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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political structure & processes > Democracy
It took two hundred years to implement democracy within the nation-state, from the emergence of democratic theories during the Enlightenment to the introduction of popular government after World War I. If the same process were to follow at the international level, and the treaty of Versailles was taken as the baseline for the calculation, a democratic world order could be expected to emerge by 2119 - hence the title of this book. The point is the long perspective. Most scholars in mainstream political science and international relations are skeptical of the prospect of global democracy and believe that in the short run the fight against corruption and abuse of power is a more pressing task. This is true and very much an important mission; as such, corruption is treated in a special chapter of the book.
This book brings together leading figures in democratic reform and civic engagement to show why and how better state-citizen cooperation is necessary for achieving positive social change. Their contributions demonstrate that, while protest and non-state action may have their place, citizens must also work effectively with public bodies to secure sustainable improvements. The authors explain why the problem of civic disengagement poses a major threat, highlight what actions can be taken, and suggest how the underlying obstacles to democratic cooperation between citizens and state institutions can be overcome across a range of policy areas and in varied national contexts.
This is the first comprehensive study of the transition to democracy in Eastern Europe which includes the processes in party-formation, political culture-building, institution-building and economic transformation, and to differentiate between areas and countries. East and southeastern Europe are included as well as the Republics of the former Soviet Union. The theories of transformation to democracy developed in former transitions, such as 1919, 1945 and the 1970s are tested in the case of Eastern Europe. In many areas the picture developed by the author is not very optimistic. He feels that 'Anocracy', a mixture between democracy and authoritarian regimes, is likely to develop in many countries.
Democracy and Interest Groups assesses the contribution that interest groups make to the democratic involvement of citizens and the generation of social capital. It examines how interest groups are formed and how they maintain themselves - focussing specifically on the supply-side dimension of group membership that is how groups generate and stimulate citizen involvement. The authors draw on new surveys of groups and group members and, more unusually, with non-participants. It also makes use of in-depth interviews with campaign group leaders and organizers.
"The book evaluates alternative policy options for the African countries to overcome the food crisis and the changing structure of world trade to sustain their impressive growth of the early 2000s. These policies must go beyond economic reforms and seek a solution to the entrenched political problems that divided the continent"--Provided by publisher.
This book critically examines the realities of liberal democracy: its elitism and non-accountability; and its inequalities and injustices. Participatory systems and movements, whether in Athens, seventeenth and nineteenth-century England, or South Africa 1970-90, are more effective in satisfying the democratic aspirations of the people and in curtailing ambitious elites than what is passed off now as 'democracy.'By interrogating contemporary democratic regimes in the United States, and in Botswana and South Africa, the severe limitations and constraints inherent in liberal democracy are highlighted. The need for a clear evaluation of what constitutes democracy emerges as a powerful message of Kenneth Good's argument.
"State Recognition and Democractization in Sub-Saharan Africa" explores the link between liberal-style democratization and state recognition of traditional authority in Sub-Saharan Africa. Being critical and empirically grounded, the book explores the complex, often counter-balancing consequences of the involvement of traditional authority in the wave of democratization and liberal-style state-building that has rolled over sub-Saharan Africa in the past decade. It scrutinizes how, in practice, traditional leaders are being drawn into governance in Mozambique, Zambia, Namibia, Malawi, Burkina Faso, and the Somali region of Ethiopia, and relates these developments to state governance in the declining democracy of Zimbabwe and the emerging state of Northern Somalia.
Part of the Research in Social Education series, this text is divided into three parts: contexts; curricula; and assessments. It covers such topics as the irony of exclusion; teaching tolerance; and multicultural citizenship education.
Globalization poses new challenges for the modern welfare state and
democracies. One controversial issue is how struggles for economic
equality are linked with struggles for recognition of difference
according to gender, ethnicity and sexuality. "The Politics of
Inclusion and Empowerment" examines the political and academic
debates about the inclusion or exclusion of women and marginalized
social groups from different policy contexts. The focus is on the
different class and gender regimes influencing the interplay of
political, civil and social citizenship at different levels of
politics.
How and why democratic governments in Latin America have implemented neoliberal developmental policies such as freeing exchange rates, privatizing state-owned companies, reducing governmental budget deficits through reduction in size of the government, reducing tariffs, and encouraging foreign private investments is discussed in this work. This study follows the ideological progress of some of the populist leaders and parties towards democratic neoliberalism. The work examines the topic on three levels: the national level represented by Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Argentina; the subregional level represented by Mexico and the North American free trade agreements, the Commercial Union of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay; and the hemispheric level represented by Latin America, the United States, and the IMF.
The Sino-Japanese crisis of 1931-33 provides effective illustrations of wider themes in British Foreign Policy. It might even be said that the general pattern of opinion in the UK at the time was to be reproduced in subsequent crises. The Manchurian problem and the controversies which it provoked give invaluable clues to an understanding of later developments.
