Liberalism and Marxism are two schools of thought which have left deep imprints in sociological, political and economic theory. They are usually perceived as opposite, rival approaches. In the field of democracy there is a seemingly insurmountable rift around the question of political versus economic democracy. Liberals emphasize the former, Marxists the latter. Liberals say that economic democracy is too abstract and fuzzy a concept, therefore one should concentrate on the workings of an objective political democracy. Marxists insist that political democracy without economic democracy is insufficient. The article argues that both propositions are valid and not mutually exclusive. It proposes the creation of an operational, quantifiable index of economic democracy that can be used alongside the already existing indexes of political democracy. By using these two indexes jointly, political and economic democracy can be objectively evaluated. Thus, the requirements of both camps are met and maybe a more dialogical approach to democracy can be reached in the debate between liberals and Marxists. The joint index is used to evaluate the levels of economic and political democracy in the transition countries of Eastern Europe.

O objetivo primordial deste trabalho é analisar se a democracia é uma instituição política que produz resultados econômicos menos desiguais do que os regimes autoritários. A importância deste tema reside no fato que a própria promoção da democracia na agenda da política internacional tornou-se fundamental por inúmeras razões entre as quais sua suposta propensão em reduzir estas disparidades econômicas. Em primeiro lugar apresentamos no Capítulo 1 um balanço da discussão teórica e empírica a partir da qual constatamos que, a despeito do senso comum de que a democracia está relacionada a uma cidadania mais igualitária, os seus efeitos sobre a desigualdade ainda são discutíveis. Mesmo existindo um razoável consenso teórico de que os regimes democráticos devem, de alguma forma, produzir uma melhor distribuição de bens, os resultados empíricos são inconclusivos e contraditórios. Em seguida, diante de tal impasse empírico, propomos no Capítulo 2 uma reformulação da argumentação na qual entendemos que os efeitos da democracia sobre a desigualdade devem ser reinterpretados. A principal contribuição da tese reside na constatação, tanto teórica quanto empírica, de que estes efeitos são heterogêneos e interagem com o próprio nível de desigualdade...

Liberalism and Marxism are two schools of thought which have left deep imprints in sociological, political and economic theory. They are usually perceived as opposite, rival approaches. In the field of democracy there is a seemingly insurmountable rift around the question of political versus economic democracy. Liberals emphasize the former, Marxists the latter. Liberals say that economic democracy is too abstract and fuzzy a concept, therefore one should concentrate on the workings of an objective political democracy. Marxists insist that political democracy without economic democracy is insufficient. The article argues that both propositions are valid and not mutually exclusive. It proposes the creation of an operational, quantifiable index of economic democracy that can be used alongside the already existing indexes of political democracy. By using these two indexes jointly, political and economic democracy can be objectively evaluated. Thus, the requirements of both camps are met and maybe a more dialogical approach to democracy can be reached in the debate between liberals and Marxists. The joint index is used to evaluate the levels of economic and political democracy in the transition countries of Eastern Europe.

Conventional accounts of classical Athenian democracy represent the assembly as the primary democratic institution in the Athenian political system. This looks reasonable in the light of modern democracy, which has typically developed through the democratization of legislative assemblies. Yet it conflicts with the evidence at our disposal. Our ancient sources suggest that the most significant and distinctively democratic institution in Athens was the courts, where decisions were made by large panels of randomly selected ordinary citizens with no possibility of appeal. This dissertation reinterprets Athenian democracy as “dikastic democracy” (from the Greek dikastēs, “judge”), defined as a mode of government in which ordinary citizens rule principally through their control of the administration of justice. It begins by casting doubt on two major planks in the modern interpretation of Athenian democracy: first, that it rested on a conception of the “wisdom of the multitude” akin to that advanced by epistemic democrats today, and second that it was “deliberative,” meaning that mass discussion of political matters played a defining role. The first plank rests largely on an argument made by Aristotle in support of mass political participation...

