Healthy Democracy Research Articles

Disengaged by Choice? A Research Agenda for Understanding Low Urban Youth Turnout in South Africa

Widespread electoral participation is a foundational element of a healthy democracy and an important mechanism by which voters exercise governance oversight. Existing work attributes low voter turnout in developing countries either to poor voter knowledge or to disillusionment with flawed electoral institutions. Yet turnout often remains low and sometimes declines as democracy matures, despite voters gaining basic knowledge about, and trust in, electoral processes. This problem is particularly acute in young urban communities. This study considers a driver of participation not previously explored in developing countries — the motivation to vote stemming from the intrinsic value of the act itself. In this paper we present preliminary evidence from survey data, focus groups, and a large-scale pilot experiment in South Africa that, taken together, suggest that a lack of motivation may be an important constraint on the political participation of young urban voters. We examine the relative efficacy of informational messages about how, when, and where to vote; motivational messages about why voting is important; and a combination of both, on voter registration and turnout. We hope to expand this work into a field experiment targeting 6,000 youth in urban Gauteng, South Africa. In concert with South Africa’s Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), Activate!, a network of youth leaders, and JPAL-Africa, the broader study will produce actionable evidence to improve outreach, bolster participation, and improve governance in South Africa and similar developing countries.

AKIBAT POLITIIK UANG DALAM PEMILIHAN UMUM KEPALA DAERAH (PEMILUKADA) TERHADAP KONSTRUKSI PEMERINTAHAN

Election of Regional Head directly has a significant value in the Development of a healthy democracy and dinamic. A healthy democracy must be understood as a process towards a more intelligent, independent and dignified In some areas local elections marred by a variety of fraud such as money politics, violent past as well as behaviour that could hamper the smooth running of the election process. The practice of money politics can be avoided if the candidates and the public are fully aware that local elections should be run in accordance with the applicable rules. Law enforcement on this issue must begin from the seriousness of the government. Because in essence the rule of law is a malter of courage and guts. Law enforcement should the carried out without discrimination, applies in the election of regional heads without aby race, gender, ethnicity, rich and poor. Law enforcement should be like two sword equally sharp. Sharp upward and downward too sharp.Key word : Elections of Regional Heads, Money Politics

Informally Governing Information: How Criminal Rivalry Leads to Violence against the Press in Mexico

A well-functioning press is crucial for sustaining a healthy democracy. While attacks on journalists occur regularly in many developing countries, previous work has largely ignored where and why journalists are attacked. Focusing on violence by criminal organizations (COs) in Mexico, we offer the first systematic, micro-level analysis of the conditions under which journalists are more likely to be violently targeted. Contrary to popular belief, our evidence reveals that the presence of large, profitable COs does not necessarily lead to fatal attacks against the press. Rather, the likelihood of journalists being killed only increases when rival criminal groups inhabit territories. Rivalry inhibits COs’ ability to control information leaks to the press, instead creating incentives for such leaks to be used as weapons to intensify official enforcement operations against rivals. Without the capacity to informally govern press content, rival criminals affected by such press coverage are more likely to target journalists.

Between entrenchment, reform and transformation: ethnicity and Lebanon's consociational democracy

ABSTRACTConsociationalism has become a key institutional mechanism for managing conflict after civil war. Proponents argue that a period of consociational influence can contribute to the erosion of ethnic cleavages and even a society where ethnicity is depoliticized. Critics, however, are sceptical of this claim and argue that consociationalism institutionalizes ethnic identities and stymies the transition to a healthier democracy. In response, proponents outline a liberal model of consociationalism which limits the pre-determination of ethnicity in social and political structures. Yet, problematically, consociations in postwar societies often provide guarantees of ethnic representation in order to entice belligerents to abandon violence for democracy. This issue of transitioning from a corporate consociation to a more liberal form requires sustained analysis. This paper examines this conundrum by examining contemporary Lebanese consociationalism. Given that ethnicity is central to debates about revising consociationalism, via qualitative interviews with Lebanese political elites and civil society activists, the paper analyses how these subjects conceptualize ethnicity in contrasting ways which generate different approaches to consociationalism but which ultimately frustrate meaningful reform. It does this by exploring various debates to entrench, reform or transform Lebanese consociationalism.

