Experience, Knowledge, and Political Representation

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-29
Author(s):  
Peter Allen

Abstract Evidence suggests that increasing the descriptive representation of groups improves their substantive representation. What underpins this link? Many scholars writing on the subject stop short of arguing explicitly that it is “shared experience” within groups. I argue that we should embrace the potential conceptual and empirical benefits of framing representation through experience. To do this, we should think of experience specifically in terms of the epistemic content and capacities gained through subjective experience, which can allow individuals to think about the world in distinct ways. I reframe the idea that experiences might be shared within groups and ameliorate concerns that the concept is essentialist, drawing out the political relevance of my argument. This has the strategic implication that we should be unafraid to argue in favor of political presence on the basis of (shared) experience and the empirical implication that future research should consider subjective experience more closely.

Author(s):  
Pamela Paxton

This chapter examines the role of gender in democracy and democratization. It first considers how gender figures in definitions of democracy, noting that while women may appear to be included in definitions of democracy, they are often not included in practice. It then explores women’s democratic representation, making a distinction between formal, descriptive, and substantive representation. Women’s formal political representation is highlighted by focusing on the fight for women’s suffrage, whereas women’s descriptive representation is illustrated with detailed information on women’s political participation around the world. Finally, the chapter discusses the role of women in recent democratization movements around the world.


2018 ◽  
pp. 158-170
Author(s):  
Pamela Paxton ◽  
Kristopher Velasco

This chapter examines the role of gender in democracy and democratization. It first considers how gender figures in definitions of democracy, noting that while women may appear to be included in definitions of democracy, they are often not included in practice. It then explores women’s democratic representation, making a distinction between formal, descriptive, and substantive representation. Women’s formal political representation is highlighted by focusing on the fight for women’s suffrage, whereas women’s descriptive representation is illustrated with detailed information on women’s political participation around the world. Finally, the chapter discusses the role of women in recent democratization movements around the world.


2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (04) ◽  
pp. 781-806 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lihi Ben Shitrit

The spread of women's quotas in legislative bodies across the world since the mid-1990s has become one of the most significant factors impacting levels of women's political representation (Dahlerup 2013; Krook 2009; Tripp and Kang 2008). In the Middle East, a region that has long held a place at the very bottom of global rankings of women's representation, the adoption of such quotas is transforming levels of representation (Kang 2009). But there is still much debate over the utility of quotas for women's meaningful participation in political life. There is now a well-established literature that examines the effects of quotas on women's descriptive or numerical representation. We have a fairly robust idea about the types of quotas that are appropriate for particular sets of electoral system contexts when the goal is to generate a target percentage of women elected to legislative bodies (Jones 2005; Larserud and Taphorn 2007). However, questions about whether and how quotas benefit women beyond the simple addition of several women parliamentarians to the political game remain contested. The various arguments for the utility of quotas rest mainly on two underlying propositions. The first is that quotas, by bringing more women to the political sphere, promote the substantive representation of women's interests. The second is that quotas have a symbolic effect. They help demonstrate that women are fit and able to govern and so contribute to countering women's historical exclusion from politics.


Author(s):  
Paul Collier

Are natural assets a curse? In The Bottom Billion I argued why I thought they often did more harm than good to the poorest countries. But the real measure is not just the damage they cause, but their harm relative to their potential. Natural resources are the largest assets available to these societies. Their known natural capital has been estimated to be worth double their produced capital. The failure to harness natural capital is the single-most important missed opportunity in economic development. Since writing The Bottom Billion I have accumulated more research on the subject, as have many others. Indeed, whether an abundance of natural assets is a blessing or a curse is currently one of the disputes raging among economists. There are some high-visibility instances of natural assets appearing to ruin a country: Sierra Leone’s diamonds, for example, seemed to shred the fabric of that society to pieces; Nigeria’s oil fueled the corruption of the political class. But are these just outliers? After all, Botswana harnessed its diamonds to produce the fastest growing economy in the world, and Norway used its oil to achieve the world’s highest living standard. The question becomes whether there really is a “resource curse,” and whether, if it does exist, it is limited to countries with deeper problems. I have come to regard this as the most crucial issue in the struggle to transform the poorest societies. The revenues that they could get from natural assets are enormous, dwarfing any conceivable flows of aid. They could certainly be transformative. If they deliver, any efforts to inhibit the extraction of natural assets from the poorest countries are not simply counterproductive but irresponsible, impeding the path out of poverty. If, on the other hand, natural assets backfire, then there is an argument for leaving them in the ground. There would indeed be the basis for an alliance between the environmental lobby, pressing for natural assets to be conserved, and the development lobby, fighting to end mass poverty.


Author(s):  
Rosie Campbell ◽  
Sarah Childs ◽  
Elizabeth Hunt

This chapter examines the progress of women's participation and representation in the House of Commons. It first considers women's descriptive representation in the House of Commons over the last century, with emphasis on the differences in the proportion of women Members of Parliament (MPs) elected by the main political parties. It explains improvements in the numbers of women MPs in the last decade or so, together with the party asymmetry, by reference to the supply and demand model of political recruitment. It then reviews arguments for women's equal participation in politics, taking into account how women's descriptive representation intersects with symbolic and substantive representation. It also discusses resistance to the claim that women's representation matters and concludes with an analysis of the masculinized nature of the political institution that women MPs inhabit, along with the recommendations made in the 2016 The Good Parliament report.