The book contains a selection of papers presented at the Conference on Democracy, Market Economy, and Development, whose objective was to examine the extent of which democracy is important to the achievement of sustainable development. While it is widely accepted that economic freedom, as ensured broadly by the operation of the economy according to market, or laissez-faire principles, is a critical determinant of development, the role of political freedom, as ensured broadly by the practice of democracy, is less well understood. The papers focus largely on the experience of East Asia in recent years, featuring: democracy and the market economy, emphasizing both politics, and economics as essential to improve the lives of citizens; democracy and social justice, as intrinsic to development, arguing that rights and liberties are best conveyed by the democratic system of governance; participation, as fundamental to democracy and development, for it is the practice of democracy that is most critical to the long-term sustainability of development; liberal participatory democracy...

The dissertation documented the degree of Turkey’s involvement in the promotion of democracy in the Arab Middle East (ME). Initially, I investigated why and under what conditions Turkey promotes democracy in the ME, and then I explained strategies through which Turkey promotes democracy in the region. I applied the neo-classical realist theoretical framework and a mixed methodology in the research, and I provided evidence from two sources: face-to-face interviews with the Turkish and foreign officials and common citizens, and the statistical data from institutions, such as the OECD, Turkish Statistical Institute, and World Bank. My research indicates that Turkey promotes democracy through seven channels. These channels are official development assistance (ODA), mentoring, demonstrative effect, normative pressure, conditionality, military power, enlargement, and civil society organizations. Turkey promotes democracy in the ME for three substantial reasons: first, to advance its security and economic interests; second, to improve the political, social, and economic conditions of people living in the region; and third, to create long-term regional stability, crucial for cooperation in economic and security realms. I attempted to engage in debates with two distinct...

In den letzten fünfzehn bis zwanzig Jahren hat sich die Demokratie- und Menschen­rechts­förderung über nationalstaatliche Grenzen hinweg zu einem der wichtigsten Trends in der Entwicklungspolitik entwickelt. Eine prominente Zielgruppe dieser Politik sind von Beginn an nichtstaatliche Organi­sa­tio­nen. NGOs (non-go­vernmental organizations) erhalten finanzielle und technische Unterstützung durch die internationale Ge­bergemeinschaft, damit sie die demokratische Entwicklung und die Ein­haltung der Menschenrechte in ihren Ländern einfordern und vorantreiben. Die arabische Welt wird in diesem Zusammenhang lange als "Nachzügler" der globalen Demokratisierung betrachtet. Anders als in Osteuropa kommt es hier nicht zu "friedlichen Revolutionen", die eine Transition zu demokra­ti­schen Systemen anstoßen. Zu­nehmend setzt sich die Erkenntnis durch, dass sich die dortigen autori­tä­ren Regime als dauerhaft und stabil erweisen, während die langjährige Politik der Demokratie­för­de­rung bisher erfolglos bleibt. An diesem Punkt setzt die Fragestellung der vorliegenden Arbeit an. Wie kommt es zu dieser Erfolglosig­keit der externen Demokratieförderung? Was geschieht mit den Fördermitteln und Förderprogrammen in den arabischen Ländern...

The object of this thesis is Europeans’ orientations to democracy. It is argued in this dissertation that an important variable has been missed in the literature, namely, citizens’ cognitive support for democracy. By including this concept in the analysis of Europeans’ support for democracy, a number of aspects which had been much uncertain until now are inspected. First, conceptual clarification of support for democracy is possible, by distinguishing different types of orientations to democracy. Second, and from an empirical perspective, classical indicators of support for democracy are examined, in order to assess for validity. Interesting results have emerged from the analysis: 1. Determining the structure and the levels of affective support for democracy in Europe. The classic churchillian indicator (‘democracy best’) overstates levels of affective support for democracy in Europe. The structure of affective support for democracy is in fact not homogeneous across Europe, but differs substantially from one group of countries to the others. 2. Mapping types of democrats across Europe. There are different types of democrats across Europe, depending on their cognitive orientations to democracy. These are not evenly spread within each country...

