Rule Of Consensus Research Articles

Current Approaches to Improving Consensus Decision-Making Mechanisms in International Regional Organizations

This study is aimed to study a key element of the activity of any international organization — the problem of consensus decision-making and the corresponding practice of solving it both in integration bodies (Eurasian Economic Union, European Union) and in interstate organizations devoid of a supranational component (Shanghai Cooperation Organization, North Atlantic Treaty Organization treaty, Collective Security Treaty Organization).Aim. Identify current approaches to improving the application of the rule of consensus in interstate (intergovernmental) structures and their bodies.Tasks. Investigate and generalize the practice of consensus decision-making within the international regional organizations, highlight actual ways to increase the efficiency of their decision-making mechanisms.Methods. The study used general scientific methodology. The comparative analysis method is used to compare existing decision-making practices. Analysis, synthesis, generalization, as well as the formal logical method were used to formulate the conclusions of the work.Results. The collective decision-making based on consensus follows from the international legal principle par in parem non habet imperium. It emphasizes the equality of all participants in an international organization and excludes the imposition of obligations non-approved by a sovereign state. From this point of view, consensus is a way to strengthen unity and achieve organizational stability. Simultaneously the practice of using this form in various international organizations gives evidence to its low efficiency in decision-making. Achieving consensus requires intensive efforts to coordinate the positions of the parties, and the emergence of “one-vote veto” situations cannot be ruled out. A possible way to increase the efficiency of decision-making within the framework of integration processes (EU, EAEU) lies through the development of supranational mechanisms.Conclusions. Analysis of the practice of functioning of international regional organizations (SCO, NATO, CSTO) allows to identify two approaches aimed at overcoming the negative features of consensus decision-making. The first involves the development of an international organization with formal obligations of members into a community associated with the establishment of a set of shared values among its participants. The second presumes the creation of mechanisms that allow interested states to use the institutions of such a structure to make collective decisions without a not-participating state. Both approaches do not exclude but complement each other.

A Perspective of Good Governance on the Reform of Correctional Governance System and Capabilities in the Digital Era

The construction of smart cities and smart government is in full swing. Public sectors emphasize the advancement of electronic processes and applications to foster innovation. Hence, accelerating the digital reform of the correctional governance system and capabilities is the general trend. This article utilizes the good governance theory as its central framework to elucidate the integration of the rule of law, accountability, transparency, efficiency, equity, responsiveness, participation, and consensus within the corrective institution in Macao. Additionally, the article seeks to analyse the impact of implementing big data on the governance system through a multidisciplinary policy analysis. Drawing from the perspectives and values associated with good governance, this study examines the various components and assessments of capabilities. Specifically, it identifies leadership, innovation, execution, responsiveness, and readiness as the determinants that collectively shape the path of capabilities reform. The incorporation of relevant implications and practices offers a scientific foundation and orientation for the digital reform of governance system and capabilities within correctional services.

Implementasi Prinsip Good Governance Dalam Pelayanan E-Ktp Dan Kartu Keluarga Di Kecamatan Benda Kota Tangerang

The purpose of this research is to know the implementation of the principles of good governance in the service of E-KTP and Family Cards in Benda District, Tangerang City, Benda District in the E-KTP and Family Card services. To obtain data in this study, the method used is a qualitative research method. The data collection techniques are observation, interviews and documentation. The results of this study indicate that the Implementation of Good Governance Principles in E-KTP and Family Card Services in Benda District, Tangerang City has not gone well, there are still some things that are still not appropriate, such as the existence of services that prioritize people who have positions and kinship , as well as service employees who still serve with unfriendly looks. The results of this study found that the implementation of the principle of Good Governance in the E-KTP and Family Card services was not in accordance with the principles of Good Governance because there was still injustice in providing services by prioritizing one's position and when performing services if people who had families working there the service would be faster. , but behind that there are several principles of Good Governance that have been in accordance with such as Participation, Rule of Law, Transparency, Responsiveness, Consensus Oriented, Effectiveness and Efficient, Accountability, Strategic Vision.

