Defining the Demos in the Measurement of Democracy
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1 European Demoicracy and Its Crisis1 KALYPSO NICOLAÏDIS
In Journal of Common Market Studies, March 2013, Vol. 51, no. 2, pp. 000-000. European Demoicracy and Its Crisis1 KALYPSO NICOLAÏDIS Abstract This article offers an overview and reconsideration of the idea of European demoicracy in the context of the current crisis. It defines demoicracy as ‘a Union of peoples, understood both as states and as citizens, who govern together but not as one,’ and argues that the concept is best understood as a third way, distinct from both national and supranational versions of single demos polities. The concept of demoicracy can serve both as an analytical lens for the EU-as-is and as a normative benchmark, but one which cannot simply be inferred from its praxis. Instead, the article deploys a ‘normative-inductive’ approach according to which the EU’s normative core - transnational non-domination and transnational mutual recognition - is grounded on what the EU still seeks to escape. Such norms need to be protected and perfected if the EU is to live up to its essence. The article suggests ten tentative guiding principles for the EU to continue turning such norms into practice. _____________________________________________________________________ The aftershock of the 2008 global financial crisis in the EU has come to be widely seen as a crisis of ‘democracy’ in Europe. This article starts from the premise that the EU’s legitimacy deficit will not be addressed by tinkering with its institutions. Instead, the name of the democratic game in Europe today is democratic interdependence: the Union magnifies the pathologies of the national democracies in its midst, even as it entrenches and nurtures these democracies, who in turn affect each other in profound ways. -
Discuss the Existence of a Demos Which Is Typically European and Which Would Thus Allow for the Construction of a Supranational European Democracy
“Why and how does the ‘Demos’ question matter” Discuss the existence of a demos which is typically European and which would thus allow for the construction of a supranational European Democracy Kalypso Nicolaidis University Of Oxford European Parliament, March 20th 2017 The Story you want to explore: Crisis Democratic Legitimacy Construct Supranational democracy “Existence of a European Demos”? Yes! Sources of legitimacy in Crisis Crisis Democratic And the Democratic sine Qua Non Legitimacy Purposive (Mission) Performative (Results) Process (Democracy) Crisis Democratic Legitimacy Construct …But, no! Supranational democracy Too narrow (democracy in Europe) “Existence of a European Demos”? Too mimetic (one nation, one state, one demos) Stubborn Sociology and the Yearning for Control (Somewheres vs Anywheres) The problem with Tainted ideology and the constructing supranational Poisened Well (“Oneness of democracy thanks to a People” populism, “typically” European demos technocracy and othering) Irrepressible modernity and the Technology of democracy (Chaotic Pluralism; self-construction and assemblages) The problem is both Empirical and Normative • Empirical : Do not wait for Godot • Normative: Who wants to ground Democracy in Europe (only/mostly) on a European Demos anyway! European democratic legitimacy is not just at EU-level but in the EU -> anchored in the democratic health of individual countries as they try to manage their democratic interdependence -> This is the genuine supranational mission What then of the “demos” in democracy?! -
Assessing Liberal and Radical Democracy and Its Political Support : a Comparative Analysis at the Subnational Level of the Swiss Cantons
Zurich Open Repository and Archive University of Zurich Main Library Strickhofstrasse 39 CH-8057 Zurich www.zora.uzh.ch Year: 2014 Assessing liberal and radical democracy and its political support : A comparative analysis at the subnational level of the swiss cantons Dlabac, Oliver Abstract: Whereas established democracies have been responding to public pressures for broader in- clusion, grassroots participation as well as public accountability, existing measures of democracy rely almost exclusively on a liberal conceptualization of representative democracy. Most notably, they ignore another fundamental tradition of democratic thought: that of radical democracy, which strives for direct participation of all citizens in the public debate and in political decision-making. Drawing from classical liberal and radical views on what democratic institutions can or should accomplish, we construct a mul- tidimensional measurement instrument which we devise specifically for the subnational level of the Swiss cantons. The resulting measures point to a dilemma of radical democracy, since participatory cantons are markedly less inclusive. Liberal democracies in turn are faced with a different dilemma: Citizens in liberal democracies are significantly less supportive of both their political institutions and their political community. Posted at the Zurich Open Repository and Archive, University of Zurich ZORA URL: https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-104929 Conference or Workshop Item Originally published at: Dlabac, Oliver (2014). Assessing liberal and radical democracy and its political support : A comparative analysis at the subnational level of the swiss cantons. In: Effective and democratic? Assessing the input and output legitimacy of democratization (University of Zurich, Centre for Comparative and International Studies (CIS) and Centre for Democracy Studies, Aarau), Zürich/Aarau, 6 March 2014 - 7 March 2014. -
