Mill on Deference and Democratic Character

2020 ◽  
pp. 106591292097027
Author(s):  
Alec Arellano
Keyword(s):  
Political Process ◽  
Popular Sovereignty ◽  
Democratic Politics ◽  
The Political ◽  
Liberal Democracies ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
Opportunities For Learning ◽  
Human Understanding ◽  
The Voice ◽  
Independent Thought

Citizens of liberal democracies today increasingly exhibit a distrust of perceived elites, especially experts and those of advanced educational attainment more generally. John Stuart Mill’s work offers potential responses to this phenomenon. Mill regards deference to superior wisdom as an essential part of a well-developed character while esteeming independent thought. Although his emphasis on the importance of character formation is well known, his concern for inculcating a salutary form of deference has been underexplored. I show how Mill’s approaches to this task include redesigning the political process to amplify the voice of the highly educated, promoting more widespread opportunities for learning, and consistently emphasizing the partiality of human understanding. I also compare Mill’s treatment of the place of deference in democratic politics with that of Alexis de Tocqueville’s, and consider how Tocqueville might critique Mill’s strategies for cultivating deference. In so doing, I demonstrate how these authors provide us with resources for navigating the tensions between popular sovereignty and expertise, and between independent thought and intellectual authority.

Rousseau and the Meaning of Popular Sovereignty

2019 ◽  
pp. 67-88
Author(s):  
Stuart White
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Popular Sovereignty ◽  
Democratic Politics ◽  
The Political ◽  
Normative Conception

Contemporary democratic politics in many nations is characterized by a double anxiety concerning elite and “populist” capture of the political process. While the elitism concern points to the need to reassert popular sovereignty, the “populism” concern might be thought to contradict this. Drawing critically on Rousseau’s political theory, Stuart White develops and defends a normative conception of popular sovereignty that emphasizes the properly active and deliberative character of the popular sovereign. He sketches how this kind of popular sovereignty might be instituitionalized under contemporary conditions, and indicates how this potentially can address both concerns over elitism and populism.

scholarly journals Democracy against Popular Sovereignty? (Faces of Power of the People: Theoretic Reconstruction)

2021 ◽  
Vol 101 (2) ◽  
pp. 6-29
Author(s):  
I.M. Lokshin
Keyword(s):  
Political Process ◽  
Popular Sovereignty ◽  
The Political ◽  
Modern Democracy ◽  
Public Power ◽  
Natural Right ◽  
The People ◽  
Political Agent ◽  
Legal Position ◽  
The Public Sphere

In the article, on the basis of the classical political philosophers, the author distinguishes between three ideal-typical modi of political superiority of the people: “democracy”, “popular sovereignty” and “the natural right of the people to vindicate the supreme power”. Differen ces between them are drawn according to the criteria of (a) the distance between the holder of the supreme power and the holder of power that allows the routine management of the state, and (b) the degree to which the former controls the latter. The theoretic reconstruction of the modi of the political superiority of the people is based on identifying three ways to assert political superiority, expressed in the concepts of κράτος, sovereignty and vindication. This approach makes it possible to trace the specifics of each of the identified modi: “democracy” in its original (ancient Greek) sense is the power of the people, based on the obvious superiority (over the nobility) in their strength, in their excess of power, thanks to which the people are able to effectively implement their will in the public sphere; “popular sovereignty” makes the people a key political agent not by referring to their excess of power, but by securing their legal position as a source of laws and any public power; finally, “the natural right of the people to vindicate the supreme power” asserts the moral and teleological primacy of the people’s good over that of the rulers. According to the author’s conclusion, the three modi of the political superiority of the people differ from each other primarily in the extent to which the people are involved in the political process. Under “democracy” this extent is maximal, in the case of the “natural right to vindication” it is minimal, while “popular sovereignty” finds itself in the middle between these two extremes: both threats of the decisive “alienation” of the people from power and its usurpation by the “trustees” and tyranny of the people are absent. The author thinks that this middle ground of the “popular sovereignty” represents one of the reasons why it is this modus that symbolizes the architectonics of the modern democracy.