Asynchronous Non–uniform Distributed Multi–target Tracking Filter Based on Asymmetric Alpha–divergence Consensus

With more and more extensive application of target tracking, distributed multi–target tracking (DMT) becomes an important research direction. However, the synchronization characteristics of some sensor networks can not be guaranteed due to communication delay, non–uniform sampling and so on. Therefore, a DMT algorithm for asynchronous non–uniform multi–sensor networks is studied in this paper. Firstly, by using the cardinalized probability hypothesis density (CPHD) based on continuous–discrete multi–target dynamic (CD) model (CD-CPHD), a CD–CPHD algorithm with multi–step birth process and time–triggered structure (TCD–CPHD) is proposed; Secondly, an asymmetric alpha–divergence (AAD) based adaptive computing structure of time–trigger index is designed to reduce the communication rate of TCD–CPHD; Thirdly, the fusion rule of AAD consensus is derived to construct the fusion process of the proposed algorithm; Finally, by combining the above structures and the fusion rule, the implementation process of the proposed algorithm is given. Theoretical analysis and exhaustive experimental analysis show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process )AHP( of Good Governance Components for Health System Policy-Making in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Background: Good governance in the last two decades attracted the attention of scientific and international circles around the world. It is a type of governance that is committed to supporting and promoting human health. In order to achieve good governance, components have been identified that knowledge of the weight and importance of each component is undoubtedly necessary to achieve the desired results in the policy-making of the Iranian health system. Methods: This research is descriptive-survey in terms of goal setting and methodology. The multi-stage stratification and availability method was used for sampling and the theoretical saturation rule was used to determine the sample size. In order to define and explain the concept of components of good governance and health policy-making, the library method and review of reference sources were used. 100 survey managers and experts in the Ministry of Health and Golestan, Mazandaran and Neishabour Universities of Medical Sciences were interviewed using a survey method and using a checklist tool (researcher-made (pairwise comparisons)). To analyze the data, Chang's improved fuzzy AHP method and Expert choice software were used. Results: Among the components of good governance (for the policy-making process of the Iranian health system), the rule of law included the most important component. After the rule of law, consensus and agreement, transparency, accountability, justice and fairness, effectiveness and efficiency and ethics were in the next ranks. Conclusion: Good governance is a new narrative of concepts such as democracy, human rights and justice to pursue people-centered human development goals. The rankings obtained from the analyses of this research indicate the need to pay more attention to the rule of law in the health policy-making cycle. It is suggested that in designing the health sector of the seventh economic, social and cultural development plan, executive strategies are paid attention to strengthening the components of good governance, respectively.

PROVIDING A MODEL FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF GOOD GOVERNANCE IN THE HEALTH IN MINISTRY OF HEALTH (CASE STUDY AT TEHRAN UNIVERSITY OF MEDICAL SCIENCES)

Purpose of the study: The current paper seeks to evaluate the feasibility of good governance in the Ministry of Health (Case study at Tehran University of Medical Sciences). In this regard, good governance and providing its requirements including participation, rule of law, transparency, accountability, consensus, fairness, efficiency, and effectiveness.
 Methodology: The population of this study were managers at Tehran University of Medical Sciences. According to the characteristics of the population in which the number of employees and experts is unlimited and uncertain, 300 questionnaires were distributed and 267 questionnaires were collected.
 Main Findings: The result of the Friedman test for ranking the components of good governance showed that the highest average among good governance factors was related to the resource factor. Structure factors were placed in the second rank and process factors had the last rank among good governance factors.
 Applications of this study: The results of this study can be applied in the government's decision and as a result, effective management of policy-making, assistance in the implementation of general policies of the administrative system of the country, achieving the positive consequences of the effective implementation of the country's policy-making management system, helping the growth and development of the organization, managers, and employees of the organization.
 Novelty/Originality of this study: According to the studies and archival studies in the field of good governance, the model of good governance in the Ministry of Health and Medical Education in Iran has not been worked on before. This can lead to the expansion of knowledge and the production of science.

ANALYZING THE CAPABILITIES OF NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS TO ACHIEVE THE PRINCIPLES OF GOOD GOVERNANCE A CASE STUDY OF SOME NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS IN SHARKIA GOVERNORATE

