Democracy Research Articles

Thérèse Bonney, the Bonney Service and the Business of Syndicated Photography, 1922–45

Photography by Thérèse Bonney (1894–1978) has appeared in exhibitions on women’s roles within modernism and World War II, and research has been completed on aspects of her most famous publication: Europe’s Children (1943). Yet scholars have not grappled with the importance of her syndicated business, the Bonney Service, in the distribution of ideas around the globe, or how to reconcile her photographs of design with her later images of World War II. Her desire was to train the eye to feel the haptic qualities of her images and distinguish through careful looking her intertwining of materiality, identity and democratic values. She understood the need to share multiple images over a sustained time to convince people that her pictorial interpretation was accurate. As part of a larger book project rooted in a years-long investigation of Bonney’s archive, this article seeks to begin these complicated conversations about Bonney’s legacy in the USA and her artistic range, and to reinsert Bonney into the history of photography she helped canonise but in which she has since been minimised.

Driving a three-age learning curriculum from local wisdom under the “YANGKHINOK Model” in Thailand

This study had the objective of developing a three-age learning curriculum from local wisdom under the YANGKHINOK Model which focuses on time, resources, knowledge, skills, and sincerity to enhance competency and leverage social networks in Khueang Nai District, Ubon Ratchathani Province, Thailand. Due to the dynamics of global society influencing Thai education, integrating local wisdom in curriculum development is essential for preserving cultural heritage and community sustainability. A mixed method of qualitative case studies and quantitative evaluation was employed to assess the efficacy of the local wisdom project. Key findings spotlighted the importance of community participation, educational coordination, and the appropriate development of a curriculum for all age groups by the YANGKHINOK Model (Youth, Adult, Narration, Gathering, Knowledge, Hearkening, Impetus, Network, Older Persons, Keeping). This inclusive approach emphasizes the critical role of collaboration among local communities and educational institutions to ensure that the curriculum remains relevant and adaptable across different generations. The approach also aims to create a contemporary democratic society by promoting continuous learning and sustainable professional development that fosters long-term community resilience. It was concluded that a sustainable community curriculum must include these components to meet the actual needs of the community, as well as being adaptable to social and economic changes. Effective use of limited local resources, strategic planning, and broad participation for practical results lead to lasting sustainability, providing a framework for continuous community improvement.

Pairing Humanities With Technology to Combat Mis- and Disinformation

Over the last decade, the phenomenon of mis- and disinformation has come to the fore of popular, academic and political discourse. It is widely seen as a scourge to civil society and a challenge to democratic governance, but policy solutions seem as contentious as ever, showing no signs of broad agreement on what can be done to enhance cognitive and societal resilience, particularly without treading upon precious liberal principles like free speech. David V Gioe, Robin Brinkworth and Marina Miron offer a suite of policy options that are humanities-based to complement the more frequently researched technological approaches to combating mis- and disinformation. ◼

Analisis Peran Bawaslu Provinsi Jawa Timur dalam Pengawasan Netralitas ASN pada Pemilihan Umum

General elections are a form of a country's democratic system. The General Election Supervisory Body is one of the agencies in organizing general elections which is responsible for supervising general elections so that they run honestly and fairly. This research aims to determine the role of the East Java Province Bawaslu in monitoring the neutrality of the State Civil Apparatus in the Election. The method used in this research is descriptive qualitative with data collection techniques through observation, interviews and documentation. Analysis of this research data uses the theory put forward by Sururama and Amalia (2020:44) explaining the stages of supervision which consist of setting implementation standards, determining measurement of activity implementation, comparing activity implementation with standards and analyzing deviations, and taking corrective action. The research results show that there is SKB Number 2 of 2022 concerning Guidelines for the Neutrality Development and Supervision of State Civil Service Employees in the Implementation of General Elections and Elections. Apart from that, Bawaslu also held declaration activities to increase the neutrality of ASN during the election and take action against violations that occurred according to the rules.

Analyzing Jordan's National Security Council Framework: Safeguarding Sovereignty

Abstract This study explores the factors influencing national security effectiveness by examining structure and functionality, interagency coordination, policy alignment, and democratic governance. It also identifies key areas for improvement. The aim is to evaluate how these elements impact national security outcomes. The study surveyed 470 officials across the Palace of Justice, achieving a 78% response rate. Using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences), the study demonstrates that structure and functionality, interagency coordination, policy alignment, and democratic governance significantly impact national security. It further shows that improvements in key areas have a substantial positive effect. The article contributes original insights into enhancing national security strategies through targeted structural and oversight mechanisms, offering practical recommendations for policy and operational improvements.

