Dahl and Charles E
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The Cultural Politics of Proxy-Voting in Nagaland
TIF - The Cultural Politics of Proxy-Voting in Nagaland JELLE J P WOUTERS June 7, 2019 RODERICK WIJUNAMAI Voters in Kohima, Nagaland | PIB Photo Nagaland’s voter turnouts are often the highest in the country, and it may be so this time around as well. But why was the citizenry of Nagaland so keen to vote for their lone, largely ineffectual representative in the Lok Sabha? Of all truisms about democracy, one that is held to be particularly true is that any democracy’s vitality and verve depends on its voter turnouts during elections. As the acclaimed political and social theorist Steven Lukes (1975: 304) concluded long ago: “Participation in elections can plausibly be interpreted as the symbolic affirmation of the voters’ acceptance of the political system and of their role within it.” Indian democracy thence draws special attention; not just for its trope of being the world’s largest democracy (Indian voters make up roughly one-sixth of the world’s electorate) but for the democratic and electoral effervescence reported all across the country. While a disenchantment with democratic institutions and politics is now clearly discernible in large swathes of the so-called “West” and finds its reflection in declining voter turnouts, to the point almost where a minority of citizens elect majority governments, India experiences no such democratic fatigue. Here voter turnouts are not just consistently high, but continue to increase and now habitually outdo those of much older democracies elsewhere. And if India’s official voter turnouts are already high, they might well be a low estimate still. -
Types of Democracy the Democratic Form of Government Is An
Types of Democracy The democratic form of government is an institutional configuration that allows for popular participation through the electoral process. According to political scientist Robert Dahl, the democratic ideal is based on two principles: political participation and political contestation. Political participation requires that all the people who are eligible to vote can vote. Elections must be free, fair, and competitive. Once the votes have been cast and the winner announced, power must be peacefully transferred from one individual to another. These criteria are to be replicated on a local, state, and national level. A more robust conceptualization of democracy emphasizes what Dahl refers to as political contestation. Contestation refers to the ability of people to express their discontent through freedom of the speech and press. People should have the ability to meet and discuss their views on political issues without fear of persecution from the state. Democratic regimes that guarantee both electoral freedoms and civil rights are referred to as liberal democracies. In the subfield of Comparative Politics, there is a rich body of literature dealing specifically with the intricacies of the democratic form of government. These scholarly works draw distinctions between democratic regimes based on representative government, the institutional balance of power, and the electoral procedure. There are many shades of democracy, each of which has its own benefits and disadvantages. Types of Democracy The broadest differentiation that scholars make between democracies is based on the nature of representative government. There are two categories: direct democracy and representative democracy. We can identify examples of both in the world today. -
Measuring Polyarchy Across the Globe, 1900–2017
St Comp Int Dev https://doi.org/10.1007/s12116-018-9268-z Measuring Polyarchy Across the Globe, 1900–2017 Jan Teorell1 & Michael Coppedge2 & Staffan Lindberg3 & Svend-Erik Skaaning 4 # The Author(s) 2018 Abstract This paper presents a new measure polyarchy for a global sample of 182 countries from 1900 to 2017 based on the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) data, deriving from an expert survey of more than 3000 country experts from around the world, with on average 5 experts rating each indicator. By measuring the five compo- nents of Elected Officials, Clean Elections, Associational Autonomy, Inclusive Citi- zenship, and Freedom of Expression and Alternative Sources of Information separately, we anchor this new index directly in Dahl’s(1971) extremely influential theoretical framework. The paper describes how the five polyarchy components were measured and provides the rationale for how to aggregate them to the polyarchy scale. We find Previous versions of this paper were presented at the APSA Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, August 28- 31, 2014, at the Carlos III-Juan March Institute of Social Sciences, Madrid, November 28, 2014, and at the European University Institute, Fiesole, January 20, 2016. Any remaining omissions are the sole responsibility of the authors. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s12116-018- 9268-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Jan Teorell [email protected] Michael Coppedge [email protected] Staffan Lindberg [email protected] -