The efforts of the NGOs in Egypt are based on a fundamental axis that is mobilizing the efforts of individuals and associations to bring about development in society for the benefit of these individuals and groups, solving their problems and contributing to supporting the state's efforts to meet the humanitarian, social and economic needs of society. Non-governmental organizations are those non-profit organizations that work to improve the economic and social conditions of millions of people. The main objective of the study is to assess the institutional Capacity Needs at six local community development associations – El-zakazik and Fakous Districts - Sharkia Governorate. The study used the institutional evaluation tool that was used by the United Nations Development Program to measure the principles of good governance through eight main axes: participation, rule of law, transparency, response, consensus, fairness and inclusiveness, effectiveness and efficiency, and accountability. And after making some adjustments to suit local conditions. In spite of the large role expected of NGOs, but they suffer mostly from weak institutional capacities, especially in the areas of good governance, leadership and decisionmaking. The current study aims to assess the institutional capabilities of good governance for some NGOs in the Zagazig and Faqous districts, Sharkia Governorate. The institutional evaluation tool used to measure the principles of good governance consists of eight main principles: participation, rule of law, transparency, responsiveness, consensus, fairness and inclusiveness, effectiveness and efficiency, and accountability. Field data were collected from the board of directors and executive staff of the six studied NGOs of the number of 52 respondents. The results resulted in the weakness of good governance mechanisms in the studied civil societies, whereby the responses of the members of the boards of directors and the executive staff of the six studied societies tend to decrease and average over most of the principles of good governance. This requires setting a plan for building the capacities related to the good governance principles of the association in order to comply with the principles approved by international organizations

Transforming India’s electoral democracy using Tantra framework

India has a rich tradition where good governance is highly valued. The theme of good governance is emphasized by a lineage of thought leaders from Kautilya in 230 BCE (परजासख सख राजञः परजाना च हित हितम । नातमपरिय हित राजञः परजाना त परिय हितम ॥ अरथशासतरः १.१९.४३ ॥ Chapter 19 titled राजपरणिधिः duties of the king in Arthashastra of Kautilya. The happiness of the king is in the happiness of the people, his welfare is in the welfare of the people. The welfare of the king lies not in what he desires, but what his subjects desire) to Mahatma Gandhi [Mahatma Gandhi propounded the concept of “Su-raj” and according to him “good governance” has the following eight attributes, which link it to its citizens: (1) accountable, (2) transparent, (3) responsive, (4) equitable and inclusive, (5) effective and efficient, (6) follows the rule of law, (7) participatory and (8) consensus oriented] in recent times. However, achieving good governance in a country of size of India is hard. Good governance needs to address social, cultural, ethical and process dimensions. Governance not only needs to be good and efficient, but needs to human-centric. At times even well-intentioned and well-thought out processes of Government cause lot of trauma to common citizens. On the contrary doing away with safeguards is inviting disaster. To meet the objective of human-centric good governance, we have developed Tantra social information management framework. Tantra framework makes use of concepts from Zachman framework and unified foundational ontology. The framework itself is modeled as a social network (entity–entity network). Tantra framework interoperates with models such as balanced score card, theory of change and Bartels’ theory of separations. This paper describes the Tantra framework and how it can be applied to transform India’s electoral democracy.

Contesting the Protestant Consensus

This article challenges the premise that a Protestant consensus emerged in Upper Canada by the mid-nineteenth century by examining the persistence of politically influential, dissenting evangelical voluntarists who advocated the secularization of the clergy reserves. State- Chruch efforts were strongly contested by evangelicals who had come to believe that the purity of their faith was marked by its independence from the state as well as its revivalism. Using the Toronto-based Christian Guardian, this article traces a clash between the British Wesleyans and the generally voluntarist Upper Canadian Methodists as they sought to claim the legacy of Methodism in the colony. Overall, this article seeks to highlight the persistence of an early dissenting evangelical culture, not as an exception to the rule of consensus, but as a significant influence in colonial public policy and a vital force in Upper Canadian Protestantism that calls into question the consensus model.

ОСОБЛИВОСТІ ФОРМУВАННЯ СТРАТЕГІЇ ПОКРАЩАНЯ БІЗНЕС КЛІМАТУ БІЗНЕС- АСОЦІАЦІЯМИ УКРАЇНИ


 
 
 The article «Features of forming strategy of enhanced of business climate by business associations of Ukraine» examined the peculiarities of joint development by Ukraine’s business associations of a strategy for improving the business climate in the country. The main ideas and provisions of such a joint project are shown. It is shown that its success is completely determined by the transparency and publicity of the preparation process. In the basis - of the rule of consensus. A necessary and sufficient condition for the success of the process of public consultations between business and authorities is the interest of business associations in the effectiveness and success of changes in the country. A practical recommendations have been developed.
 