This book offers an insight into the democratic processes and institutions in Latin and Central America. It analyses the different political systems and the challenges to them from the Left and popular movements. Lievesley questions how far democracy is embedded in Latin and Central American and asks what constitutes citizenship in political cultures which remain highly differentiated in terms of the structures and relations of power. She does this through an evaluation of the two distinct perspectives of democracy: the liberal pacted and the radical participatory models. Established political systems, systems in transition from military to civilian rule and Socialist systems are viewed through the prism of these two models. The inter-relationship between state, military, political parties and popular movements are examined with a view to determining the possibility of the emergence of a new politics, which would be inclusion rather than exclusionary and would pursue social justice. The book will provide a stimulating assessment of the region's politics for undergraduates and will provoke debate for postgraduates. -- .
Davide Panagia's Impressions of Hume: Cinematic Thinking and the Politics of Discontinuity is volume fifteen of Modernity and Political Thought, the Rowman & Littlefield series in contemporary political theory. Through close attention to Hume's theories of sensation, Davide Panagia conceptualizes the modern even more radically (though also more literally) than many of the previous authors in this series. While devoting attention to how a historical thinker such as Hume is read and misread, used and abused in the modern intellectual world, Panagia also focuses on developing a theory of Humean perception and by so doing emphasizes the contemporaneity of Hume's thought. In what at first seems to be an anachronistic as well as wildly curious claim about a philosopher of the eighteenth century, Panagia holds that Hume was a cinematic thinker.
Guillermo O'Donnell here brings together a collection of significant recent essays in which he considers both the method for and substance of critiques of democracies. While progress has been made in democratization, the authoritarian legacy hangs as a shadow over that advancement. O'Donnell engages in his analysis while keeping a firm gaze on that dangerous past. O'Donnell's work has influenced a generation of political scientists. The essays in this volume bring forward and develop many of the ideas presented in his earlier collection, Counterpoints: Selected Essays on Authoritarianism and Democracy
Why did democracy survive in some European countries between the wars while fascism or authoritarianism emerged elsewhere? This innovative study approaches this question through the comparative analysis of the inter-war experience of 18 countries within a common comprehensive analytical framework. It combines structure- and actor-related aspects to provide detailed historical accounts of each case which serve as background information for the systematic testing of major theories of fascism and democracy.
Focusing on the formative 1974-81 years, the central theme of this book is the building of democracy in contemporary Greece and the role played in it by the newly-emergent political parties. Although all main parties are examined according to their importance, attention is chiefly given to conservative "New Democracy" which, led for the greatest part by charismatic Karamanlis, held office during these years of democratic transition. This study offers a systematic analysis of today's political system in Greece, its strengths and deficiencies, and its prospects for the future.
Pierre Joseph Proudhon (1809-1865) is one of the most important French social theoreticians of the nineteenth century. George Woodcock's book, first published in 1956, was the first full-scale biography of Proudhon in the English language. Proudhon's influence on the French Socialist movement was immense and he played a great part in the First International and Paris Commune, in French syndicalism and in contemporary movements for currency reform. Proudhon's significance also reaches forward into the contemporary era, when his massive distrust of the state and his teaching of the need for world federation took on a new importance in a world threatened by the explosive rivalries of giant nationalistic states.
The plunging of Kenya, until recently a centre of stability and growth in East Africa, into political and economic uncertainty following the general election of December 2007 is regarded as a major cause for global and African concern. It is widely accepted that the elections were deeply flawed, and that there was electoral malfeasance by all the major players. President Kibaki's rapid declaration of victory in the face of a heavily disputed election and his determination to hold on to the levers of state power precipitated a deadly crisis, communal violence and economic decline. A power-sharing deal between Kibaki and Opposition leader, Raila Odinga signed in February seems to be holding, but Kenya ranks among the worlds? growing number of democracies at-risk. This book takes a new look at the 2007 election, the post-election crisis, the underlying interaction of ethnicity, class and political power; forced displacement, the role of international forces; and the country's power-sharing arrangement. The study will draw upon the expertise of a variety of leading experts on Kenya, and will be edited by Peter Kagwanja and Roger Southall. The overall project was based on a workshop in Nairobi on 6-7 December 2008. This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of Contemporary African Studies.
Since the beginning of the European Community students of international politics and of international, resp. Constitutional law, have been wondering what kind of animal it is, and will be, once integration has been completed. Whereas the EC Treaty of 1957 stressed the economic aspects and envisioned a steady and dynamic progress towards a Single Market, it was conspicuously silent about the political implications of integration and the new democratic order. What is needed, so the author argues in this powerful and original contribution to the debate on democratisation of the European Union, is a flexible system that supplements the European decision-making process with various direct democratic instruments such as the use of referenda. These would serve to increase the accountability of the politicians without demanding or requiring a definitive resolution of the exact constitutional status of the Union.
1) Original book with chapters written by Brazilian researchers and colleagues from Universities in the Global North; 2) New and interdisciplinary interpretations of democracy, development, and sustainability; 3) Word Political Economy theoretical frontier linking class, race, and gender conflicts; 4) Challenges’ diagnoses and proposal of solutions for the future of the World Political Economy after the Covid-19 crisis.
This book analyzes and assesses theories of democracy emanating from studies in a variety of disciplines, and proposes answers to a wide range of questions in moral and political philosophy, philosophy of law and democratic theory. Taken together, these answers constitute the basis for a theory that justifies political democracy. |
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