Rethinking Populism: Peak Democracy, Liquid Identity and The
European Journal of Social Theory 1–21 ª The Author(s) 2018 Rethinking Populism: Reprints and permission: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav Peak democracy, liquid DOI: 10.1177/1368431017754057 identity and the performance journals.sagepub.com/home/est of sovereignty Ingolfur Blu¨hdorn WU Vienna University of Economics and Business, Vienna, Austria Felix Butzlaff WU Vienna University of Economics and Business, Vienna, Austria Abstract Despite the burgeoning literature on right-wing populism, there is still considerable uncertainty about its causes, its impact on liberal democracies and about promising counter-strategies. Inspired by recent suggestions that (1) the emancipatory left has made a significant contribution to the proliferation of the populist right; and (2) populist movements, rather than challenging the established socio-political order, in fact stabilize and further entrench its logic, this article argues that an adequate understanding of the populist phenomenon necessitates a radical shift of perspective: beyond the democratic and emancipatory norms, which still govern most of the relevant literature. Approaching its subject matter via democratic theory and modernization theory, it undertakes a reassessment of the triangular relationship between modernity, democracy and popu- lism. It finds that the latter is not helpfully conceptualized as anti-modernist or anti- democratic but should, instead, be regarded as a predictable feature of the form of politics distinctive of today’s third modernity. Keywords liquid identity, peak democracy, politics of exclusion, second-order emancipation, simulative politics, third modernity Corresponding author: Ingolfur Blu¨hdorn, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business, Welthandelsplatz 1, Vienna 1020, Austria. Email: [email protected] 2 European Journal of Social Theory XX(X) Towards a shift of perspective The ongoing tide of right-wing populism rapidly and profoundly is remoulding the political culture of Western liberal democracies. -
Rethinking Populism: Peak Democracy, Liquid
Article European Journal of Social Theory 2019, Vol. 22(2) 191–211 Rethinking Populism: ª The Author(s) 2018 Peak democracy, liquid Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/1368431017754057 identity and the performance journals.sagepub.com/home/est of sovereignty Ingolfur Blu¨hdorn WU Vienna University of Economics and Business, Vienna, Austria Felix Butzlaff WU Vienna University of Economics and Business, Vienna, Austria Abstract Despite the burgeoning literature on right-wing populism, there is still considerable uncertainty about its causes, its impact on liberal democracies and about promising counter-strategies. Inspired by recent suggestions that (1) the emancipatory left has made a significant contribution to the proliferation of the populist right; and (2) populist movements, rather than challenging the established socio-political order, in fact stabilize and further entrench its logic, this article argues that an adequate understanding of the populist phenomenon necessitates a radical shift of perspective: beyond the democratic and emancipatory norms, which still govern most of the relevant literature. Approaching its subject matter via democratic theory and modernization theory, it undertakes a reassessment of the triangular relationship between modernity, democracy and popu- lism. It finds that the latter is not helpfully conceptualized as anti-modernist or anti- democratic but should, instead, be regarded as a predictable feature of the form of politics distinctive of today’s third modernity. Keywords liquid identity, peak democracy, politics of exclusion, second-order emancipation, simulative politics, third modernity Corresponding author: Ingolfur Blu¨hdorn, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business, Welthandelsplatz 1, Vienna 1020, Austria. Email: [email protected] 192 European Journal of Social Theory 22(2) Towards a shift of perspective The ongoing tide of right-wing populism rapidly and profoundly is remoulding the political culture of Western liberal democracies. -
WHY COMPETITION in the POLITICS INDUSTRY IS FAILING AMERICA a Strategy for Reinvigorating Our Democracy