 

The Myth of Effective Veto Power under the Rule of Consensus. Dynamics and Democratic Legitimacy of Collective Decision-Making by “Tacit Consent”

Cette étude discute l’hypothèse courante selon laquelle la règle de décision par consensus, par laquelle les décisions sont prises par « consentement tacite », c’est-à-dire sans vote et en absence d’une dissidence ouverte, attribue un pouvoir de veto à chaque décideur. Elle aborde cette hypothèse d’un point de vue conceptuel, analytique et empirique et réévalue la valeur démocratique de cette règle de décision et son applicabilité empirique. L’argument principal de l’étude est que les options de veto sont restreintes par mille façons sous la règle du consensus, ce qui rend cette hypothèse du consentement trompeuse. Nous montrons que le pouvoir de veto en cas de décisions collectives prises selon la règle de consensus est limité par divers mécanismes et normes sociales, qu’il est en outre réparti de façon asymétrique parmi les décideurs, et en outre désactivé, dans une majorité de cas, par « l’ombre du vote majoritaire ». L’examen des dimensions de la légitimité démocratique en termes d’intrants et de résultats montre que l’égalité de participation et d’influence et les normes de transparence et de responsabilité sont violées en raison des options de la règle du veto et d’un ordre ambigu de préférences découlant de la logique particulière de cette règle de décision. L’efficacité de cette règle est néanmoins forte et l’engagement du groupe n’est pas inférieur à ce qu’on observe dans des situations où s’applique la règle du vote. Compte tenu des points forts et des points faibles de cette règle décisionnelle, sa pertinence dans divers contextes politiques est discutée.

A Contested Consensus Rule

The article tests the wisdom of amending the osce rule of consensus against past experiences of introducing a “consensus minus one” procedure, establishing mandatory cooperative “mechanisms” which can be triggered by a qualified minority of states, or introducing autonomously operating institutions. It argues that amending the consensus rule does not per se lead to a stronger Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. While the participating states could benefit from more independent osce institutions, decisions leading in that direction would need time to mature, particularly in the current political environment marked by the very low level of mutual trust within the osce.

Do Election Rules Affect Deliberation? An Experiment on Deliberative Election Rules and Group Trust

Enhanced deliberation has been prescribed as the way forward to improve democratic decision-making, while generating positive attributes like trust and legitimacy. Yet, we do not know to what extent different decision-making election rules affect the deliberative process and its outcome. This article investigates to what extent different election rules in deliberative decision-making affect group trust by testing three ideal types of election rules (i.e. a dictator election rule, a representative election rule and a consensus rule) in a laboratory experiment. The findings show that the differences in election rules have a significant impact on the level of trust after deliberation. Interestingly, however, we find that the election rule of representative democracy yield more group trust than does the election rule of pure consensus and non-hierarchical decision-making. Thus our findings challenge the understanding by deliberative normative theorists that the more inclusion and consensus in the decision-making procedure the more trust and legitimacy amongst its participants.

Canada's Credibility as an Actor in the Middle East Peace Process

From 1992 to 2000, Canada was intensively involved in the multilateral part of the Middle East peace process as chair of the refugee working group. This involvement, while mostly below the radar in terms of public perception, became a positive element of Canada's relations with countries of the Middle East. In addition, Canada's leadership role in the working group generally was well received and appreciated in Washington and added credibility to what Canada said about the Middle East in international meetings such as the G7 and at the UN.On the other hand, the whole multilateral process was governed by the rule of consensus, which meant that with regard to Palestinian refugees, achieving agreement on fundamental issues was dependent on confidence between the Israeli and Palestinian sides, a quality that was in increasingly short supply after the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the subsequent election of Benjamin Netanyahu. In this environment, the work of the refugee working group was important less for what it could achieve on the Palestinian refugee issue, but rather as a sign of life in the much-challenged peace process.In name, the working group dealt with one of the key aspects of the Israel- Palestine question. It was the only one of the five working groups that seemed to overlap so directly with the bilateral negotiations between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Despite these challenges, it was the only working group to continue substantial activity between 1995 and 2000, in the face of deteriorating bilateral negotiations and a hollowing out of the group's original mandate. Why and how this happened is really a Canadian story, which reflects a combination of Canadian commitment to and skill at multilateral diplomacy, the activist attitude of the then-foreign minister, Lloyd Axworthy, and the added value for Canadian policy of playing a highlighted role in the Middle East peace process.These days, when Canadian policy on the Middle East has become increasingly one-sided and isolated from that of its main partners, as reflected at the D eau ville G 8 meeting in May 2 o 11, it is worth reviewing how, in the period under review, Canada was able to be supportive and helpful to all parties in the region whue remaining consistent with Canada's longstanding policy on the Israel- Palestine question.BACKGROUNDHad it not been for the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990, the significant progress in Arab-Israeli relations in the 1990s - in which Canada became involved to an unprecedented degree - might never have happened. By the end of operation Desert Storm, however, President George H. W. Bush and his secretary of state, James Baker, were determined to seize on the significantly altered balance of power and new geopolitical realities to attempt to solve the Arab-Israeli dispute. Following intensive negotiation and shuttle diplomacy, an invitation was issued jointly by the United States and the Soviet Union to attend an opening international peace conference in Madrid on 30-31 October 1991, to be followed immediately by direct bilateral negotiations. Shortly thereafter, according to the invitation, multilateral negotiations on regional issues would begin, which other countries from the region, and from outside, would be invited to join.The United States wanted to keep the bilateral process small and serious, and invitations to the Madrid conference were limited to the countries most immediately involved. The subsequent multilateral process was intended to bring together countries of the region, including those not invited to Madrid, to discuss regional issues, originally identified by the United States as region-wide issues of water, refugee issues, environment, economic development, and other subjects of mutual interest.1 As the results of the Madrid conference were assessed in the foreign affairs ministry in Ottawa, the question arose as to whether Canada should seek an invitation to participate in the multilateral process. …

