scholarly journals The Dialectic of Nationalism and Democratic Governance in Taiwan

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-176
Author(s):  
Christian Schafferer
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Democratic Governance ◽  
Regional Security ◽  
Democratic Development ◽  
Taiwanese Nationalism ◽  
Over Time

Taiwan’s postwar political system has undergone manifold changes leading to distinct modalities of democratic governance. This paper argues that the key to understanding and conceptualizing the dynamics behind the evolution of the island republic’s different modi operandi of democratic governance lies in the dialectic of Taiwanese nationalism that emerged over several decades in response to historical and political circumstances. Specifically, this paper investigates how this dialectic shaped two distinct patterns of democratic governance (statecentric vs. human-centric) over time and how this process was influenced by public discourses as well as historical contingencies. Furthermore, the paper elaborates on why humancentrism is more likely to safeguard democratic development and regional security than China-centrism.

The Leadership Capital of Italian Presidents

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Selena Grimaldi
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Italian Context ◽  
Over Time

Recently, Italian presidents have become pivotal figures, deeply affecting the direction of the Italian political system, exercising influence far beyond their previous role as constitutional guardians. The aim of this chapter is to understand how Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, and Giorgio Napolitano have gained and spent ever greater amounts of power. The analysis is based on the LCI approach; however, the indicators used by Bennister et al. (2015) have been adapted both to the Italian context and to ‘institutionally’ constrained leaders. The LCI allows the traceability of power over time, revealing how each president has built on others’ strengths but all have encountered similar limits: while Italian presidents can spend their capital in focused areas, too overt attempts to act politically can erode their capital by damaging their perceived neutrality and moral probity.

scholarly journals O Projeto de Agendas Políticas da Colômbia: análise da atenção presidencial durante as administrações de Uribe e Santos (2002-2018)

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (6) ◽  
pp. 1565-1587
Author(s):  
Juan Guillermo Vieira Silva ◽  
Jeraldine Alicia del Cid Castro
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Political System ◽  
Opportunity Structure ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Over Time

Abstract This article has two interrelated objectives: to introduce the Colombian Political Agendas Project (COL-PAP) and offer an exploratory example of the applications of its databases. As a prelude, we describe some characteristics of the Colombian political system and the presidents analyzed. The study presents the objectives of COL-PAP, the creation of the codebook and the databases built so far, with special attention to the databases gathering bills and CONPES documents. The example discussed explores the dynamics of presidential attention in the period 2002-2018, especially the attention distributed among public policy issues over time, and its allocation among instruments. The study shows that attention varies among issues, but also that it is assigned differently between instruments, according to the opportunity structure they offer. Inspired in the discussion and findings related to the databases built so far for COL-PAP, the study suggests future lines of research for Colombia, Latin America, and the CAP in general.

Representation in the One-Party South

2018 ◽  
pp. 142-171
Author(s):  
Devin Caughey
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Political System ◽  
Median Voter ◽  
Conventional Wisdom ◽  
Marked Contrast ◽  
Ideological Bias ◽  
Congressional Representation ◽  
Southern Conservatism ◽  
The One ◽  
Over Time

This chapter conducts a systematic statistical analysis of congressional representation in the one-party South. Overall, the evidence presented in the previous chapters suggests a political system that was responsive not to a narrow elite only, but to a broad swath of the white public. As such, this chapter examines the responsiveness of Southern members of Congress (MCs) to their white constituents, both cross-sectionally and over time, and compares them to non-Southern MCs. It also shows that Southern MCs responded to the income of the median voter, and examines their ideological bias relative to non-Southern MCs. The chapter then highlights the ways that congressional representation did differ across regions, and discusses how these findings help resolve the “puzzle” of Southern conservatism. In marked contrast to the conventional wisdom, this chapter not only shows that Southern MCs were responsive to their white constituents, but also finds little indication that congressional responsiveness was weaker in the one-party South than in the two-party North, though the mechanisms and character of responsiveness did differ between regions.