The Unquiet Pedagogy of Harold Pinter’s Mountain Language : Topical Lessons from India

Abstract: In teaching Harold Pinter’s Mountain Language , I have observed how Indian postgraduate students see for themselves the institutionally sponsored biases and the hierarchized linguistic-racist ideologies these biases spawn. Political questions occur naturally to them: Why even democratic regimes should fear language itself? Why they feel driven to deploy a state language as a weapon in their war games? If English silences dissidence and considers BIPOC narratives devious and defiant, then Pinter would ask us to think differently about English and its potential linguicidal threat. The politics of interdiction that besets communities is another topic that students engage with in reading Pinter. This Note concludes with a reflection on the impossible task of translating Mountain Language for the simple reason that it stages English as at once its theatre and topic. Brought into dialogue with this conundrum is Brian Friel’s Translations , a play that stages another cultural scenario where English bespeaks colonial violence without quite letting an audience see the dubious logic of endorsing that violence.

Who, Republican or Democrat CEOs, laughs last? Political cycles in the market for corporate directors

This paper examines the relationship between CEOs' political preferences and their post-retirement directorship opportunities, proposing that political donations may serve as signals of political influence or connections that impact career prospects in the market for corporate directors. Using data on political contributions from 1998 to 2016, we explore whether CEOs' political affiliations create a cyclical pattern in the professional labor market, favoring those aligned with the ruling party. Our analysis reveals that Republican partisan CEOs are more successful in securing directorships under Republican regimes (George Walker Bush, 2003∼2008), while the reverse holds under Democratic regimes (Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. 2009∼2014). These results remain robust after addressing potential endogeneity using presidential election outcomes as an instrumental variable.

Renewable energy communities: Democratically legitimate agents in governing the energy transition?

It is crucial that the energy transition enfolds democratically, to increase its legitimacy and improve its outcomes. Although practitioners and scholars increasingly point to renewable energy communities (RECs) as legitimate agents for governing a democratic energy transition, RECs' democratic practices are poorly understood, which challenges assumptions about their legitimacy. We therefore analyzed how and to what extent democratic legitimacy is being pursued and met by RECs in their governance of renewable energy generation projects. Our comparative case study examined four different RECs in Utrecht, The Netherlands. We found that three out of the four studied RECs broadly meet the principles of energy democracy in the initial, developing and implementation phase of their energy generation projects. Significant differences between principles and RECs were found, which refutes the simplistic general assumption that RECs are either fully democratically legitimate or are not democratically legitimate at all. In reality, RECs face several trade-offs between democratic principles, which arise from the different legitimacy needs related to the REC's stage of maturity and the type of energy source it uses. To overcome these trade-offs and uphold legitimacy internally as well as with various stakeholders, RECs strategically organize participation and decision making in different governance spaces and prioritize certain specific legitimacy principles over others. Combining the concepts of energy democracy and democratic legitimacy has brought novel theoretical insights to the fore, and we recommend other researchers to further bridge these distinct but related fields of study.

Reloading Civil Disobedience In India - A Gandhian Legacy

There are many factors which shape people’s compliance with laws. Through various studies it was established that the major factors shaping compliance with laws are morality, social pressure, deterrence and legitimacy. In different societies the factor shaping compliance with laws may vary. Early societies largely depend on morality and social pressure for compliance, whereas state centric societies depend on deterrence and modern Democratic Republican societies depend on legitimacy. In India, however, deterrence remains the dominant factor shaping compliance with laws despite India's long-standing democratic republican system. The people in India are often hesitant to follow their own government’s laws. The Gandhian legacy of freedom struggle, particularly the civil disobedience and non-cooperation movement might have legitimized civil disobedience. The civil disobedience movement later suppressed voluntary compliance with laws. This reflects a culture of lack of voluntary compliance with laws among the Indian people. This may be the reason why the state has to rely more on deterrence than legitimacy. If legitimacy shapes compliance with laws then people would have practiced voluntary compliance with laws

Knocking Down the Pillars of Democracy in Europe: Politicisation of Science and Law in Response During COVID-19

Abstract The European Parliament has stressed on numerous occasions in public documents and speeches its non-conditional support for the principles of democracy, the rule of law, good governance, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. Yet as the pandemic has developed these principles have not been defended by various member states of the EU, being traded for public health and public good. This presentation seeks to critically analyse the content of key rhetoric and narratives from the outbreak of the pandemic until the present time through public statements that shall be contrasted against the “unconditional principles” above within the theoretical frame of Situational Crisis Communication Theory. Attention shall be paid to key political officials and understand the role of mainstream mass media and social media as gatekeepers of the orthodoxy of knowledge established. Orthodoxy of knowledge is group consensus on defining and constructing ‘realities’ in the physical realm, even when the consensus is coerced. Given the increasing lack of scientific debate, which is a fundamental element of good scientific practice, and the use of heavy handed and largely unsuccessful responses to the virus (such as lockdowns, vax passports and vaccination campaigns), Europe (not only) is in a precarious position in terms of its societal principles and practice. Crisis management is expediently rushed through face of fear and time constraint based upon a lack of consideration for the consequences and long-term effects, some of which are already emerging but being silenced. Hence a creeping crisis of significant psychological and physical impact is in the making.