Rule of law or Washington consensus : the evolution of the world bank’s approach to legal and judicial reform

This paper traces the evolution of the World Bank’s involvement in legal and judicial reform. Initially, the Bank conceived this new area of activity as a relatively minor component of its development work. Today, however, the scope of the legal and judicial reform agenda has significantly expanded to become part of an unprecedented and ambitious attempt radically to overhaul the structure of states in developing and transition countries. This transformation has consolidated the place of law in the development agenda. Yet, those interested in the promotion of a democratic rule of law have reasons to be concerned. Indeed, although law is today correctly seen as part of governance, the governance agenda, as currently conceived, is aimed mainly at promoting the Washington Consensus. Within this conceptualization of governance, designed largely by economists and statisticians, the place of law is largely restricted to restraining governments and facilitating commercial intercourse. Under these circumstances it is unlikely that the Bank’s much-flaunted objective of strengthening the rule of law to empower citizens and ensure their effective participation in development has any chance of success.

L'OMC et les négociations commerciales multilatérales

<titre>R&#233;sum&#233;</titre>Les derni&#232;res n&#233;gociations commerciales multilat&#233;rales men&#233;es au sein de l&#8217;Organisation Mondiale du Commerce ont connu des difficult&#233;s importantes qui pourraient conduire &#224; l&#8217;&#233;chec. Nous examinons les principes de fonctionnement de ce processus de n&#233;gociation qui repose sur des r&#232;gles et des rapports de forces. L&#8217;augmentation du nombre de pays membres, la r&#232;gle de consensus, l&#8217;affirmation des pays &#233;mergents, l&#8217;absence de v&#233;ritable leadership accroissent les difficult&#233;s. L&#8217;article se termine par des propositions visant &#224; les r&#233;duire et, notamment, une meilleure quantification de la r&#233;ciprocit&#233;, le recours &#224; des accords plurilat&#233;raux, la fixation d&#8217;un d&#233;lai cr&#233;dible de n&#233;gociations.