What Is an Ombudsperson? Global Diffusion, International Standardization, and Institutional Diversification

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 370-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norman J Dolan ◽  
Colin J Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Public Perceptions ◽  
Public Agency ◽  
Democratic Development ◽  
International Standardization ◽  
Global Diffusion ◽  
Administrative Systems ◽  
Perceptions And Expectations ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Over Time

The global diffusion of administrative institutions such as the Ombudsperson office provides clues into wider questions of democratic development. Explanations of institutional diffusion tend to assume, however, that the essential character of the institution remains relatively stable. While the office of the Ombudsperson has become a potent symbol of administrative fairness and independence in defense of the individual against the powerful public agency or corporation, we show that the essential identity of this office has changed over time. As the number of agencies calling themselves ombudsmen has proliferated, the number of functions performed have diversified, shaping public perceptions and expectations. The article describes this pattern of institutional diversification into a widespread network of classical, executive, organizational, and advocacy ombudspersons. The institutional proliferation has led to processes of institutional standardization, and an increasing motivation to defend the ombudsman “brand” to justify its status and distinguish its place within different political and administrative systems.

Leadership, Equality & Democracy

Daedalus ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 145 (3) ◽  
pp. 8-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nannerl O. Keohane
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political System ◽  
Political Leadership ◽  
The United States ◽  
Democratic Governance ◽  
Institutional Constraints ◽  
The Political ◽  
Abuse Of Power ◽  
Key Terms ◽  
The Relationship

The goal of this essay is to clarify the relationship between leadership and equality as two essential constitutive factors of a democratic political system. The essay is motivated by concern about increasing inequalities in the political system of the United States and other countries that describe themselves as democracies. The first section notes the logical tension between leadership and equality, and spells out my understanding of the key terms I use in this essay. I show how the tension between leadership and equality poses a conundrum for democratic governance. Yet the crux of my argument is that profound socioeconomic inequalities pose the more basic threat. I identify disparities in power, as distinct from leadership, as the root of the problem here. Leadership and power are often conflated. Eliding the differences between the two impedes our understanding of the dilemmas we face. The classical answer to concerns about the abuse of power is to establish institutional constraints on political leadership. Yet good leadership is essential in solving the problems we confront. Because leaders can take significant steps to reduce inequality, leadership and equality are not always in tension. If we are to emerge from our current malaise, we must recognize and draw upon the positive contributions of leadership to efficacious democratic governance.

scholarly journals Jacques Maritain and the Political Theology of Contemporary Democracy

2020 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-72
Author(s):  
Jerónimo Molina-Cano
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Political System ◽  
Political Theology ◽  
Social Democracy ◽  
Democratic Governance ◽  
The Political ◽  
Spiritual Power ◽  
Jacques Maritain ◽  
Political Religion ◽  
Political Work

This article analyzes the democratic thought of the philosopher Jacques Maritain. A methodical reading of the integrity of his political work published since the 20s demonstrates a great continuity in the defense of a univocal concept of democratic governance, called social democracy, new Christianity, integral democracy or organic democracy in order to accommodate his thought to the political circumstances. Starting from the principle of superiority of spiritual power, Maritain has redefined the notion of democracy in an anti-rousseaunian sense. Maritain postulates a community and pluralist regime under a presidential government and non partitocratic political system. Maritainian democracy and the secular faith that must animate it, based on human rights, is conceived as an antidote against liberal neutralism and against the totalitarian temptation of a democracy understood as a political religion.

scholarly journals DELEGATIVE DEMOCRACY: CONCEPTS AND UKRAINIAN REALITIES

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
State Power ◽  
Democratic Governance ◽  
Political Regime ◽  
The Political ◽  
Development Trends ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
Democratic Development ◽  
Current Regime ◽  
Foreign Policies