Publicity of the Trial — Guarantee of a Fair Trial

The publicity of the judicial procedure is a guarantee against a secret justice and a fair trial in full accordance with the fundamental principles of any democratic society. In this article the aim is to analyze the publicity of the trial as an individual right of the accused, also as an institutional guarantee, which ensures that the administration of justice is a subject of examination by the public and contributes to law enforcement and protection of the people involved.

The review and development of professional standards through the lens of Democratic Anchorage points

AbstractThe recent review of the Scottish professional standards for teachers, led by the General Teaching Council for Scotland, offered a unique perspective to interrogate participative approaches in policy‐making in the Scottish education context and to provide insights and implications for future policy‐making. Using one of the authors’ experiences as a General Teaching Council Scotland Officer during the review of the professional standards, this paper conceptualises the consultation process as a form of democratic governance, using Sørensen and Torfing's framing of the four anchorage points that enable democratic legitimacy in governance networks. This perspective places policy‐making within a governance structure that is created by networks that interact, overlap and are entangled with each other, implying a decentralised form of governance. An analysis of the stages of the review process demonstrated that it was participatory. However, there was an over‐reliance on the established policy‐making community. In addition, authentic participation was restricted as choices were limited by the metagovernor. We argue that Sørensen and Torfing's anchorage points for democratic legitimacy allow an interrogation of the extent to which policy‐making in Scottish education is authentically democratic and conclude by offering a framework of critical questions for more transparent democratic participation in future iterations of similar professional standards reviews.

The policies of the democratic government of India on the management of rare diseases

The policies of the democratic government of India on the management of rare diseases

Judicial Activism and Comparative Analysis of Suo Motu Notices Taken by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar and Iftikhar Chaudhry

This research study explores the concept of judicial activism and conducts a comparative analysis of the Suo moto notices taken by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar and Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, two prominent Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Judicial activism refers to the proactive role of the judiciary in addressing societal issues and promoting social justice, often through the use of suo moto notices, where the court takes cognizance of a matter on its own initiative, The comparative analysis has focused on the similarities and differences in the approach, scope, and impact of the suo moto notices taken by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar and Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry during their respective tenures. This research study has examined the key areas of intervention, such as human rights, governance, public welfare, and accountability, This study has utilized a qualitative research methodology, including a comprehensive review of relevant literature, case analysis, and comparative examination of the judicial decisions and outcomes, This research study found that excessive and miss use of Suo moto power has badly affected political system of the country, This research study recommends that judiciary should play a balance role in order to have in effective federal parliamentary democratic system in the country

Remarriage Restriction for Woman of 300 Days in Türkiye: Review of the ECtHR’s Nurcan Bayraktar v. Türkiye Judgment

Abstract On 27 June 2023, the European Court of Human Rights unanimously declared that the complaint of Nurcan Bayraktar was admissible and held that there has been a violation of Article 8 and Article 14 in conjunction with Article 12 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The violation arose from the application of Article 132 of the Turkish Civil Code which imposes a 300-day waiting period on divorced women to remarry, unless they lodge an application to a Family Court to lift the waiting period by proving with a medical report that they are not pregnant. The Court concludes that obligation to produce medical evidence to prove that the applicant was not pregnant - which can only be obtained by means of medical examination - constituted an interference with the applicant’s exercise of her right to respect for her private life, considering that it was not necessary in a democratic society. Moreover, the Court found that the obligation imposed on divorced women, due to the possibility of pregnancy, to wait 300 days amounts to direct discrimination on grounds of sex, which cannot be justified by the aim of preventing uncertainty as to the parentage of an unborn child. This study aims to summarise and review this judgment, which was delivered in French, in English for a wider audience, by providing a background information on Article 132 of the Turkish Civil Code.

IMPACT OF POLITICAL APATHY ON THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS AND GOVERNANCE IN NIGERIA

This study investigates the multifaceted impact of political apathy on the democratic process and governance in Nigeria, with a focus on local government elections in Ogun State. Through a descriptive research design, data was collected from 230 male and female adults in Ogun State, employing stratified and simple random sampling methods. Statistical analysis, including means and correlation analysis, was utilized to examine factors contributing to political apathy, manifestations of apathy, and its consequences on governance. The findings revealed widespread agreement among respondents regarding factors contributing to political apathy, including corruption, ethnic and religious divisions, and socio-economic disparities. Moreover, low voter turnout, limited civic engagement, and elite capture of political institutions are identified as manifestations of political apathy, undermining democratic principles such as representation and accountability. The consequences of political apathy on governance are profound, exacerbating socio-economic inequalities and eroding democratic legitimacy and accountability. Recommendations are provided to address these challenges, including comprehensive governance reforms, promotion of civic engagement, and initiatives to address socio-economic inequalities. These findings underscore the urgent need for proactive measures to combat political apathy and revitalize democratic governance in Nigeria, emphasizing the importance of transparency, inclusivity, and accountability in political processes.