SEPTEMBER 2017 WHY COMPETITION IN THE POLITICS INDUSTRY IS FAILING AMERICA A strategy for reinvigorating our democracy Katherine M. Gehl and Michael E. Porter ABOUT THE AUTHORS Katherine M. Gehl, a business leader and former CEO with experience in government, began, in the last decade, to participate actively in politics—first in traditional partisan politics. As she deepened her understanding of how politics actually worked—and didn’t work—for the public interest, she realized that even the best candidates and elected officials were severely limited by a dysfunctional system, and that the political system was the single greatest challenge facing our country. She turned her focus to political system reform and innovation and has made this her mission. Michael E. Porter, an expert on competition and strategy in industries and nations, encountered politics in trying to advise governments and advocate sensible and proven reforms. As co-chair of the multiyear, non-partisan U.S. Competitiveness Project at Harvard Business School over the past five years, it became clear to him that the political system was actually the major constraint in America’s inability to restore economic prosperity and address many of the other problems our nation faces. Working with Katherine to understand the root causes of the failure of political competition, and what to do about it, has become an obsession. DISCLOSURE This work was funded by Harvard Business School, including the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness and the Division of Research and Faculty Development. No external funding was received. Katherine and Michael are both involved in supporting the work they advocate in this report. -
Electronic Democracy the World of Political Science— the Development of the Discipline
Electronic Democracy The World of Political Science— The development of the discipline Book series edited by Michael Stein and John Trent Professors Michael B. Stein and John E. Trent are the co-editors of the book series “The World of Political Science”. The former is visiting professor of Political Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada and Emeritus Professor, McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The latter is a Fellow in the Center of Governance of the University of Ottawa, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and a former professor in its Department of Political Science. Norbert Kersting (ed.) Electronic Democracy Barbara Budrich Publishers Opladen • Berlin • Toronto 2012 An electronic version of this book is freely available, thanks to the support of libraries working with Knowledge Unlatched. KU is a collaborative initiative designed to make high quality books Open Access for the public good. The Open Access ISBN for this book is 978-3-86649-546-3. More information about the initiative and links to the Open Access version can be found at www.knowledgeunlatched.org © 2012 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0. (CC- BY-SA 4.0) It permits use, duplication, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you share under the same license, give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ © 2012 Dieses Werk ist beim Verlag Barbara Budrich GmbH erschienen und steht unter der Creative Commons Lizenz Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ Diese Lizenz erlaubt die Verbreitung, Speicherung, Vervielfältigung und Bearbeitung bei Verwendung der gleichen CC-BY-SA 4.0-Lizenz und unter Angabe der UrheberInnen, Rechte, Änderungen und verwendeten Lizenz. -
Bright Mirror: How Latin America Is Enhancing Digital Democracy by Cecilia Nicolini and Matías Bianchi
All views expressed in the Latin America Policy Journal are those of the authors or the interviewees only and do not represent the views of Harvard University, the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, the staff of the Latin America Policy Journal, or any associates of the Journal. All errors are authors’ responsibilities. © 2018 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. Except as otherwise specified, no article or portion herein is to be reproduced or adapted to other works without the expressed written consent of the editors of the Latin America Policy Journal. Bright Mirror: How Latin America is Enhancing Digital Democracy by Cecilia Nicolini and Matías Bianchi Abstract Digital Democracy has emerged as a phenomenon that aims to transform the entire relation between state and society, potentially being able to fix the current crisis of liberal democracies. Despite the fact that reality is showing that we are far from that technological panacea, many government and social movements are using those tools to empower marginalized actors, to make governments more transparent and accountable, and to make policies more participa- tory. This article unpacks the opportunities and challenges digital democracy has to offer, and reviews specific cases from Latin America in which these tools are being used for improving the quality of democracies. Introduction Digital Democracy Our democracies are outdated. In the In his famous book Polyarchy, Robert Dahl second decade of the 21st century, gov- describes democracy as “the continued ernments seem unable to address the responsiveness of the government to the complex challenges the world is facing, preferences of its citizens, considered as and citizens’ trust in public institutions political equals.”1 Today, we have the tech- is at the lowest point in decades. -
Patterns of Democracy This Page Intentionally Left Blank PATTERNS of DEMOCRACY