Public Capitalism: The Political Authority of Corporate Executives

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Facilitating personal deliberation online: Immediate effects of two ConsiderIt variations

A healthy democracy requires cognizant citizens who are willing and able to make informed decisions about political issues. ConsiderIt is a software application aimed at facilitating and encouraging personal deliberation. This article reports on a pretest–posttest experimental study (N=36) into the immediate effects of two possible variations of ConsiderIt: a version with predefined pro and con statements, and one in which users decide for themselves whether statements are pro or con. The participants used ConsiderIt in a controversial case on the position of Greece in the European Union. Data were gathered on changes in standpoint, perceived knowledge, perceived understanding, and general open-mindedness. Irrespective of the variation used, the use of ConsiderIt significantly appeared to affect the users’ standpoint as well as their perceived knowledge and understanding of the subject matter. No effects were found on general open-mindedness. Qualitative data, however, showed that it was still hard for the participants to commit themselves to full deliberative behavior. Based on these findings, it seems interesting to implement the usage of this type of software application in educational settings to contribute to a more deliberative society.

Where’s the Party? The Decline of Party Institutionalization and What (if Anything) that Means for Democracy

Strong institutionalized parties are often seen as vital for healthy democracies. The Indian case, therefore, represents a strange paradox: many parties are weak, corrupt and personalistic, yet democracy as a whole seems to be thriving, with increasing turnout and apparently strong popular support for democratic procedures and norms. This article explores some of the reasons for this strange outcome and suggests that the existing literature on party institutionalization might need some revision.

Book Review: The Watchdog That Didn’t Bark: The Financial Crisis and the Disappearance of Investigative Journalism, by Dean Starkman

Dean Starkman Watchdog That Didn't Bark: Financial Crisis and the Disappearance of Investigative Journalism. New York: Columbia University Press, 2014. 362 pp.Dean Starkman starts with a premise: accountability journalism is the mother's milk of the journalism industry and needed to ensure a healthy democracy. His message resonates loudly and clearly in this book that is must-reading for students aspiring to be investigative or business reporters.Starkman uses the financial collapse from the 2000s to illustrate how a variety of factors contributed to America's leading newsrooms and journalists failing to grasp the enormity of the interconnected banking, lending, and mortgage crises. combined effect was a public leftunaware of the depth of the scandalous problem. Many of them lost their homes and their jobs in the washout.Starkman suggests that the Bush administration's disdain for government regulation of business is a convenient factor to cite in explaining why the crises happened. Yes, President George W. Bush did neuter the oversight agencies that could have stepped in and prevented the collapse that took the American economy with it. But Starkman also notes that the massive layoffs, resignations, and firings in newsrooms small and especially large guaranteed that fewer journalists were doing what they could have been doing-digging. Furthermore, he adds that the lust for clicks as newsrooms began adopting digital-first mentalities contributed to journalists needing to chase stories that valued eyes over minds. Saying that, he acknowledges that in the run up to the collapse-2000 to 2003-journalism did a fine job of detailing what was happening in the financial industry. But from 2004 to 2006, encompassing some of the worst loan practices that would soon become evident, accountability journalism took a backseat to stories fawning over corporate executives, chasing the latest rumors, and reacting to stock price fluctuations. By the time journalists got back to digging in 2007, the seeds of the disaster had been planted and were about to be harvested.Lest you think Starkman is letting President Bush's successor offthe hook, he notes that President Obama and his attorney general must bear primary responsibility for the failure to criminally prosecute anyone connected to what took place in the financial industry (p. 288). That absence of holding someone responsible added to the public's perception that the country's elite political and business people were somehow above the law.What is accountability journalism? It is The Great Story that can trace its roots to the muckraking era of more than 100 years ago, and through to the mythical early 1970s Washington Post reporting on the Nixon administration. It holds those in power responsible for what they have done wrong, it uncovers the corruption linked to them, and it points the finger of guilt to wherever and at whomever it should be. It is also a lengthy process that requires news managers give the reporter time and resources.Not to be forgotten, according to Starkman, is that the public demands accountability reporting with multiple polls in two decades after Watergate finding that public recognized the importance of The Great Story. …

Participatory health councils and good governance: healthy democracy in Brazil?

