Plato against Democracy

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Kraut
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Democratic Theory ◽  
Representative Democracy ◽  
Athenian Democracy ◽  
System P ◽  
Important Argument ◽  
Political Office

This essay examines the Republic’s most important argument against democracy, and claims that it remains, even amidst the dominance of democratic theory, a powerful critique not only of Athenian democracy but also of representative democracy. Plato’s basic idea is that a regime is inherently defective if it gives people a right to participate in political office whether or not they have demonstrated any qualifications for doing so. I examine several ways in which modern and contemporary democratic theorists respond to Plato’s critique, and argue that they are problematic. Perhaps Plato was right, then: democracy is not the best possible political system.

Identity concerns drive belief: The impact of partisan identity on the belief and dissemination of true and false news

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Pereira ◽  
Jay Joseph Van Bavel ◽  
Elizabeth Ann Harris
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Political System ◽  
Political Identity ◽  
Social Goals ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Political Beliefs ◽  
System P ◽  
False News ◽  
Democrats And Republicans ◽  
The Impact

Political misinformation, often called “fake news”, represents a threat to our democracies because it impedes citizens from being appropriately informed. Evidence suggests that fake news spreads more rapidly than real news—especially when it contains political content. The present article tests three competing theoretical accounts that have been proposed to explain the rise and spread of political (fake) news: (1) the ideology hypothesis— people prefer news that bolsters their values and worldviews; (2) the confirmation bias hypothesis—people prefer news that fits their pre-existing stereotypical knowledge; and (3) the political identity hypothesis—people prefer news that allows their political in-group to fulfill certain social goals. We conducted three experiments in which American participants read news that concerned behaviors perpetrated by their political in-group or out-group and measured the extent to which they believed the news (Exp. 1, Exp. 2, Exp. 3), and were willing to share the news on social media (Exp. 2 and 3). Results revealed that Democrats and Republicans were both more likely to believe news about the value-upholding behavior of their in-group or the value-undermining behavior of their out-group, supporting a political identity hypothesis. However, although belief was positively correlated with willingness to share on social media in all conditions, we also found that Republicans were more likely to believe and want to share apolitical fake new. We discuss the implications for theoretical explanations of political beliefs and application of these concepts in in polarized political system.

The Dual Executive

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Belco ◽  
Brandon Rottinghaus
Keyword(s):  
Policy Making ◽  
Political System ◽  
Government Support ◽  
The Political ◽  
Government Function ◽  
Dual Roles ◽  
System P ◽  
Policy Making Process

The president serves dual roles in the political system: one who “commands” by pursuing his or her agenda using unilateral orders and one who “administers” and who works to continue proper government function, often with the support of Congress. In a reassessment of the literature on unilateral power, this book considers the president’s dual roles during the stages of the policy-making process. Although presidents may appear to act “first and alone,” the reality is often much different. Presidents act in response to their own concerns, as well as assisting Congress on priorities and the need to maintain harmonic government function. The authors find support for both the model of an aggressive president who uses unilateral orders to push his or her agenda, head off unfavorable congressional legislation, and selectively implement legislation, and they find support for a unifying president who is willing to share management of government, support Congressional legislative efforts, and faithfully implement legislation. At the same time, presidents self-check their actions based on the ability of Congress to act to overturn their orders, through a shared sense of responsibility to keep government moving and out of respect for the constitutional balance. The shared nature of unilateral orders does not preclude an active president, as presidents remain strong, central actors in the political system.

Demokracja nieprzedstawicielska – egalitarne „wyjście awaryjne”czy narzędzie autorytarnych populistów?

1970 ◽  
Vol 23 (301) ◽  
pp. 93-102
Author(s):  
Bartosz Rydliński
Keyword(s):  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Political System ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Representative Democracy ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Neoliberal Globalization ◽  
Contemporary Debate ◽  
Democratic Political System

The article presents the main ideological and theoretic assumptions of non-representative democracy, having historically strongly left-wing character, not an easy practice of applying this form of democracy in Polish and European conditions. The author tries to indicate a certain dialectic dualism of direct democracy, which more and more often constitutes contemporary crisis of liberal democracy in the contemporary debate on the negative impact of neoliberal globalization on democratic political system.

China’s Political Economy

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur R. Kroeber
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Political System ◽  
Governance System ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
System P ◽  
Party State

What is China’s political system? Understanding China’s unique and resilient governance system is essential for making sense of the country’s economic past, present, and future. We may briefly describe it as follows: China is (1) a one-party state that (2) governs in a...

