constituted to capture the power of the state and rule thereof. The composition, nature, and ideology or principle of every party is different but the primary objective is to capture the power of the state is the same. So, in order to capture the power, the political parties initiated different strategies and considered various determinants. The determinants might differ from party to party and place to place. Assam as a state of India is run by a state government following the parliamentary form of government and the party that gets the majority in the Legislative Assembly of Assam is allowed to form the government. Hence, there are many contesting political parties in Assam, and out of that some are national and others are state and regional level parties. During the election, the national, state and regional political parties of Assam considered certain factors to win the confidence of the people. These factors determine the fate of the elections. Thus, this paper is intended to focus on the determining factors in Assam, and by analyzing the factors past experiences of the political parties are analyzed to justify the arguments.

Democratic republicanism and political competence in treatments of radical Enlightenment

ABSTRACT This article argues that what was understood as democracy in the eighteenth century differs fundamentally from modern democracy. While modern democratic states take locally born or naturalized personhood as the criterion of citizenship, eighteenth-century advocates of democracy demanded proof of political competence to allow participation in politics. While the requirement of competence to engage in any activity is not unreasonable, if defined, as it was by most Enlightenment thinkers, as a combination of independence, cultural standing and wealth, it is clearly elitist. Enlightenment criticisms of birth and status as criteria of political standing should not be mistaken for demands for broadly inclusive, modern conceptions of equality and democracy. Rather, most Enlightenment thinkers and publicists, fully aware of the implications of widespread and debilitating poverty, expressed reservations about granting the ‘people’ an effective role in politics. Far from being ‘radical’, Enlightenment political theory called for the replacement of an elitism based on status and privilege with an elitism of ability and wealth.

Elections under the conditions of marital state: constitution, legislation, reality

The issue of electoral legislation and its features during martial law are explored in the article. On the basis of a careful analysis of the constitutional norms, it was found that for most types of elections, the impossibility of holding them is established only in legislative acts. At the same time, it has been proven that the formal absence of a constitutional ban on launching the election process in the conditions of the ongoing large-scale invasion of the Russian Federation does not solve any real problem that currently makes democratic elections in Ukraine impossible.
 The classification of the reasons for the refusal of democratic states to hold elections during the war has been studied and proposed. In particular, such reasons as electoral (interference of an enemy state, lack of free campaigning, etc.), economic (expenses for conducting elections), security, political (moments of political instability may arise during the transfer of power from the old government to the newly elected one) etc. are highlighted.
 The concept of “rally around the flag” is described, the historical example of the defeat of the “father of victory” Winston Churchill in the post-war elections with an analysis of the reasons, and the results of a number of sociological studies are also considered. The latter demonstrate a high level of citizen support for the current President of Ukraine, in particular as the Supreme Commander. The authors concluded that there is a sufficient level of legitimacy of state authorities, which will most likely be confirmed by elections. The expediency of all risks and costs under such conditions is assessed as doubtful.
 The possibility of using electronic voting was considered. It was concluded that such proposals are premature in view of the non-acceptance by the people of Ukraine of such a way of expressing will and the technical capabilities of the state.
 At the same time, the authors point out the need to prepare a regulatory framework and develop new mechanisms, in particular, using digital technologies, both for post-war elections and for elections under martial law. The article also examines the concept of Military democracy, i.e. militarized or military democracy, i.e. a state with a democratic system operating in wartime conditions.

AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF THE PERFORMANCE OF PANCHAYATS IN TRIPURA: MAJOR INITIATIVES AND ACHIEVEMENTS

The introduction of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment to the Constitution of India brought a new beginning and positive changes to Indian democracy. It has strengthened the concept of democracy by ensuring the decentralization of power at the grass roots level. The creation of the Three Tier Panchayat System was a land mark step giving voice to the rural people in the process of governance and democratic development planning. In conformity with this Act, in 1993, the Government of Tripura brought forward the Tripura Panchayats Act. The present paper aims to analyse the performance of the Panchayats of Tripura and the contribution of PRIs in developing the rural areas of Tripura.