Ann-Sofie Dahl's Stockholm

SWEDEN MAY THINK OF ITSELF as the self-evident centre of the universe, but, to the outside world, it may seem a geographically distant and politically rather uninteresting place. The exception would be for those who cherish its solid image as an early laboratory for the cradle-to-grave political model known as the welfare state. But there is a risk that even they will find Sweden something of a disappointment these days.In some circles in Sweden there is still considerable fondness for the elaborate state interventionism once perfected by the welfare state. Those nostalgic sentiments are now creating a stubborn resistance to the changes that are needed to improve the old, expensive, and not very efficient system. Sweden is still governed by the same Social Democratic party that has been in power for most of the time since 1932, but the Social Democrats have had to leave a great deal of their former ideological rigour behind in the last few years. Only rather brief periods of non-socialist government have interrupted the Social Democratic grip on power. The four-party coalition, headed from 1991 to 1994 by Carl Bildt, the first Conservative prime minister since 1930, was undoubtedly the most important of these non-socialist governments. The administrations that governed the country between 1976 and 1984 were certainly less successful - and politically less courageous.In spite of an ambitious programme for change, the coalition did not win re-election in 1994. But the Bildt government left behind a distinct mark, particularly evident in its attempts to restructure the welfare system, in the privatization of state-owned companies, and in the field of foreign and security policy. When the Social Democrats returned to power in 1994, they confronted a less compliant electorate than in earlier decades when the socialist agenda seemed to infiltrate every single aspect of society.Sweden is no longer an isolated outpost, happily wandering its own, third way of compromises between East and West, between the market and a planned economy. In part, this change is a result of heavy international influences, but, to some extent, it is also a heritage left by three intensive years of non-socialist government in the early 1990s, which modernized the country and brought it closer to Europe. After an extensive campaign, led by the non-socialists for the 'Europeanization' of all levels of Swedish society, the country joined the European Union (EU) in 1995 after a slim majority voted 'yes' in the referendum on membership. By then, the Social Democrats had once again returned to government.Today, Sweden is a much more ordinary European country than it was only a decade or two ago. The art of compromise may still be the number one sport in the country, with the rule of consensus governing decision- making at all levels of society. Yet the problems tormenting Sweden today are not strikingly different from those that its neighbours on the continent, or its friends across the Atlantic, are forced to confront; nor are the solutions arrived at very different from those chosen by the rest of the Western world.Homogeneity can, for example, no longer be considered the Swedish middle name. After various waves of immigration, the latest of which brought substantial numbers of Muslim refugees from the Balkans and Somalia, all Swedes are no longer tall, blond, and blue-eyed. Next to the Svenssons, the Anderssons, and the Nilssons - for centuries the most common last names in the country - more exotic sounding names now appear in the phone directories.But homogeneity is also gone in many other ways that were once characteristic of the Swedish lifestyle. The idea that there is only one way to get things done and only one vehicle that can be relied upon to do it - the state - has been quite successfully challenged during the last decade.Gone are the days when there was only one of everything; when there was monopoly television, state-controlled, with only one TV channel, reluctantly complemented in 1969 by another state channel; when only the state or the county councils were trusted with the delicate task of running a medical clinic; when all schools were public, and the idea that parents could decide for themselves how and where their children would be educated was either unheard of or rapidly discarded at the official level. …

OSCE Peacekeeping: A useful ‘harder’ option

As an international body working for conflict prevention and crisis management the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in, Europe (OSCE) has frequently been seen as a ‘soft’ option in European peacemaking and peacekeeping, relying almost exclusively on non‐coercive means. Recent history, however, has raised the question whether the OSCE would be more effective employing ‘harder’ options such as the use of military forces. Rob Zaagman is here arguing on behalf of the independent working group of the Netherlands Helsinki Committee, that OSCE peacekeeping is a preferable alternative to bilateral peacekeeping, and it should, in order to fulfil its tasks in the best possible way, have access to military peace keeping forces. The report discusses the organisation, of a regular OSCE peacekeeping operation (PKO) while concluding with a discussion on the rule of consensus, recommending the use of majority vote to decide hard options.

OSCE peacekeeping: A useful 'harder' option

As an international body working for conflict prevention and crisis management the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in, Europe (OSCE) has frequently been seen as a ‘soft’ option in European peacemaking and peacekeeping, relying almost exclusively on non‐coercive means. Recent history, however, has raised the question whether the OSCE would be more effective employing ‘harder’ options such as the use of military forces. Rob Zaagman is here arguing on behalf of the independent working group of the Netherlands Helsinki Committee, that OSCE peacekeeping is a preferable alternative to bilateral peacekeeping, and it should, in order to fulfil its tasks in the best possible way, have access to military peace keeping forces. The report discusses the organisation, of a regular OSCE peacekeeping operation (PKO) while concluding with a discussion on the rule of consensus, recommending the use of majority vote to decide hard options.

Decision-Rules and Individual Values in Constitutional Choice

Once a political community has decided which of its members are to participate directly in the making of collective policy, an important question remains: “How many of them must agree before a policy is imposed on the community?” Only if participation is limited to one man does this question become trivial. And this choice of decision-rules may seem only a little less important than the choice of rules in a world so largely governed by committees, councils, conventions, and legislatures. This paper is about the consequences of these rules for individual values.Both the oral and written traditions of political theory have generally confined the search for optimal (or “best”) decision-rules to three alternatives. The rule of consensus tells us that all direct participants must agree on a policy which is to be imposed. Majority-rule tells us that more than half must concur in a policy if it is to be imposed. And the rule of individual initiative (as we may call it), holds that a policy is imposed when any single participant approves of it. These three decision-rules—“everyone,” “most of us,” and “anyone”—are terribly important, but they cannot be said to exhaust the available alternatives.The list of alternatives is just as long as a committee's roster. Only for a committee of three would ‘consensus,’ ‘majority’ and ‘individual initiative’ exhaust the possibilities. In a committee of n members, we have n possible rules. Let the decision-rule be a minimum number of individuals (k) required to impose a policy.