Politicians' Expressions of Anger and Leadership Evaluations

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lena Masch
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Party Leader ◽  
Heinrich Heine ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
Social Democrats ◽  
System P ◽  
The Social ◽  
Angela Merkel ◽  
Emotional Behaviour ◽  
The Impact

This book explores the impact of politicians’ expressions of anger on viewers. Electoral candidates may alter their emotional behaviour strategically during election campaigns as a means of gaining voters’ support. Hence, this study investigates empirically how expressions of anger affect leadership evaluations. An experiment was conducted to establish the impact of politicians’ expressions of emotions on viewers. This study focuses on politicians as a social group, as well as three politicians in particular: Chancellor Angela Merkel; Gregor Gysi, the former parliamentary leader of the Left; and Sigmar Gabriel, the former party leader of the Social Democrats. These three case studies are well-suited to testing the effects of expressions of emotion by political leaders with varying positions in the political system. Lena Masch is a lecturer at the Institute of Social Sciences at the Heinrich-Heine-Universität in Düsseldorf.

The European Ambition

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciano Bardi ◽  
Wojciech Gagatek ◽  
Carine Germond ◽  
Karl Magnus Johansson ◽  
Wolfram Kaiser ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Political System ◽  
Political Sociology ◽  
European Studies ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
System P ◽  
Direct Elections

This book traces the EPP Group’s institutional, organisational and political trajectory in the European Parliament, focusing on the period after the first direct elections in 1979. In doing so, it sheds light on the functioning of parliamentary party groups, while at the same time creating the conditions for a better understanding of their role in the process of European integration and in the EU’s political system. Based on the conceptual framework of different disciplines—history, political science, European studies and political sociology—this book is the outcome of a research project involving scholars with diverse academic backgrounds and from different EU countries.

Criticism Ancient and Modern. Observations on the Critical Tradition of Athenian Democracy

2008 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 305-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dino Piovan
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Theory ◽  
Historical Perspective ◽  
Current Model ◽  
Athenian Democracy ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
Critical Tradition ◽  
Democratic Experience ◽  
Nineteenth And Twentieth Centuries ◽  
Theory Of Democracy ◽  
Point Of Reference

This essay considers the tradition of criticism against Athenian democracy, in both ancient and modern times. Often this critical tradition has been seen to adduce greater interest than the very democratic experience from which it arose; in this it has been aided, in part, by the asserted absence of an ancient theory of democracy. Yet there are significant traces of a democratic theory in the ancient sources, which ought to serve both as a theoretical and ideological riposte to the critics. Some of the modern objections to classical Athenian democracy take up the argument of the ancient critics and display an anti-democratic orientation (German scholarship between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries). Others, however, are motivated by a certain sensibility, grown out of liberalism and the legal state, as well as the emancipation of women and the abolition of slavery. Nevertheless, these objections are sometimes lacking in historical perspective. If we reassess Athenian democracy, it may yet be seen to constitute a useful point of reference, at a time when the current model of democracy finds its legitimacy questioned.2

scholarly journals Estimating and examining the replicability of belief system networks

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark John Brandt
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Belief Systems ◽  
Belief System ◽  
System Structure ◽  
Centrality Measures ◽  
The Political ◽  
World Values Survey ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
System P ◽  
The World

Belief system structure can be investigated by estimating belief systems as networks of interacting political attitudes, but we do not know if these estimates are replicable. In a sample of 31 countries from the World Values Survey (N = 52,826), I find that country’s belief system networks are relatively replicable in terms of connectivity, proportion of positive edges, some centrality measures (e.g., expected influence), and the estimates of individual edges. Betweenness, closeness, and strength centrality estimates are more unstable. Belief system networks estimated with smaller samples or in countries with more unstable political systems tend to be less replicable than networks estimated with larger samples in stable political systems. Although these analyses are restricted to the items available in the World Values Survey, they show that belief system networks can be replicable, but that this replicability is related to features of the study design and the political system.

Modern Prime-Ministerial Leadership in the Netherlands

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marij Swinkels ◽  
Sabine van Zuydam ◽  
Femke Van Esch
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Leadership Styles ◽  
Leadership Style ◽  
Political System ◽  
Leadership Skills ◽  
Dutch Politics ◽  
Cultural Changes ◽  
Prime Ministers ◽  
System P ◽  
Ministerial Leadership

This chapter discusses the leadership style of Dutch prime ministers (PMs) and asks the question what type of leadership skills, relations, and reputations are most effective in modern Dutch politics: a consensual or confrontational style. While Dutch politics traditionally favors leaders who employ a consensus-oriented leadership style, prime ministers Balkenende (2002–2010) and Rutte (2010–present) served at a time when socio-cultural changes and mediatization of politics were challenging this political practice. By applying a modified version of the Leadership Capital Index (LCI), the chapter shows that to ensure re-election, both PMs struck a careful balance between the consensual and confrontational leadership styles. Whereas the study indicates that prime ministers have considerable leeway in how to strike that balance, the results suggest that it is essential that they maintain constructive relations with their peers in government and parliament to be electorally successful in the Dutch political system.

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