Is democracy the best form of government? What are the hallmarks of a good democracy? These questions were asked in ancient times and we are still trying to find the answers today. We have learned, at least, that there is no “perfect” democracy ! Democratically-ruled nations try to strike a difficult balance between equality and liberty, as well as between majority and minorities. They try to maintain order in society while allowing for the greatest possible expressions of opinion at the same time. Democracy demands and democracy challenges — and as a system of government, democracy is itself challenged today by globalization and the development of digital media. Against this background, and in light of political and economic events in Asia or in the Arab world, there is another incessant question: is democracy still up-to-date? But of course! Democracies perform generally better and ensure peace more successfully than do other forms of government. Democracy: An Ongoing Challenge illustrates why. This visual reader uses the power of images to complement the text, resulting in a compendium of the history and development of democracy, and offers insight into the contemporary debates.; • The Development Of Democracy: A Long Road...

This thesis examines the democratic advantages and challenges of e-democracy, as well as its impact. The aim is to address some of the theoretical and empirical gaps in the rapidly developing but still emerging field of e-democracy. Moreover, the intention is to assist edemocracy practitioners in tailoring their projects in a way that addresses the particular democratic problems that they are facing. To this purpose, the thesis presents a theoretical frame and indicators to assess the quality of e-democracy projects. The quality is explored through in-depth comparison of five case studies of e-democracy initiatives in Italy, France, Sweden and the UK. Two types of projects are examined: epetitioning and parliamentary informatics (i.e. projects that enable citizens to monitor and engage in legislative activities of parliaments). The thesis provides primary survey evidence from nearly 700 e-democracy participants, as well as from interviews with project stakeholders. In focusing on e-democracy from the user perspective - rather than from the more common perspectives of policy-makers and data/tool providers - and in addressing standards of democratic quality, the thesis contributes to a rebalancing of the e-democracy debate towards civic...

This dissertation aims to arrive at a model of democratic legitimacy for the European Union. There is, however, a strain of thought pre-dominant in political theory since the nineteenth century that doubts the capacity of political systems constituted by multiple public spheres to have sustainable democratic systems. This view is referred to here as the lingua franca thesis on sustainable democratic systems (LFT). It states that, in the absence of a common language for political debate, democracy cannot function well in the long-term as citizens existing in distinctive public spheres will inevitably come to have diverging preferences that cannot be satisfactorily resolved by a collective democratic process. Poor quality democratic institutions, as well as acute demands to divide the political system (through devolution or secession) so that state and society become more congruent, are predicted by this thesis. To arrive at a model of democratic legitimacy for the EU, in light of the challenge presented by the LFT, three major steps are taken. Part One attempts to arrive at an account of democratic legitimacy as a realistic ideal for modern political systems. Understanding democracy as a system which strives to maximise citizens’ equal opportunities for control over the decisions to which they are subject...

Justifications of democracy rest in large part on unacknowledged empirical assumptions regarding the cognitive, informational, and behavioral capacities of individuals and voting populations. The goal of this project was to identify those assumptions and examine them in light of data from the social sciences. To the extent that these assumptions are undermined by empirical evidence, the normative legitimacy of democracy as a system of rule is weakened. Theories of democracy were organized along a continuum from purely instrumental to purely intrinsic or procedural, and a representative sample of theories from along this spectrum were analyzed in order to identify their core empirical assumptions. Interest-based, deliberative, and egalitarian theories of democracy were each demonstrated to be predicated on substantive empirical assumptions which were contradicted by the available evidence. A sophisticated hybrid account incorporating aspects from along the spectrum of available theories was likewise demonstrated to be predicated on unsubstantiated assumptions regarding human capacities. A concluding analysis of the circumstances which undermine the assumptions of democratic theory demonstrated the limited tractability of these circumstances...