IntroductionThe Brazilian Government created Participatory Health Councils (PHCs) to allow citizen participation in the public health policy process. PHCs are advisory bodies that operate at all levels of government and that bring together different societal groups to monitor Brazil’s health system. Today they are present in 98% of Brazilian cities, demonstrating their popularity and thus their potential to help ensure that health policies are in line with citizen preferences. Despite their expansive reach, their real impact on health policies and health outcomes for citizens is uncertain. We thus ask the following question: Do PHCs offer meaningful opportunities for open participation and influence in the public health policy process?MethodsThirty-eight semi-structured interviews with health council members were conducted. Data from these interviews were analyzed using a qualitative interpretive content analysis approach. A quantitative analysis of PHC data from the Sistema de Acompanhamento dos Conselhos de Saude (SIACS) database was also conducted to corroborate findings from the interviews.ResultsWe learned that PHCs fall short in many of the categories of good governance.Government manipulation of the agenda and leadership of the PHCs, delays in the implementation of PHC decision making, a lack of training of council members on relevant technical issues, the largely narrow interests of council members, the lack of transparency and monitoring guidelines, a lack of government support, and a lack of inclusiveness are a few examples that highlight why PHCs are not as effective as they could be.ConclusionsAlthough PHCs are intended to be inclusive and participatory, in practice they seem to have little impact on the health policymaking process in Brazil. PHCs will only be able to fulfil their mandate when we see good governance largely present. This will require a rethinking of their governance structures, processes, membership, and oversight. If change is resisted, the PHCs will remain largely limited to a good idea in theory that is disappointing in practice.

Margaret Chase Smith Essay: The Urgency of Democracy

In primary and secondary schools in Maine and across the country, classroom time devoted to civics and American political history, along with many humanities subjects, is under increasing pressure. William D. Adams argues that failure to teach these subjects is related to a decline in meaningful polit­ical participation and civic engage­ment of all kinds in the United States. He draws connections between a healthy democracy and democratic citizenship and the ability to think critically, to imagine alternatives, to advance the common good, and to feel empathy and respect for others that a robust humanities education encourages.

In Government We Distrust: Citizen Skepticism and Democracy in the United States

AbstractVirtually all accounts of political trust in the US regard declining trust over the past half-century to be troubling. We argue that these interpretations are in need of reassessment since they often are rooted in the normatively questionable assumption that higher trust is always desirable. We review traditions in democratic theory and American thought extolling the virtues of skepticism and distrust of government and discuss potential problems in common trust measures and conclusions based on them. Using data from the 2014 General Social Survey, we explore relationships between trust, commitment to being vigilant watchdogs of government, and attitudes and behaviors generally considered desirable for a healthy democracy. Our findings indicate that higher trust is not always accompanied by characteristics of good democratic citizens. In fact, it is those individuals who exhibit lower levels of trust with high levels of vigilance who are most politically engaged. Thus, healthy skepticism of government may contribute to the vitality of democracy.

Medical Futility: A New Look at an Old Problem

Efforts to answer the question of whether or when physicians may unilaterally refuse to provide treatments they deem medically futile, but that are nonetheless demanded by patients or their surrogates, have been characterized as intractable failures. We propose a new look at this old problem and suggest reframing the debate in terms of the implicit social contract, in healthy democracies, between the medical profession and the society it serves. This ever-evolving contract is predicated upon providing patients with beneficial and desired medical care within the constraints of scarce resources and the characteristics of our health-care system. The contract ranges over a continuum of decisions, from those that do not need an explicit negotiated agreement with the patient or surrogate, to those that do. Between these two poles lies a contentious gray area, where the rights and obligations of patients and physicians are being shaped continuously by the many forces that are at play in a democratic society, including professional guidelines, social advocacy, legislation, and litigation. We provide examples of how this gray area has been and is negotiated around rights to refuse and demand a variety of life-sustaining treatments, and anticipate conflicts likely to arise in the future. Reframing the futility debate in this way reveals that the issue is not a story of intractable failure, but rather, a successful narrative about how democracies balance the legitimate perspectives of patients and physicians against a backdrop of societal constraints and values.

Building Terrorism from Social Ties: The Dark Side of Social Capital

In April 1984, 25 members of the Jewish Underground were arrested by the Israeli General Security Service moments after they had planted explosives in five Palestinian-owned buses. Their arrest and sentencing brought to an end one of the more sophisticated expressions of Jewish terrorism since the birth of Israel. Overall, the group planned four operations, one of which was the conspiracy to bomb the Muslim holy sites on the Temple Mount. As we outline below, social links between the members of the Jewish Underground significantly facilitated the creation of this organization. We demonstrate that social capital, here expressed in terms of networks, trust, and norms – which are widely considered important components of a healthy democracy – can take a negative turn toward participation in terrorism.