Our European Demoi-Cracy
Our European Demoi-cracy Is this Constitution a third way for Europe? kalypso nicolaidis* The tabloids have branded it as the biggest decision facing modern Britain, and the mark of its fi nal downfall. Ever since the draft Constitutional Treaty for the European Union started to take shape in bits an pieces last year it has provoked passion in Britain and a yawn in the rest of Europe. Public opinion may yet pick up elsewhere as the intergovernmental conference puts its own mark on the document and as a number of EU members put it to a referendum in the Spring. In the meanwhile, one can understand both the infl ated expectations and the indifference. For the fi rst time in the history of the EU, delegates other than diplomats have engaged for more than a year in a public debate about its foundations, its goals and its methods. The reach of their so- called dialogue with civil society may have been wanting, but they have conducted this debate in a highly open and transparent fashion, with the full paraphernalia of web cast and e-forum. But while the plot and the set may look impressive, the play itself is not revolutionary. For the most part, the draft European Constitution codifi es under one umbrella the plethora of treaties and amendments adopted by European Union members over the last 45 years. The idea that, with it, Britain would lose its unique identity is a strange one. Nevertheless, the draft Constitutional Treaty has a major fl aw which cannot help but antagonize Eurosceptics: its drafters seriously saw their task as writing a.. -
Islam and Democracy: Is Modernization a Barrier? John O
Religion Compass 1/1 (2007): 170±178, 10.1111/j. 1749-8171.2006.00017.x Islam and Democracy: Is Modernization a Barrier? John O. Voll Georgetown University Abstract The relationship between Islam and democracy is a hotly debated topic. Usually the disagreements are expressed in a standard form. In this form, the debaters' definitions of ªIslamº and ªdemocracyº determine the conclusions arrived at. It is possible, depending upon the definitions used, to ªproveº both positions: Islam and democracy are compatible and that they are not. To escape from the predefined conclusions, it is necessary to recognize that ªIslamº and ªdemocracyº are concepts with many definitions. In the twenty-first century, important interpretations of Islam open the way for political visions in which Islam and democracy are mutually supportive. Does religion represent an obstacle to modernization and democratization? Does religion pose a threat to democracy if a democratically elected govern- ment becomes a ªtheocracyº? Does the majority rule of democracy threaten the liberty and freedom of other members of a society? If the majority imposes its will upon minorities, is that a departure from democracy in general or form of ªliberalº democracy? Does modernization strengthen or inhibit democratization and individual liberty? These broad questions are being debated in many different contexts around the world. They provide a framework for looking at the experience of Muslim societies and the relationships between Islam and democracy. Tensions between democracy and liberty -
For an Architecture of Radical Democracy Dural Tweaks in Purely Technical Terms)
Peggy Deamer & Manuel Shvartzberg as a natural reality stemming from individual’s Thus, in Laclau and Mouffe’s theory, work, natural preferences and requiring only proce- workers, and the working class are reconceived For an Architecture of Radical Democracy dural tweaks in purely technical terms). Argu- as follows: (1) In lieu of the idea that the eco- ing that there is simply no outside to the social nomic process is a categorical, ‘transparent’, itself—no privileged vantage point from which and objective phenomenon where capital and to formulate a total perspective on it—Laclau labour relate exclusively in economic terms, and Mouffe propose that culture replaces struc- Laclau and Mouffe argue that socio-cultural to this question. It is enlightening because it 2 Any viable political project in architecture to- ture as the chief mediating agent of the social. relations are fundamental to the economic pro- re-focuses Marxist critique for the current day must contend with the idea and practices of This cultural versus structural description of cess. The fact that workers are able to socially economic regime under explicitly postmodern radical democracy. At a time of global socio-po- society attempts to reckon with identifications organize themselves and affect the nature and conditions and it is applicable because it offers a litical and economic upheaval, the architectural that are not just economically illogical, but often terms of their working conditions de-mystifies scalable model for how architecture and archi- 3 profession, like other collectives, seeks models contradictory. Yet such identifications may pro- the idea that “the economy could be under- tectural work can be rethought in this context. -