Study of Democratic Schools and its Contribution to the Reinvigoration of Democracy

This article presents a simple yet profound idea: the lessons learned through the study of democratic schools can offer key insights into how to reinvigorate democracy. To prove this claim, the authors draw on their experience as co-editors of the book Designing Democratic Schools and Learning Environments - A Global Perspective. The book explores almost forty cases in sixteen countries where educational initiatives have been implemented and designed to foster democratic forms of education. Using the four-frames theoretical approach by Bolman and Deal (2021), the article assesses how the process of producing a book that analyzes democratic schools and learning environments relates to the challenges faced by democratic governance. The article suggests that the difficulties and challenges of building democratic learning environments may correlate with the difficulties of sustaining and protecting a democracy. This has been highlighted through the example of the democratic book creation process that we followed. This article contributes to the broader topic of the purposes of education by examining ways in which schools and education systems can transform distributive leadership, self-governance, and student agency into key aspects of the mission of reinvigorating democracy in the twenty-first century.

Empirical legitimacy as core of comparative democracy research

Legitimacy is a central resource for all political systems. This include democracies as autocracies. For democracies, you need the acceptance of the normative concept of democracy by the citizens. Simply put, this norm requires an empirical legitimacy. The empirical legitimacy focus on different understandings of democracy. Mostly the aspect of individual freedom is dominant. Empirical analyses show this idea do not only work for Europe. The article first shows what empirical legitimacy means conceptually and then analyzes this existence of legitimacy in a comparative perspective. It is the erosion of legitimacy that can lead a political regime to collapse. Current survey data from political culture research show not only differences in the legitimacy of democratic and autocratic regimes, but also an increase in the importance of different understandings of democracy. Some of these are no longer democratic.

The Contribution of Education to the Formation of the Democratic Citizen

The purpose of this paper is twofold; firstly, we will attempt to highlight the contribution of education to the formation of the democratic citizen. However, the reason for our study was the ideas of the ancient Greek thinkers regarding the relationship between education and the citizen. In the course of the work, we ascertain the topicality of their theories, as well as their influence on modern researchers, which will constitute the second purpose of our research. People have the same desire for glory, power and material wealth as the citizens of ancient Greece, that’s why their texts acquired a timeless value. To support our proposal, we will invoke the proposal of T. Parsons, who argues that Western societies originate from the ancient Greek ones (Parsons, 1966).In the study at hand, we will also be concerned with the issue, if education still plays a primary role in the formation of the democratic citizen, given that there are now many educational institutions, such as the Internet. In addition, we will deal with whether the concept of democracy has been differentiated in relation to the way it was understood by the ancient Greek philosophers, who believed that the citizen should be active and participate in the commons. Nowadays, do education systems promote political participation or passivity, serving the interests of the ruling class of states?

The rhetoric of democracy in United States Senate campaign debates

ABSTRACT This project analyzes the rhetoric of democracy, voting, and elections in United States Senate campaign debates during the 2022 midterm elections. Using C-SPAN video archives, we examine candidate exchanges focused on the 2020 election, ballot access, and the peaceful transfer of power. We find that while Democratic and Republican candidates used dramatically different language and arguments to describe their positions on elections, candidates in both parties laid claim to the mantle of “democracy defender.” Democracy functioned as a floating signifier deployed even by election deniers who recast election interference as election protection and positioned themselves as agents of responsive government while obfuscating President Trump’s, and in some cases their own, responsibility for spreading election conspiracies. This rhetorical analysis illuminates how political elites approach questions of democracy and electoral fairness in an era shaped by misinformation and fractured communication environments. Our study advances understanding of the dialectical tensions in conceptualizations of democracy and the role of campaign debates in a post-truth rhetorical climate.

‘Athletes’ participation in the National Anti-Doping Organisations of Germany and Poland: democratic governance?’

ABSTRACT Athletes’ participation in sports governance gains momentum at multiple levels and challenges the long-prevailing power relations in organised sport. At the same time, the sport-specific discourse on good governance extends to the field of anti-doping, following low levels of testing effectiveness, untransparent decision-making and ethical misconduct in leading anti-doping authorities. Adopting a case-oriented comparative approach between the National Anti-Doping Organisations (NADOs) of Germany (NADA) and Poland (POLADA), two consecutive data collection steps were applied in mixed-methods design to assess and compare the status quo, and to discuss the future development of athletes’ participation in anti-doping through the lens of democratic processes in good governance research. First, document analysis showed important similarities and differences between the organisations’ approaches to athletes’ participation. Overall, NADA implements a more democratic and transparent approach than POLADA. Second, expert interviews revealed three key issues in relation to democratic forms of athletes’ participation in the two NADOs: athletes’ and their representatives’ (limited) personal resources and engagement (individual); an adequate degree of codification and institutionalisation of athletes’ representation on NADOs’ internal bodies (organisational); and NADOs’ operational (in-)dependence (political/systemic). Researchers and practitioners are recommended to further examine how NADOs’ control functions over athletes and athletes’ participation in their decision-making can be adequately balanced as part of aspirations to foster democratic governance in these organisations.

