Oratory

2009 ◽  
pp. 504-517
Author(s):  
Lene Rubinstein
Keyword(s):  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Related Problem ◽  
Political Influence ◽  
Ancient Rhetoric ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Political Decisions ◽  
Ordinary Citizens

In a direct democracy such as that of classical Athens, even the most important political decisions were made as a result of debates conducted in mass meetings attended by ordinary citizens. The ability to speak coherently, engagingly, and persuasively was an important key to political influence. This article examines a related problem by asking how much people really know about ancient rhetoric. It discusses the relationship between the public speeches delivered in classical Athens and the textual remains available today, many of which survived because they were considered, in some respects at least, model speeches. The question here is how much the practice of oratory differed from its theory, and to what extent today's texts display the concerns and abilities of a narrow elite.

8. Referendums

UK Politics ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 171-191
Author(s):  
Andrew Blick
Keyword(s):  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Local Level ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Public ◽  
Key Features ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Theoretical Considerations ◽  
Political Decisions

This chapter starts with a definition of the term ‘referendum’. A referendum is a means of involving the public in political decisions via voting on specific issues such as leaving the European Union. The chapter focuses on the use of referendums at the local level. It sets out the key features of a referendum. Who is allowed to vote in referendums? What sort of questions are put to voters? Under want circumstances should a referendum take place on specific issues? What are the risks associated with holding a referendum? The chapter also looks at regulations surrounding referendums in the UK. The theoretical considerations that the chapter examines are the fact that a referendum subject tends to be controversial, the relationship between referendums and direct democracy and the implications of the results.

scholarly journals Od demokracji bezpośredniej do rządów zgromadzenia? Rousseau i problemy republikańskiego konstytucjonalizmu

2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 193-210
Author(s):  
Rafał Lis
Keyword(s):  
Social Contract ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Popular Sovereignty ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Emergency Measure ◽  
The Government ◽  
Direct Government ◽  
The Relationship

The following article considers the problems connected with the relationship between the principles of the direct democracy and the gouvernement d’assemblée. The values contemporarily ascribed to these principles are often counted among different, sometimes even opposing, traditions of republican constitutionalism. However, the proposed analysis of Rousseau’s thought suggests that the general intellectual tendencies that are attributedto both systems might originally have had a lot in common. Furthermore, they embody the two different republican ways of implementing the very ideas of popular sovereignty and the accountability of the public authorities to the citizens. The undertaken juxtaposition of the contents of the Social Contract and of the Considerations on the Government of Poland may even point to an evolution of Rousseau’s stance. It can be discerned especiallyin the approval in the second work, which pertained to one of the largest European states of that time, as it conveys the need to shift the responsibility for law-making to the assembly of deputies (the Sejm). The proposition of transferring this responsibility to a quasi-representative body corresponds perfectly with the warnings against the abuses of an unchecked executive, which are equally stringent in the Social Contract. This actuallydenoted that Rousseau was ready to accept some sort of gouvernement d’assemblée in large states. In the end however, it did not mark a departure from the ideals of the direct government, especially after taking into consideration Rousseau’s extraordinary appreciation of the institutions of deputy directives and – treated already as an emergency measure – confederation.

DER WEG DER ROTEN FAHNE. ART IN CORRELATION TO ARCHITECTURE, URBAN PLANNING AND POLICY

2013 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 292-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christiane Fülscher
Keyword(s):  
Urban Planning ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Public ◽  
International Style ◽  
Red Flag ◽  
Political Value ◽  
Art And Architecture ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Political Decisions

The presented research focuses on the relationship between art and architecture. On the example of the mural Der Weg der Roten Fahne (The Path of the Red Flag) installed at the western façade of the Kulturpalast Dresden(Palace of Culture in Dresden) the author analyses the necessity of the mural as an immanent element to communicate political decisions of the German Democratic Republic's government to the public by using architecture. Up until now the mural reinforces the political value of the International Style building in function and shape and links its volume to the urban layout.

Public awareness and the environment: “How do we encourage environmentally responsible behaviour?”

2003 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 247-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Harvie ◽  
P. Jaques
Keyword(s):  
Public Awareness ◽  
Political Influence ◽  
Willingness To Participate ◽  
Short Term ◽  
The Public ◽  
Awareness Campaigns ◽  
Environmentally Responsible ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
National Environmental ◽  
Responsible Manner

This paper examines:• the relationship between environmental action and knowledge of the environment;• political, social and economic factors influencing the ability of individuals and societies to act in an environmentally responsible manner;• the possible motivations and contexts for encouraging greater responsibility toward the environment in various communities. The annual National Environmental Education and Training Foundation (NEETF) Survey reveals that many US residents subscribe to environmental myths which may interfere with their efforts to act or agitate for environmental responsibility. Conventional wisdom might suggest that people in developing nations such as China would have a lower environmental awareness. In fact, when Shanghai residents were recently asked comparable questions to those in the NEETF Survey (part of an Asian Development Bank project), they often outperformed their American counterparts in their knowledge of environmental issues and in willingness to participate in activities such as recycling. - However in countries like China, changes are also required at an institutional level to make serious inroads into the problem of environmental degradation. In these circumstances, public awareness is a powerful tool only if the public has the power to drive institutional change. In many countries political influence constrains implementation of environmental projects with insufficient short-term political accolades. Similarly there are short-term economic and social goals that can dominate over the environment in the decision making process for both communities and individuals. This paper draws on USA, Australia and China survey data and the international experience of its authors in public awareness campaigns. The paper will discuss how environmental communicators can possibly change environmental attitudes and behaviour by understanding the contexts and the motivations for this change.