The Democratic Legitimacy of WTO Law - on the Dangers of Fast-Food Democracy Samantha Besson
The Democratic Legitimacy of WTO Law - On the Dangers of Fast-food Democracy Samantha Besson To cite this version: Samantha Besson. The Democratic Legitimacy of WTO Law - On the Dangers of Fast-food Democ- racy. 2011. hal-02919045 HAL Id: hal-02919045 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02919045 Submitted on 21 Aug 2020 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Working Paper No 2011/72| December 2011 The Democratic Legitimacy of WTO Law – On the Dangers of Fast-food Democracy Samantha Besson* Abstract: For the last fifteen years or so, the democratic deficit of Word Trade Organization (WTO)’s law has been a recurrent and dominant concern among international economic lawyers and international relations specialists alike. The impact of those debates on the democratic deficit of the WTO has been surprisingly limited, however. This may be explained, the paper argues, by the way in which the debates have been conducted. To start with, recent discussions of the democratic legitimacy of WTO law have taken place in isolation of those pertaining to that of international law in general, as if it were possible to enhance the democratic legitimacy of the WTO regime without considering that of other international law regimes at the same time. -
The Idea of European Demoicracy
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 24/9/2012, SPi 10 The Idea of European Demoicracy Kalypso Nicolaïdis* Introduction How can an ‘ever-closer union’ between distinct democratic peoples be democratically legitimate? The idea of European ‘demoicracy’ provides a deceptively simple answer: one is not to cross the Rubicon which separates a European Union ruled by and for multiple demoi from a Europe ruled by and for one single demos.1 By crossing the Rubicon in 49 BC, a shallow and red river in northern Italy, Caesar violated the old constitutional rules concerning his own ‘imperium’ and dramatically changed Rome and his own place within it. There has been a strong temptation for Europe to cross its own Rubicon, the point of no return on the road to integration, in search of its own glorious destiny. But this temptation should be resisted. To be sure, the idea of a notional barrier between a Europe of demoi and that grounded on the assumption of a single European demos should not be seen as the familiar story about sovereignty and its denial. Instead, there is enough space to enter * For comments on a previous version of this paper I would like to thank Francis Cheneval, Pavlos Eleftheriadis, Frank Schimmelfennig, Tristan Storme, and Rebecca Welge. I would also like to thank partici- pants in the workshop on ‘Demoicracy: Government of the Peoples’, 22–23 March 2012, University of Zurich. 1 The term ‘demoicracy’ is derived from demoi (äÞìïØ in ancient Greek is the plural form of äÞìïò), meaning peoples, and kratos (ŒæÜôïò), meaning power—or to govern oneself with strength. -
Promoting Democracy Through Economic Conditionality in the ENP: a Normative Critique
JOURNAL OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION, 2016 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07036337.2016.1263625 Promoting democracy through economic conditionality in the ENP: a normative critique Tom Theunsa,b,c aCERI, Sciences-Po, Paris, France; bPPLE College, The Faculty of Law, The University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; cCentre de théorie politique, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium ABSTRACT KEYWORDS This article presents a normative critique of the coherence of European Neighbourhood democracy promotion in the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). Policy; democracy As an immanent critique, the paper derives its normative standards promotion; economic internally from an analysis of key ENP policy documents. It is argued conditionality; democratisation; political that democracy promotion is in conflict with some of the other goals of theory; normative the ENP such as market liberalisation, trade policy reforms and private sector development. Further, the incentive of market integration is argued to undermine democracy promotion. Though the ENP’s current way of pursuing the goal of democratisation is normatively incoherent, this article also argues that incentivising democratisation through conditionality is not inherently contradictory. Two potential ways democratisation could be coherently promoted are suggested: delimiting the policy to unilateral transfers conditional on democratisation alone (‘simple transfers’), or offering EU membership to ENP countries (‘no integration without incorporation’). 1. Introduction This paper critically -
Reimagining Democracy Through Syria's Wartime Sharia Committees