The Role of Media Use in the Recall Versus Recognition of Political Knowledge

A knowledgeable electorate is one of the fundamental assumptions of a healthy democracy, and yet studies consistently find the public underperforms in tests of political knowledge. In addition, television news exposure is often poorly associated with political knowledge. Explanations for this include the kinds of knowledge measured. Using an experiment nested in a national survey, this study finds television news exposure is a significant predictor of recognition knowledge while exposure to news via the Internet is a predictor of recall knowledge.

Teaching, Practicing, and Performing Deliberative Democracy in the Classroom

Inspired by the Citizens Initiative Review Process in Oregon, Healthy Democracy, and the Living Voters Guide, this paper proposes that undergraduate educators should teach, practice, and perform deliberative democracy in the classroom. This paper will identify deliberation as a tool for resolving difficulties in current democratic practices and propose a specific classroom activity to teach deliberative skills. The sample undergraduate activity involves student research, local political leaders coming to speak and answer questions, and in-class deliberations. Using survey data collected from the students/participants, it was found that the activity had positive learning outcomes for students. Students reported feeling more knowledgeable and informed about the democratic process the ballot measure on which students deliberated (Missouri’s Proposition E from the 2012 election). Results also suggest that this activity allowed for students to learn about and gain confidence in argumentation, advocacy, deliberation, and democracy.

Promoting Civic Engagement Post-Release From Correctional Facilities

We applaud the article by Purtle1 and agree that prohibiting incarcerated individuals from voting impacts both their civic engagement and their health. However, one important point that was missing from the article is that in a number of states, there are additional barriers to voting even after a person has been released from a correctional facility and completed parole and probation. Three states impose lifetime bans on voting for those with felony convictions. An additional eight states impose partial restrictions (Table 1).2 TABLE 1— Felony Disenfranchisement Policies: United States, November 2012 Connecticut legislation prohibits individuals from voting when they are incarcerated and on parole, but many individuals do not know that they can vote once they have completed their prison sentence. To that end, the New Haven Reentry Initiative organized Unlock the Vote, a citywide effort geared toward registering individuals with criminal records to fortify the relationship between civic engagement and health. In the months leading up to the November 2012 general election, we conducted nine voting registration drives partnering with local agencies, including local community health centers, which serve returning prisoners. Each conversation with a returning prisoner addressed the importance of voting in the context of one’s health and that of our community. In total, 271 individuals with criminal records were registered to vote. Concerns that former prisoners do not want to become civically engaged were unfounded; 54% of New Haven residents registered through Unlock the Vote voted in the November election (comparable to New Haven’s overall rate of 62%). Given this success, we are working on statewide legislation that would mandate that individuals be given the opportunity to register to vote upon release from prison. This legislation is currently pending, and other such legislation has already been passed in North Carolina. The partnership between the city’s reentry initiative and health care community has been crucial in identifying other avenues in which to collaborate to improve the health and civic engagement of returning prisoners. Readers interested in spearheading similar efforts to bridge the divide between civic engagement and health can join local reentry councils and also turn to online resources such as Breaking Barriers to the Ballot Box,3 which provides materials for registering voters with criminal records. Creating a healthier democracy depends on these partnerships that engage returning prisoners back into our communities.