Teaching history in the traditional way has always been criticized as making history boring and not challenging students’ critical thinking ability. Using the multicultural democracy model makes history more interesting to students. Students also graduate being more aware of their responsibilities in the society. Multicultural democracy is not the same thing as multicultural education. Multicultural education concerns itself with students knowing, appreciating and respecting the diverse cultures in our society, and their respective contributions to the society. Unlike multicultural education, multicultural democracy incorporates other forms of diversity in addition, including religious diversity, gender diversity, diversity in sexual orientation, and diversity in socioeconomic class. Available literatures indicate that teachers that use multicultural democracy model are motivated by personal interest in and history in activism. It is not common to see all the elements of multicultural democracy in a class. However, turning politically disengaged students into socially active citizens is an essential element that must be present in a multicultural democracy education. Qualitative methods were used to collect data separately from four (two male and two female) teachers using semi-structured interviews. Analysis of responses was done by coding the interview data. The following themes emerged during coding: there are time constraints in U.S. History classes therefore it is difficult to teach multicultural democracy education; multicultural democracy education is best taught in government classes and not in history classes; and when the school corporation does not dictate what is taught in the classroom...

Se analiza desde diferentes puntos de vista la conexión entre bibliotecas públicas y democracia. El enfoque de este artículo cubre varios temas en torno de la dimensión democrática respecto a la biblioteca pública. Por lo tanto, se analizan y estudian asuntos relacionados con la dimensión política de esa institución bibliotecaria en el contexto de la democracia. Dimensión que considera la necesidad de formar ciudadanos educados e informados, es decir, bibliotecas públicas que funcionen para apoyar la generación de una ciudadanía activa, conglomerado humano de hombres y mujeres necesario para hacer funcionar a la democracia como forma de Estado, de gobierno y de vida. Por consiguiente, destaca el significado y concepto de democracia, la noción política de ciudadano y ciudadanía, el tema bibliotecas y democracia en la literatura bibliotecológica, la interrelación del prototipo educativo-democrático y el ideal ciudadano-democrático, la afinidad entre el aprendizaje permanente y la democracia, el cambio social como ideal ciudadano-democrático, los valores democráticos a la luz del Manifiesto para la biblioteca pública, el multiculturalismo como factor inherente a los valores democráticos, entre la democratización de la libertad de leer y la economía de libre mercado...

Empreende um esforço para organizar o pensamento sobre a relação entre educação escolar e democracia no Brasil. A hipótese principal do trabalho é que as exigências atuais da democracia impõem mudanças no modelo de educação escolar republicano, que prevaleceu ao longo deste século. Esboça os elementos de uma relação coerente entre educação escolar e democracia, explorando os limites das abordagens mais importantes do tema no Brasil. Adota como referência o conceito de democracia elaborado por Alain Touraine, concebida como sistema político que articula Estado e sociedade civil, universalismo da razão e particularismo das identidades culturais, oferecendo as condições públicas da liberdade expressada na afirmação do sujeito pessoal. O mesmo conceito compreende três dimensões constitutivas e interdependentes da democracia: o respeito aos direitos fundamentais (que limita o poder do Estado), a representatividade social dos atores políticos e a cidadania. Assim definida a democracia, examina-se como a educação escolar vem se relacionando com ela, tendo em vista o afastamento, a aproximação ou a eqüidistância (indiferença) entre ambas. Faz-se isso colocando em destaque os principais aspectos que têm sido abordados na perspetiva de adequar a educação escolar à democracia. Primeiro...

This dissertation identified the determinants of a country's level of democracy. In 1996, President Clinton incorporated democracy promotion as a key element in the U.S. National Security Strategy. Experience since the Cold War demonstrated that the implementation of reforms do not necessarily result in a Western-style democracy. The selection and accountability of a country's leaders resides on a political spectrum from no democracy (i.e., fully autocratic) to full democracy with many variations in between. Using a multi-method approach including econometric, computational, and case study analysis on Mexico, the Philippines, and Senegal, this study proposed and tested a model of democratic change based upon the interaction between a country's socioeconomic conditions, its actors, and its level of democracy. The analysis determined that no one factor could definitively predict a change in democracy. Each factor affected the preferences of key actors whose interaction resulted in changes in democracy. Violence and poverty provided a centripetal effect on polity while economic crisis and the loss of an interstate war had a centrifugal effect that pushed polities towards the extremes of the polity spectrum. Although economic income and development contributed to the potential for democracy...