The Tribal Impact on Political Stability in Sudan

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 167-188
Author(s):  
Abdu Mukhtar Musa
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Third World ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
The Political ◽  
Central Question ◽  
Conflict Escalation ◽  
Islamic Movement ◽  
Patterns Of Behavior ◽  
Cultural Structure

As in most Arab and Third World countries, the tribal structure is an anthropological reality and a sociological particularity in Sudan. Despite development and modernity aspects in many major cities and urban areas in Sudan, the tribe and the tribal structure still maintain their status as a psychological and cultural structure that frames patterns of behavior, including the political behavior, and influence the political process. This situation has largely increased in the last three decades under the rule of the Islamic Movement in Sudan, because of the tribe politicization and the ethnicization of politics, as this research reveals. This research is based on an essential hypothesis that the politicization of tribalism is one of the main reasons for the tribal conflict escalation in Sudan. It discusses a central question: Who is responsible for the tribal conflicts in Sudan?

Challenges of the parliamentary system in Iraq after 2003

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (10) ◽  
pp. 101
Author(s):  
Emad Wakaa Ajil
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Separation Of Powers ◽  
Political Process ◽  
The United States ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
The Political ◽  
Parliamentary System ◽  
Political Transformations ◽  
The Us ◽  
Long Time

Iraq is one of the most Arab countries where the system of government has undergone major political transformations and violent events since the emergence of the modern Iraqi state in 1921 and up to the present. It began with the monarchy and the transformation of the regime into the republican system in 1958. In the republican system, Continued until 2003, and after the US occupation of Iraq in 2003, the regime changed from presidential to parliamentary system, and the parliamentary experience is a modern experience for Iraq, as he lived for a long time without parliamentary experience, what existed before 2003, can not be a parliamentary experience , The experience righteousness The study of the parliamentary system in particular and the political process in general has not been easy, because it is a complex and complex process that concerns the political system and its internal and external environment, both of which are influential in the political system and thus on the political process as a whole, After the US occupation of Iraq, the United States intervened to establish a permanent constitution for the country. Despite all the circumstances accompanying the drafting of the constitution, it is the first constitution to be drafted by an elected Constituent Assembly. The Iraqi Constitution adopted the parliamentary system of government and approved the principle of flexible separation of powers in order to achieve cooperation and balance between the authorities.

Elites and Color Revolutions: The Logic of Russia’s Response

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 426-453
Author(s):  
Kirill Petrov
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Good Reason ◽  
Political Process ◽  
The Political ◽  
Democratic Regime ◽  
Major Threat ◽  
External Threats ◽  
Color Revolutions ◽  
Political Warfare ◽  
Russian Politics

Abstract The phenomenon of color revolutions has occupied a prominent place in Russian politics for a good reason. The major threat of color revolutions as modern political warfare designed by Western countries deeply affected the political process in Russia since 2005. It may have appeared that the imperative of resisting them was the result of a non-democratic regime reacting to neighboring countries’ uprisings. Some portrayed it as authoritarian learning. This paper suggests that the counteractions stemmed from the interests of disunited Russian elite groups who were seeking opportunities to reinforce their dominance and capitalize on the idea of significant external threats. The phenomenon reshaped the balance within elite groups and led to the consolidation of law enforcement networks on the eve of Putin’s third term. Further, the prevailing perception of color revolutions discouraged any elite splits that could lead to proto-democratic rules.