scholarly journals Direct democracy, coalition size and public spending

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Patrick Emmenegger ◽  
Lucas Leemann ◽  
André Walter
Keyword(s):  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Public Spending ◽  
Specific Aspect ◽  
Democratic Institutions ◽  
The Public ◽  
Long Period ◽  
Representative System ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Coalition Size

Abstract This article contributes to the literature on direct democracy and public spending in two ways. First, we explore how direct democratic institutions interact with a specific aspect of the representative system, the size of the governing coalition, to influence public spending. Second, based on newly collected data, we examine the relationship between three different direct democratic institutions, coalition size and public spending over the period from 1860 to 2015. Empirically, we find that initiatives increase the size of the public sector under single-party governments, but this positive relationship disappears as coalition size increases. In contrast, we find that financial referendums slow down the growth of public spending, while law referendums are not systematically associated with public spending. Finally, we find that the relationship between direct democratic institutions, coalition size and public spending does not change over time despite the long period under investigation.

Tilling and Caring for the Earth: Public Theology and Ecology

2007 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 230-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heinrich Bedford-Strohm
Keyword(s):  
Human Nature ◽  
Public Theology ◽  
Ethical Orientation ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Good Sense ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Political Decisions

AbstractThis article examines the task of public theology in contributing to the public debate by drawing from theological resources for ethical orientation and at the same time explaining why this orientation makes good sense for all people of good will. From a concrete example, the different factors involved in political decisions on ecologically relevant issues are revealed. Three fundamental types of defining the relationship between human beings and non-human nature can be identified: a utilitarian anthropocentrism that radically subordinates non-human nature to the interests of humanity; a nature-centred approach that sees humanity embedded in nature, equal with any other part of creation and, finally, an anthropocentrism of responsibility that affirms the dignity of nature while acknowledging a conflict between humanity and nonhuman nature. The article further develops the third approach as most appropriate for public theology and highlights the minimization of human violence as its consequence for political decisions.

scholarly journals A relação público/privado nas políticas de educação especial no período ditatorial no Brasil (1964-1985)

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 62
Author(s):  
José Geraldo Silveira Bueno ◽  
Márcia De Souza Lehmkhul ◽  
Ricardo Schers de Goes
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Public Funding ◽  
Political Influence ◽  
Document Analysis ◽  
The Political ◽  
Education Policies ◽  
Military Dictatorship ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Relationship

This article aims to analyze the relationship between the public and private instances in special education policies in Brazil during the period of the civil-military dictatorship (1964/1985). Despite the advances private-philanthropic institutions of special education had obtained in the previous period (1945 to 1963), it was during the dictatorship that institutions specializing in special education received incentives that allowed their dissemination throughout the Brazil. It was also during this period that they increased their influence over national policies for special education. Through document analysis, we were able to detail and analyze scarcely known processes of this relationship, involving public funding granted to these institutions and the political influence they exerted during that time. 

Kämpfe um Bergbau und die Möglichkeiten demokratischer Transformation

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (189) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina Dietz
Keyword(s):  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Social Power ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
The Political ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
Political Effects ◽  
Mining Project ◽  
National Governments ◽  
The Relationship

The article explores the political effects of popular consultations as a means of direct democracy in struggles over mining. Building on concepts from participatory and materialist democracy theory, it shows the transformative potentials of processes of direct democracy towards democratization and emancipation under, and beyond, capitalist and liberal democratic conditions. Empirically the analysis is based on a case study on the protests against the La Colosa gold mining project in Colombia. The analysis reveals that although processes of direct democracy in conflicts over mining cannot transform existing class inequalities and social power relations fundamentally, they can nevertheless alter elements thereof. These are for example the relationship between local and national governments, changes of the political agenda of mining and the opening of new spaces for political participation, where previously there were none. It is here where it’s emancipatory potential can be found.

Discursive construction of an anti-immigration Europe by a Sweden Democrat in the European Parliament

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 429-439
Author(s):  
Kamber Güler
Keyword(s):  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Social Power ◽  
European Parliament ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Discursive Construction ◽  
Cognitive Approach ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Group

Discourses are mostly used by the elites as a means of controlling public discourse and hence, the public mind. In this way, they try to legitimate their ideology, values and norms in the society, which may result in social power abuse, dominance or inequality. The role of a critical discourse analyst is to understand and expose such abuses and inequalities. To this end, this paper is aimed at understanding and exposing the discursive construction of an anti-immigration Europe by the elites in the European Parliament (EP), through the example of Kristina Winberg, a member of the Sweden Democrats political party in Sweden and the political group of Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy in the EP. In the theoretical and methodological framework, the premises and strategies of van Dijk’s socio-cognitive approach of critical discourse analysis make it possible to achieve the aim of the paper.

The Dynamics of Egypt’s “Semi-opposition,” 2004–11

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 83-103
Author(s):  
Mai Mogib Mosad
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Political System ◽  
Muslim Brotherhood ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Muslim Brotherhood ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
The Relationship

This paper maps the basic opposition groups that influenced the Egyptian political system in the last years of Hosni Mubarak’s rule. It approaches the nature of the relationship between the system and the opposition through use of the concept of “semi-opposition.” An examination and evaluation of the opposition groups shows the extent to which the regime—in order to appear that it was opening the public sphere to the opposition—had channels of communication with the Muslim Brotherhood. The paper also shows the system’s relations with other groups, such as “Kifaya” and “April 6”; it then explains the reasons behind the success of the Muslim Brotherhood at seizing power after the ousting of President Mubarak.

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