Defence date: 25 January 2013.; Examining Board: Professor Gráinne de Búrca, NYU, formerly EUI (Supervisor); Professor Philippe C. Schmitter, EUI; Professor Dimitry Kochenov, University of Groningen; Professor Erwan Lannon, University of Ghent.; In the late 1980s/early 1990s the EU started to purse a new policy: that of democracy promotion. It quickly put in place a whole range of instruments that would facilitate the transition to democracy and its consolidation in new democracies. Democracy assistance has over the last two decades, due to its 'positive' features, increasingly emerged as one of the EU's preferred instruments of that policy, expressed in particular in increasing budgets for democracy assistance programmes, new democracy assistance facilities, and explicit policy declarations on the topic. This thesis outlines and analyses the EU's strategy of democracy promotion through the use of democracy assistance from its inception in the early 1990s until 2011, focusing on all major world regions except the enlargement dimension. While revealing numerous details on the strategy, it attempts to also answer the following three more fundamental questions: What is the EU's underlying conception of democracy? What is its preferred model of democratization? And what is its preferred approach to democracy assistance? In looking for answers...

Por muito tempo, fruto da filosofia antiga e, de certa forma, também da renascentista, a democracia foi erigida a um modelo de ídolo, um regime perfeito que deveria ser seguido pelos modelos reais. O trabalho de Nietzsche, nessa seara, rompeu com a ideia dos ídolos, dentre eles a democracia, identificando como químera a crença em tais tradições ou modelos perfeitos. Embora seu trabalho tenha sido útil nesse tocante, é certo que Nietzsche é um desconstrutivista. Por essa razão, cabe-nos analisar a questão da idolatria democrática e, com base na genealogia nietzschiana, tentar construir um modelo realizável de democracia. Nas atuais circunstâncias institucionais, a identificação de um modelo de democracia que apresenta graves falhas e ranhuras é imprescindível para saber até que ponto se busca atingir um modelo democrático, ou se a busca, na verdade, representa uma ilusão vivenciada em pleno seio da democracia. Na verdade, a crise institucional brasileira se deve em grande parte às frustrações decorrentes de se perquirir um modelo inalcançável e desafinado com a realidade democrática nacional. E é justamente na fuga de uma democracia idolatra que se mostra pleno o caminho para superação dos fundamentos das insatisfações populares...

Carrion, Julio F.; This dissertation seeks to establish the main sources of support for democracy in Central and Eastern Europe and determine how these have changed over time. Utilizing the New Democracies Barometer datasets I create, estimate, and compare models of support for democracy for the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland during different stages of their democratic development in three time periods, i.e. in 1992, 1998, and 2004. I test the trimmed model built for the 2004 dataset out-of-sample, on a dataset encompassing information for thirteen Central and Eastern European countries. I conclude that performance considerations, both political and economic, are dominant in explaining support for democracy in the region. While trust and values variables have some effect on one's attitudes toward democracy, it is their assessment of regime performance that mainly determines whether or not one is a democrat. My analysis also stresses the need to look at contextual factors in explaining attitudes toward democracy: when analyzing determinants of support for democracy in the region, country-specific characteristics have to be taken into consideration as they significantly influence people's views on democracy.; University of Delaware...

The purpose of this report was to assess two initiatives, the Bali Democracy Forum and the Global Movement of Moderates as they relate to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance’s mission and strategy for 2012-2017. The Asia-Pacific region remains a major area of interest for IDEA and IDEA is constantly looking for new opportunities for engagement to help build sustainable democracy within nations. The report primarily draws on documents from the Bali Democracy Forum (BDF), the Global Movement of Moderates (GMM) as well as publications from IDEA. It also involved conducting a limited number of informal interviews with the few people who had knowledge of the BDF and in particular the GMM. The report found the BDF and GMM’s goals, objectives and activities fit in with IDEA’s strategy and mission. The Bali Democracy Forum is seen as innovative, inclusive and credible, garnering significant international support. Whilst the BDF is internationally applauded, it is limited in promoting democratic change because it is a forum rather than an organisation. There is more scope to work with the Institute of Peace and Democracy however; IDEA’s relationship with the IPD has thus far been tumultuous. From the limited amount of information available...