Democracy, Like Revolution, is Unattainable Without Women

Contrary to popular media coverage, the Arab Spring was not the first time Arab women took on leadership roles in populist uprisings. As far back as the 1919 Egyptian revolution against the British occupation, women in the Middle East have played pivotal roles in both political movements and mass protests. Indeed, women constituted a significant proportion of street protesters during the 1960s Algerian revolution, the Iranian revolution of 1979, and in Palestine during the First Intifada. This article posits that the biggest challenge facing women in Arab Spring countries is transforming their leadership and attendant influence during the revolutions into high level governance positions, both elected and appointed, after the revolutions. Despite their involvement in past revolutions, whether against native dictators or foreign occupiers, women in the Middle East have yet to attain the degree of political representation that reflects the scope of their contributions in deposing regimes. As soon as the conflicts end and the revolutionary fervor is over, society reverts back to traditional gender roles wherein women are expected to stay out of the political process beyond exercising any voting rights they may have. Their social and political positions remain largely unaffected notwithstanding their sacrifices. Without women’s participation in social and political institutions, nations are unable to develop healthy and sustainable democracies. And as a result, democracy repeatedly eludes the nations of the Middle East. What will differentiate the Arab Spring revolutions from past ones is the degree to which the political revolution triggers a social revolution wherein women have meaningful access to and representation in political institutions. Notwithstanding their increased participation in the public sphere as workers, women’s interests have been woefully underrepresented in the political process. Thus, women’s participation in the formal workforce, albeit at disproportionately lower rates than men, should not be mistaken for political representation and equal treatment before the law. Accordingly, those concerned with achieving substantive equality, as opposed to mere formal equality on paper, should focus on the following three key objectives: 1) amend election laws to increase the proportion of women represented in local, state, and national politics; 2) increase access to high level employment opportunities for women; and 3) reform public education curriculums to highlight the role of women in the revolutions and the various professions to counter perceptions of women’s inability or disinterest in roles outside of the home and to communicate to the youth how sustainable democracies depend on equal participation by women. In combination, these objectives increase the likelihood of a more equitable society wherein women are sufficiently empowered to minimize gender disparities and meaningfully contribute towards the nation’s progress.

Decline of the Media? Decline of Democracy?

The media play a leading role in democracies. Their task is to enable citizens to make informed decisions by providing them with a balanced picture of the complex world. However, amongst journalists, the general knowledge of and interest in politics and EU affairs seems somewhat poor, which means that the media are not doing their job, and this is reflected in society. Media reporting on the EU is predominantly negative and therefore cannot give a balanced view to the public in order to promote a healthy European democracy. Instead, the changes taking place in the media landscape seem to promote entertainment and market values over political content, a development which benefits politicians suited to this arena, such as populists.

A Human Rights-Based Approach to Journalism: Ghana

The Human Rights-Based Approach to Journalism is a relatively new concept in the field of media development that seeks to amend the standard role of journalism in a democracy to include the principle that advancing human rights should not be an ad hoc endeavour but a fundamental function of a journalist's everyday obligations. To date, there have been few attempts made to put this concept into practice. Where initiatives have been launched, there has been virtually no critical assessment of their effectiveness. Drawing on the findings of scholars and experts who have identified the strengths and weaknesses of applying a rights-based approach to fields such as poverty reduction, gender equality and education, this article seeks to address a gap in the literature where a rights-based approach has been applied to journalism. Primary research was conducted over a one-month period in the summer of 2011 with Ghanaian journalists working in all media platforms (print, broadcast, online). All participants had received rights-based training from the Canadian NGO, Journalists for Human Rights (JHR). JHR is one of the few media development organizations to incorporate a rights-based approach into its work. Findings show an overwhelming support among participants of human rights as a concept essential to the development of a healthy democracy, but they also show that the rights-based training participants received has failed to help them overcome cultural, political and other barriers to effective and sustained rights-based reporting.

Civic Studies: Bringing Theory to Practice

Copyright © 2013 The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA Civic engagement is integral to the creation and perpetuation of healthy communities and robust participatory democracy. While the preservation of our democratic society is strengthened through the engagement of community members as a whole, for some—those I call civic practitioners— the practice of civic engagement is the heart of their work.1 They act as our proxies in making democracy function as representatives in elected and sometimes appointed government positions, advocates in public life, intermediaries in negotiations and social capital formation, and organizers who mobilize others to influence public policy and practices. The regular activities of civic practitioners are at the foundation of civil society. Civic theory, such as that provided in the Institute of Civic Studies, can positively inform their work by articulating effective models of engagement and providing them opportunities to reflect on their goals and values. As with all work, that of civic practitioners requires knowledge and training. Knowledge of the issues is essential: those who work on any public or community issue need familiarity with that issue as it is understood in theory and applied on the ground. In addition, practitioners can profit from training in effective civic practices. For example, legislators and those who seek to influence them need to know how a bill becomes law, government officials and those who work with their policies must learn how to navigate the administrative process, and organizers and negotiators can be trained in how to conduct meetings. This skill-based knowledge, often provided by veteran civic practitioners, includes strategies such as listening to constituents, finding ways to engage others, and using various forms of media. Civic Studies: Bringing Theory to Practice