This paper is devoted to clarifying the essence of the political regime that emerged in Ukraine as a result of the 2019 presidential and parliamentary elections. The author concludes that the current political regime in Ukraine is a classic example of delegative democracy, as it emerged as a result free, competitive and transparent elections, but after the election all state power was concentrated in the hands of the president, with significant violations of generally accepted standards of democratic of governance and norms and procedures of Ukrainian legislation. He emphasizes that the value of the concept of delegative democracy lies in the fact that it illustrates one of the contradictions in the democratic development of many countries that lack democratic traditions – the contradiction between the electoral legitimacy of government and generally accepted standards of democratic governance. Delegative democracies are by its nature the populist regimes, the emergence of which is caused by the belief of citizens in improving their lives under the leadership of a charismatic person. It is noted that delegative regime as a result of growing public dissatisfaction with both its domestic and foreign policies are democracy has three development trends: 1) comparable endurance; 2) the transformation to autocracy; 3) the removal of the president from power as a result of subsequent elections or mass protests. The author believes that all these alternatives can theoretically be inherent in the current regime of delegative democracy in Ukraine, but the endurance is the least likely of them. The transformation of delegative democracy into autocracy or the elimination of the Zelensky regime as a result of growing public dissatisfaction with both its domestic and foreign policies are more likely.

scholarly journals Geografická reprezentativa poslanců zvolených do Poslanecké sněmovny českého parlamentu za první republiky (1918-1938) a po roce 1989

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 354-380
Author(s):  
Renáta Mikešová ◽  
Tomáš Kostelecký
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Political System ◽  
Political Power ◽  
The Political ◽  
Economic Management ◽  
Members Of Parliament ◽  
Changes Over Time ◽  
Election Laws ◽  
Over Time

Election laws regulate the number of deputies who are elected in individual electoral districts, and set them in relation to the population, respectively to the number of voters participating in elections in individual regions. Elected deputies could thus be regarded as political representatives of citizens living in electoral districts. However, under systems of proportional representation, current deputies represent the ideology of the party to which they belong rather than the region. Nevertheless, it makes sense to study the spatial distribution of the places of origin and residence of members of parliament and their changes over time, because it suggests much about the political system and the system of representative democracy in the country. The spatial distribution of places of residence of candidates and elected members indicates not only the territorial proportionality and geographic representativeness, but also the shifting centers of political power. The analysis clearly confirms the gradual decentralization and regionalization of political power in the country, which stands in contrast to the centralization of power in the economy, this latter trend apparent from the concentration of economic management and decision-making in the largest cities, especially in Prague.

Coordination for the European Union

2020 ◽  
pp. 192-209
Author(s):  
Mads Dagnis Jensen ◽  
Peter Nedergaard
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Eu Legislation ◽  
Coordination System ◽  
Set Up ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Over Time ◽  
The Eu

The Danish EU coordination system is set up to secure a consensus-oriented and consistent positioning of Denmark in the EU decision-making process. It was established in connection with Danish membership in 1973, but it has roots that go further back. Over time, the Danish coordination system has undergone changes with increased decentralization to the sectoral ministries, through parliamentarization, and via increased transnationalization with linkages to the administrations in the EU and other EU member states. The system secures that the negotiators have a high degree of credibility in the eyes of other delegations, and it ensures a high score when it comes to implementation of EU legislation in Denmark. However, it also has some disadvantages. The key coordination lens in the form of the European Affairs Committee of the Danish Parliament is overloaded, and it is often involved too late in the Brussels negotiations. All in all, the Danish EU coordination system corresponds to the way the Danish political system works in other venues.

LEARNING DEMOCRACY IN THE NEW GILDED AGE

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 385-387
Author(s):  
Cristina V. Groeger
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Gilded Age ◽  
Democratic Governance ◽  
Habits Of Mind ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Human Organization ◽  
Opportune Time ◽  
The Right ◽  
Different Cultures

Can democracy be learned? The election of Donald Trump has reinvigorated debates about the practice and process of democratic governance. It has highlighted the ways in which political behavior and ideologies are rooted in different cultures and geographies, and, in our new Gilded Age, the effects of the increasing polarization of the wealthy few and the 99 percent. These conditions make it an opportune time to reexamine earlier social critics who pointed to an array of institutions to combat political and economic inequality. Pragmatist thinkers, John Dewey foremost among them, considered the electoral process only one facet of a democratic ideal that citizens would need to strive to realize in the economic, social, and cultural realms. “Democracy” described not only a political system, but also an egalitarian “mode of associated living.” Such a way of life did not take place exclusively in the realm of formal politics, but in any instance of communal activity. Most importantly, democracy was a learned disposition: a form of egalitarian human organization that could only emerge if individuals developed the right habits of mind and used their shared intelligence to build inclusive communities of mutual flourishing.

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