Economic growth, largest-party vote shares, and electoral authoritarianism

Cross-national research on electoral authoritarianism has a limited understanding of the role of economic growth in bolstering ruling parties due to its focus on hegemonic or dominant-party regimes, which bases conclusions on ruling party success and eschews comparisons with other regimes. This paper demonstrates the importance of growth-induced election gains in electoral authoritarian regimes by comparing the impacts of growth on largest-party vote shares across all regimes. Examining legislative and executive elections for a sample of roughly 130 countries between 1945 and 2020, we show that growth consistently increases largest-party vote shares and that this relationship is stronger in less democratic regimes. The results highlight economic performance as an important channel through which parties in autocracies can legitimate their authority and consolidate control over future elections. We conclude by discussing several ways that growth supports increased electoral dominance by a ruling party.

Institutionalising inclusion

Inclusion within the electoral process is crucial for democratic societies, ensuring all citizens can participate regardless of background. The study explores how institutional frameworks, particularly electoral management bodies like the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), facilitate or hinder inclusivity through their operational mandates. Drawing on data from Election Observation Missions and other sources, this analysis evaluates the ZEC's performance in candidate inclusion, accessibility of polling stations, voter education initiatives, and representation of marginalised groups such as women and youth. Key findings reveal that while ZEC implemented measures to enhance inclusion, challenges persisted, such as accessibility issues for voters with disabilities and uneven voter education coverage. Through a historical backdrop and contextual framework, this paper delves into the role of electoral institutions in promoting democratic processes and enhancing inclusion. The findings underscore both achievements and challenges encountered by the ZEC, suggesting areas for future improvement and policy refinement to strengthen electoral inclusivity through institutional means. The study concludes by recommending enhanced financial and legislative support for ZEC to bolster its operational capacity and collaboration with other institutions. Addressing these recommendations could mitigate common electoral challenges and further embed inclusive practices within Zimbabwe's electoral framework.

The Potentials and Limitations of Agent-Based Models for Urban Digital Twins: Insights From a Surveillance and Behavioral Nudging Simulation

Although urban digital twins are still at an embryonic stage of development, their use cases are multiple, ranging from big data aggregation to simulations. Additionally, predictions can be rendered and quickly implemented using actuators to transform physical environments and influence urban life. In this article, we investigate the potential of an agent-based model in a smart city setting to predict emergent behavior in relation to the suppression of civil violence by implementing crowd management practices. To this end, we designed a simulation environment that includes cameras in public spaces and wearable sensors, and considers nudging and self-nudging processes supported by a surveillance apparatus. Building on Epstein’s threshold-based model of civil violence, the proposed simulation is informed by surveillance theories and contemplates methods for crowd monitoring and social control. The experiments’ results provide insights into how specific measures and combined actions may influence the suppression of civil violence in public spaces and can be useful to inform crowd management activities and policymaking. Moreover, we use the simulation to reflect upon the potentials and limitations of integrating agent-based models into urban digital twins and emphasize the imminent risks for individuals and democratic societies of employing a ubiquitous surveillance apparatus endowed with the autonomy to trigger actuators.

ECONOMIC AND LEGAL TRENDS OF EUROPEANIZATION OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE LAW OF UKRAINE

Today, it is appropriate to talk about cooperation between Ukraine and EU member states in matters that are functional for their legal systems. The first is the protection of the rights and freedoms of citizens; providing asylum to refugees from other countries; adaptation of legislation on the regulation of relations in the field of migration, both legal and illegal; fight against illegal employment; and others. It was found that the administrative law of Ukraine is developing in complex political-economic and social-legal conditions. Therefore, the use of European experience in the field of administrative and legal regulation of social relations in Ukraine should not imply mindless copying, which can negatively affect society and the state. The topic of the research should be the creation of national methodological recommendations on quality indicators of individual branches of law in accordance with the quality standards of legislation and law of the countries of the European Union. The introduction of European approaches to the regulation of social relations at the administrative and legal level in Ukraine must be balanced and adapted so that there is no negative impact on the development of society and the process of state formation. At the same time, the comparative legal study and rational use of foreign experience in the development of administrative law allows to significantly expand the so-called "legal field", enriching it with the experience of foreign countries. The current conditions for the development of administrative law in Ukraine depend on globalization, which affects all spheres of life, affecting the development of unified legal values and democratic principles of European administrative law, and the national administrative law system of individual European countries. In fact, there are two parties of subjects endowed with the corresponding rights and obligations in the field of administrative-legal relations.