THOUGHT OF "REVITALIZING THE PEOPLE'S SPIRIT" OF PHAN CHAU TRINH

Phan Chau Trinh was a Vietnamese patriot from the late 19th century to the early 20th century, who made significant contributions in both practical and theoretical aspects during the struggle against oppressive domination to reform and develop the country on a new path. One of his prominent ideas was the concept of democracy, which ignited the spirit of patriotism and the self-reliant will of the Vietnamese people, enabling them to recognize the social realities of Vietnam at that time and actively contribute to the nation-building and development process. This article analyzes the fundamental concepts of 'revitalizing the people's spirit' by Phan Chau Trinh, highlighting how these ideas greatly contributed to the struggle and social construction of the Vietnamese people during a period of significant changes.

Pathologies of representation: Lungisile Ntsebeza on the political misrepresentation of rural South Africans

Lungisile Ntsebeza’s empirical work on rule and resistance in South Africa’s countryside has a subterranean philosophical seam. Implicit in both his historical studies and his contemporary fieldwork-based studies of rural conflict is a philosophical question: what constitutes adequate political representation? Ntsebeza’s work, exemplifying engaged scholarship, is rich in evaluative insights. But the conception of democracy which is his explicit evaluative yardstick is both too narrow and too indeterminate. It leaves no space for the crucial work of representation carried out by unelected non-governmental organisations and local organisations; and we are given no concrete detail about how participatory and representative democracy are to be integrated, as Ntsebeza insists they should be. Showing that his writings can be brought into conversation with approaches to political representation in contemporary political philosophy, this article argues that Ntsebeza’s evaluative work is most helpfully understood as identifying and diagnosing several pathologies of representation. Normative theory is often most constructive when it articulates distinctive types of system failure, rather than simply stating ideals. Each of the pathologies of representation recoverable from Ntsebeza’s analytical work is a recurring way in which rural South Africans have been politically misrepresented or otherwise inadequately represented – a type of flaw which all systems of representation must guard against.

From “Republic” to “Democracy”: The Construction of Chinese Democratic Discourse in the 20th Century—Based on the Analysis of “Research on the History of Ideas”

From the development of the history of thought, the development of China’s concept of democracy has mainly gone through three stages, namely, the selective absorption stage, the learning stage and the reconstruction stage. In this process, democracy has completed the transformation from the traditional sense to the modern sense, forming the Chinese concept of democracy in the modern sense different from the Western modern sense.

BEYOND THE BALLOT BOX: THE MEANING AND SUBSTANCE OF DEMOCRACY

This paper seeks to make a theoretical contribution to the concept of democracy. The conceptualization of democracy is a widely linked with periodic elections that allow citizens to choose their leaders. However, this paper argues that democracy is more than just a matter of holding elections every few years. This narrow definition overlooks the substance and meaning of democracy, which encompasses a broad range of values and principles beyond the mere act of voting. In particular, the paper highlights three key dimensions of democracy that are critical for its meaningfulness: (1) participation and empowerment, (2) transparency and accountability, and (3) deliberation and collaboration. Through a review of existing literature, the paper demonstrates that these dimensions are interrelated and mutually reinforcing, and contribute to a more robust and sustainable democracy. The paper concludes by arguing that while elections are an important component of democracy, they are not an end in themselves, but rather one of the many tools that can help facilitate and reinforce a meaningful democracy.

Putting Freedom of Contract in its Place

Abstract I develop a novel, rights-based conception of contract—the “democratic conception”—that can deliver a justification for granting a sphere of freedom to contracting parties while setting principled limits on that grant. It justifies doctrines—including the penalty doctrine, the doctrine of substantial performance, a robust doctrine of changed circumstances, and a robust doctrine of unconscionability—that an influential group of contract theorists argue set unprincipled limits on the parties’ equal procedural freedom. My account shows how these doctrines can be rendered compatible with a robust principle of freedom of contract that is grounded in the parties’ rights.