1964 ◽  
Vol 54 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 33-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fergus Millar

No analysis of the political character of the Empire can avoid the question of finance. The various sources of revenue of the Emperor and the res publica, the role of the private wealth of the Emperor, the nature of his control over public funds, the question of how and when various public revenues were taken by him—a satisfactory political interpretation of the early Empire must take account of all these.This article attempts merely to take a second preliminary step towards such an interpretation. Its aim is to set out as clearly as possible the evidence as to the nature of the Aerarium and the functions of its officials, and, above all, to avoid the anachronistic approach which our language itself so readily invites. Not all anachronistic views of the subject have had the beautiful obviousness of Ramsay's contribution: even to speak of the ‘world-wide financial administration’ of the Aerarium will prove to be misleading.


Author(s):  
Claudia Leeb

“Who Changes the World: The Political Subject-in-Outline” introduces the idea of the political subject-in-outline to creatively engage with the tension between the exclusionary character of the political subject and its necessity for agency. It explains why giving up on the subject altogether or theorizing it as a constantly shifting entity is implicated in the project of capitalism, and acknowledges the necessity of defining a political subject to critique and transform capitalism. Yet its outline reminds people that any definition of the political subject must remain permanently open for contestation to avoid its exclusionary character. This chapter also explains that the subject-in-outline aims to establish a mediated relation between the universal and particular, as well as mind and body. Furthermore, it shows that the idea of a political subject-in-outline can help people avoid alienation, instrumental relations, and the coldness of love in capitalism.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 651-660 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rabiul Islam ◽  
Ahmad Bashawir Abdul Ghani ◽  
Muhammad Fuad Othman ◽  
Laila Suriya Ahmad Apandi

Purpose of the study: The aim of this study was to relate the political economy and its impact on trade and development of economy. One of the currently witnessed changes that strike out the most from previous years is the relatedness of each political economy aspect of the world. The dimension of economy can be found in different problems throughout the world and economy has become the most prioritized aspect in the 21st century. Methodology: The data for this study were obtained from existing literatures on political economy and trade as well. The methodology heavily relied on the existing previous literatures on the subject being dealt with. Results: The findings indicated that the government could decide to intervene in markets with the intention of limiting import or maximizing export. Trade barriers might be applied for the intention of limiting imports such as tariffs, import quotas, native gratified necessities, directorial strategies, and anti-dumping policies. Implications: Protectionist policies are being implemented by country by the means of protecting the local market from international market that might risk the industries inside the nation and might resulted in the depletion of the nation’s sovereignty rate. Protectionist policy can be considered as a barrier towards trade but is essential for the long run local industry.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 333-372
Author(s):  
Snur Sabah Sidiq

The subject of the official study conditions in the city of Erbil is of great historical and cultural importance, especially for the city that historians have confirmed in historical sources as one of the oldest cities in the world. The subject of the official study conditions in the city of Erbil for the period between 1980-1991 did not have the importance of being mentioned by researchers, and scientific research has not been conducted on it. Therefore, there is a scientific necessity to carry out such research. The reason for choosing the study period (1980 - 1991) is that because of the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq war in 1980, all aspects of life were affected by this war. Although this war ended in 1988, its effects and repercussions continued to affect the joints of Life in Iraq and the city of Erbil, in addition to the fact that political problems and convulsions grew and developed in that period until Iraq entered Kuwait in 1990, which resulted in wars and regional and internal problems in Iraq. Since that date, a new historical era has begun in the region. This study consists of an introduction to the topic in addition to two main axes and concluded with a list of sources and appendices, in the entry a summary of the official study in the city of Erbil for the period between 1970 - 1980 was presented, and the first axis was devoted to the political situation and the educational process for the period between 1980 - 1991, and in the second axis The laws, regulations, and educational curricula for the period between 1980 - 1991 are covered.


Author(s):  
Elena Menshikova

Civilizational breakthrough of “axial time”, implemented «human band» in the middle of the first millennium BC practically simultaneously in different latitudes of our planet – this is the time of the birth of science and arts, the development of language as a literary tradition, the becoming of Myth as an active picture of the world – a subjective objective, a philosophical understanding of what is the person and being that surrounds him and what he creates, and formation of knowing the world by the word and deed of the subject and, at the same time, the thinking object possessing political reflection. However, political reflection has one significant drawback – the brevity of historical memory, which should from time to time be brought to life, refreshing the milestones of events and the wisdom of others’ reflections, so that cognitive dissonances do not arise freely (arbitrarily) or malicious aforethought of political phenomena (war, state , strategist-politician, political power, etc.), breaking the membrane of human hostel – ethos, the philosophy of culture, art with science and the craving for work. The twentieth century (and lasting the first quarter of the 21st century), as a vivid illustration of endless wars and permanent revolutions, as an age of world and local conflicts, demonstrating an indissoluble connection with the ancient myth, the 20th scattered the teeth of mythology, rehashing the world and the principles of the state, destroying boundaries and the empire, unleashing new wars, multiplying ethnic conflicts, sweeping away valued reference point and changing anthropological signs, disagreeing with the essential in man: depriving the Word and the Cause.


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