Patterns of Democracy This page intentionally left blank PATTERNS OF DEMOCRACY Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries SECOND EDITION AREND LIJPHART First edition 1999. Second edition 2012. Copyright © 1999, 2012 by Arend Lijphart. All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the US Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publishers. Yale University Press books may be purchased in quantity for educational, business, or promotional use. For information, please e-mail [email protected] (US offi ce) or [email protected] (UK offi ce). Set in Melior type by Integrated Publishing Solutions, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Printed in the United States of America. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Lijphart, Arend. Patterns of democracy : government forms and performance in thirty-six countries / Arend Lijphart. — 2nd ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-300-17202-7 (paperbound : alk. paper) 1. Democracy. 2. Comparative government. I. Title. JC421.L542 2012 320.3—dc23 2012000704 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48–1992 (Permanence of Paper). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 for Gisela and for our grandchildren, Connor, Aidan, Arel, Caio, Senta, and Dorian, in the hope that the twenty-fi rst century—their century—will yet become more -
Islam and the Challenge of Democratic Commitment
Fordham International Law Journal Volume 27, Issue 1 2003 Article 2 Islam and the Challenge of Democratic Commitment Dr. Khaled Abou El-Fadl∗ ∗ Copyright c 2003 by the authors. Fordham International Law Journal is produced by The Berke- ley Electronic Press (bepress). http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/ilj Islam and the Challenge of Democratic Commitment Dr. Khaled Abou El-Fadl Abstract The author questions whether concurrent and simultaneous moral and normative commit- ments to Islam and to a democratic form of government are reconcilable or mutually exclusive. The author will argue in this Article that it is indeed possible to reconcile Islam with a commitment in favor of democracy. The author will then present a systematic exploration of Islamic theology and law as it relates to a democratic system of government, and in this context, address the various elements within Islamic belief and practice that promote, challenge, or hinder the emergence of an ideological commitment in favor of democracy. In many ways, the basic and fundamental ob- jective of this Article is to investigate whether the Islamic faith is consistent or reconcilable with a democratic faith. As addressed below, both Islam and democracy represent a set of comprehensive and normative moral commitments and beliefs about, among other things, the worth and entitle- ments of human beings. The challenging issue is to understand the ways in which the Islamic and democratic systems of convictions and moral commitments could undermine, negate, or validate and support each other. ISLAM AND THE CHALLENGE OF DEMOCRATIC COMMITMENT Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl* The question I deal with here is whether concurrent and simultaneous moral and normative commitments to Islam and to a democratic form of government are reconcilable or mutually exclusive. -
PLS 135 -U.S. Government and Politics (3 CR.)
Revised 8/21 NOVA COLLEGE-WIDE COURSE CONTENT SUMMARY PLS 135 – U.S. GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS (3 CR.) Course Description Teaches the political structure, processes, institutions, and policymaking of the US national government. Focuses on the three branches of government, their interrelationships, and how they shape policy. Addresses federalism; civil liberties and civil rights; political socialization and participation; public opinion, the media; interest groups; political parties; elections; and policymaking. The assignments in the course require college-level reading fluency and coherent communication through written reports. This is a Passport Transfer course. Lecture 3 hours. Total 3 hours per week. General Course Purpose To enable students to demonstrate a well-rounded knowledge of American government and politics; demonstrate an understanding of how political scientists analyze and interpret the foundations, institutions, processes, and actors that constitute American government and politics; and, demonstrate critical thought about American government and politics. Course Prerequisites/Corequisites None. Course Objectives Upon completing the course, the student will be able to: • Civic Engagement o Explain the importance of citizen engagement, ways Americans can influence and become engaged in government, and factors that might affect people's willingness to become engaged in government. • Critical Thinking o Differentiate between the concepts of democracy, direct and representative democracy, and several of the philosophical concepts that contributed to the development of U. S. democracy. o Describe the origin and history of the U. S. Constitution and how the Constitution has adapted to our changing society. o Explain the concept of Federalism and how the distribution of power between the national and state governments affords possibilities for conflict or cooperation. -
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