Reimagining Democracy through Syria’s Wartime Sharia Committees Emma Findlen LeBlanc Abstract: This article examines Syrians’ narratives about the network of Sharia Committees (Hay’āt al-Sharia) that emerged as the most pervasive and popular legal project during the ongoing civil war. Many Syrians formerly excluded from political power, especially working-class Sunnis, envision the Sharia Committees as a revolutionary space for realising self-determination, where sharia is articulated as a democratic legal process embedded in its ostensibly inherent pluralism, flexibility, anti-authoritarianism and conception of justice as reconciliation and public good. By reviving a historically recurrent vision of sharia as radical democratic practice, Syrians attempt to extricate sharia from its entanglements with efforts to govern. The Sharia Committees thus represent a creative effort to reclaim democracy from state control while challenging rigid, rule-oriented understandings of sharia. Keywords: democracy, Hay’āt al-Sharia, Islam, law, sharia, Syria Beyond Croissant Bans and Severed Hands Since the second year of the popular-uprising-turned-civil-war in Syria, the conflict has increasingly come to be framed in a similar rhetoric to that pro- moted by the Syrian al-Assad regime since the beginning of the revolt in 2011: as a struggle between a secular, modern (even if, we collectively concede, tyran- nical) government and a violent, uncontrollable, Islamist rabble. Although the war in Syria is defined by its fragmented participants in terms of many goals, over the past several years it has become increasingly overtly Islamic and sectarian. The concept of sharia, popularly glossed as Islamic law, has come to symbolise the opposition of Islam to Western politics and morality, Anthropology of the Middle East, Vol. -
The Case for Demoi-Cracy in the EU
The Case for Demoicracy in the EU Version 3 Francis Cheneval, University of Zurich, [email protected] Frank Schimmelfennig, Center for Comparative and International Studies, ETH Zurich, [email protected] Paper prepared for EUSA Conference Boston, March 2011 Acknowledgments This paper is based on research conducted within the NCCR “Challenges to Democracy in the 21st Century”, Project 2 “Designing Demoicracy in the EU” (directors: Francis Cheneval, Sandra Lavenex, and Frank Schimmelfennig). We gratefully acknowledge funding by the Swiss National Science Foundation. For comments on previous versions, we thank Fritz Scharpf and Hans-Jörg Trenz as well as audiences at the ECPR (standing group on the EU) conference in Porto (2010), the conference of the Austrian, German, and Swiss political science associations in Basel (2011) and our project colleagues. 1 1. Introduction Research on the European Union’s “democratic deficit” usually operates within a strictly national- democratic framework of analysis. When evaluated in direct relation to a specific national model of democracy, the EU scores rather poorly on democratic quality. According to their own national hermeneutics, authors diagnose either a lack of majoritarian (Westminster) parliamentary democracy (Lord and Beetham 2001), a lack of a pre-political “Volk” (Kielmannsegg 1996), a lack of centralistic statehood and universal “citoyenneté” (Manent 2006; 2007), or a lack of direct democracy (Frey 1995). When compared with the state of democracy in international relations at large, the EU scores well as the most advanced structure of democratic government beyond the nation state (Weiler 1999; Moravcsik 2002). However, there is a large consensus among advocates of this position that the EU still lacks political mobilization of citizens on the EU level (Schmitter 2000). -
A Future Built on Democracy
THE NEW FOUNDATIONS A future built on democracy Edited by Christine Berry March 2021 “It is not possible to build democratic socialism by using the institutions of the Ancient British state. Under that I include the present doctrine of sovereignty, Parliament, the electoral system, the Civil Service – the whole gaudy old heritage. It is not possible, in the way that it is not possible to induce a vulture to give milk.” NEAL ASCHERSON, 1986 ABOUT Politics for the Many is the trade union campaign for real democracy, through proportional representation and political reform. We campaign to overhaul Westminster so it works for the many, tackling political inequality and dragging Britain’s broken constitution into the 21st century. It is backed by trade unionists across the country and supported by the Electoral Reform Society. You can join us at https://politicsforthemany.co.uk/ keyboard politicsforthemany.co.uk Facebook-square Politics for the Many [email protected] Open Labour represents Labour’s open Left: a practical, open-minded and tolerant type of democratic socialism. Our ideas and campaigns are based on a simple strategy: creating broad and diverse alliances behind policies which transform society. We believe a radical Labour party must prioritise transforming our economy – the UK must become high-investment, more green and more democratic. We stand with the bulk of the trade union movement in believing that this demands a close relationship with Europe, more trade and exporting, and keyboard openlabour.org solidarity with those campaigning for social justice here and internationally. Facebook-square Open Labour Open Labour has deeper roots in the history of the Labour left through or- [email protected] ganisations like Tribune and the Labour Coordinating Committee, but also as committed trade unionists.