Voice of Protest in Nepali Poetry by Women

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 51-62
Author(s):  
Indira Acharya Mishra
Keyword(s):  
Gender Roles ◽  
The Political ◽  
Feminine Gender ◽  
Theoretical Support ◽  
Norms And Values ◽  
Female Foetus ◽  
Nepali Women ◽  
Female Poets ◽  
The Voice ◽  
Feminine Gender Roles

This article explores feminist voice in selected poems of four Nepali female poets. They are: "Ma Eutā Chyātieko Poshtar" ["I, a Frayed Poster"] by Banira Giri, "Pothī Bāsnu Hudaina" ["A Hen Must not Crow"] by Kunta Sharma,"Ma Strī Arthāt Āimai"["I am a Female or a Woman"] by Seema Aavas and "Tuhāu Tyo Garvalai" ["Abort the Female Foetus"] by Pranika Koyu. In the selected poems they protest patriarchy and subvert patriarchal norms and values that trivialize women. The tone of their poems is sarcastic towards male chauvinism that treats women as a second-class citizen. The poets question and ridicule the restrictive feminine gender roles that limit women's opportunity. To examine the voice of protest against patriarchy in the selected poems, the article takes theoretical support from French feminism, though not limited to it. The finding of the article suggests that Nepali women have used the genre to the political end, as a medium to advocate women's rights.

ОЦЕНКА ПЕРСПЕКТИВ ПОЛИТИЧЕСКОГО БУДУЩЕГО РОССИЙСКОЙ МОЛОДЕЖЬЮ

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 28
Author(s):  
O. V. Lagutin ◽  
E. O. Negrov
Keyword(s):  
Russian Federation ◽  
Political Process ◽  
The Political ◽  
Youth Organizations ◽  
Significant Group ◽  
North West ◽  
Youth Leaders ◽  
The North ◽  
Rfbr Grant ◽  
The Russian Federation

The article deals with the assessment of the prospects of the political future by representatives of Russian youth. The text of the article has been prepared within the framework of the project “Potential of Youth Political Leadership in The Course of Political Socialization and Circulation of Elites in the Russia Regions in the 2010s (using the example of South-Western Siberia and the North-West of the Russian Federation), RFBR grant No. 18-011-01184. The relevance of the research is in combining a fundamental review of the main directions of research of the role of youth participation in the social and political process and the involvement of a specific empirical study conducted in the spring of 2019, which allows highlighting various aspects of the situation. The empirical part of the study is based on the study “Ideas of Youth about Possibilities of Youth Leaders and Youth Organizations in Russia”, which was conducted in spring 2019 in four constituent entities of the Russian Federation — Altai Territory, Leningrad and Novosibirsk Regions and St. Petersburg. The method of research was a personal standardized interview, the sample size was 1000 respondents (250 in each of the regions), representatives of young people aged 14 to 30 permanently reside in the territory of the studied subjects of the federation. Based on factor and cluster analyzes, the main models of expectations of the political future are presented. The article should be of interest to researchers, both professionally involved, and simply interested in the topic of the influence of the real political process on such a significant group of the population as youth.

POWER TECHNOLOGIES OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL MODEL OF FRENCH REGIONAL POLICY

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.L. LEBEDEVA
Keyword(s):  
Political Institutions ◽  
Regional Policy ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Research Topic ◽  
The Political ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
Policy Model ◽  
Stage Of Development ◽  
Political Relations ◽  
Comprehensive Study

The purpose of writing this article is to highlight the features of organization of the regional policy in France on the basis of the theoretical understanding of the concepts of regional policy, model of regional policy and policy analogy. The research topic is the content of the French policy of organizing a regional political space. The object of the research is the power technologies of regional policy. The systemstructural method, which considers political relations as an integral system of interconnections of phenomena and events of the political process, makes it possible to determine the main essential content of this research topic. Institutional approach involves the study of political institutions and their content. An analysis of Russian and foreign sources suggests that the main issue posed in the article is relevant at the present stage of development. The study is made possible on the basis of existing research. A comprehensive study of the conceptual theoretical characteristics of the regional policy as such allowed the author to identify the model and features of the political toolkit for the organization of thecenterregions relations in modern French Republic.

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