scholarly journals DECELERATING FACTORS OF THE LIBERAL-DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATIONS IN LATVIA

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-86
Author(s):  
Nataliya M. Khoma
Keyword(s):  
Political Culture ◽  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
The Political ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
Eu Membership ◽  
The Stability

The problem of the quality of Latvia’s democracy during the period of EU membership (2004-2020) is studied. Latvia’s progress / regression in strengthening the stability of the principles and values of liberal democracy is assessed. The author’s estimation of the reasons of growth of defects of democracy in Latvia is offered. Attention is drawn to the extent to which the political culture of Latvians corresponds to the values of liberal democracy.

Limited Liberalism

2018 ◽  
pp. 179-198
Author(s):  
Roman David ◽  
Ian Holliday
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Study ◽  
Political Culture ◽  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Analytical Tool ◽  
Comparative Perspective ◽  
The Political ◽  
Hybrid Regimes

This chapter focuses on puzzling issues arising from the explorations undertaken in preceding chapters, and captures them in the notion of limited liberalism. It presents this concept as a critical analytical tool for understanding the nature of Myanmar’s transition. It opens by describing some contradictions that emerged from our exploration of Myanmar in reform, sets them in comparative perspective, and probes their limits or boundaries. It then devises the concept of limited liberalism, exposes its assumptions, and examines it as a property of the political culture of hybrid regimes. Finally, it returns to empirical study to investigate liberalism, illiberalism, and limited liberalism in our case. It concludes by using limited liberalism to chart the prospects for liberal democracy in Myanmar.

scholarly journals Populism as a Factor of Destabilisation in Consolidated Democracies

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-108
Author(s):  
Artur Roland Kozłowski
Keyword(s):  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Political ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Democratic System ◽  
Right Wing Populism ◽  
Consolidated Democracy ◽  
Law And Justice ◽  
The Stability

AbstractThis study offers a discussion of the dangers to the stability of political systems in consolidated democracies posed by contemporary populism, with a particular focus on the dynamic development of extreme right-wing populism. The author considers the consequences of efficient populist campaigns, such as Brexit in Great Britain, lowered trust towards the United States under Trump’s administration and practices followed by the Law and Justice party (PiS) under the leadership of Jarosław Kaczyński in Poland, which seem especially destructive for liberal democracy. Further examples are those of Hungary and Turkey, where the political systems have eroded into semi-consolidated democracy in the case of the former and an authoritarian system in the latter case. A comparative analysis of freedom indices indicates some dangers related to de-consolidation of the democratic system in Poland. Furthermore, the study points out dangers arising from the transformation of soft populism, understood as communication rhetoric oriented towards the concentration of power in the hands of populist leaders, which clearly paves the way for the dismantling of consolidated democracy in favour of an authoritarian system. The conclusions of the study outlines a variety of actions which can be undertaken to protect the achievements of liberal democracy.

scholarly journals Liberal democracy and globalized capitalism in Africa: Perspective from Heidegger

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 36-47
Author(s):  
Joseph Nnnemeka Agbo ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
The Political ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
Actual Experience ◽  
Self Interest ◽  
Ontological Analysis ◽  
Political Ground ◽  
And Control ◽  
Critical Methods

This paper sets out to defend a set of mutually inclusive theses. First, it argues that liberal democracy’s sojourn in Africa is not political but economic. Secondly, that there is nothing natural about capitalism, rather capitalism was forcefully globalized in order to create the false impression that man is by nature motivated by self-interest or profit. But this paper demonstrates the historicity of capitalism. Finally, the paper employs Martin Heidegger’s ontological analysis to show that liberal democracy is just the political manifestation of what he calls “the nihilism of Western metaphysical thinking”, a thinking that is expansionist, dominating and ultimately “enframing”; (controlling). Using the expository, historical, analytic and critical methods, the essay demonstrates that the liberal democratic march in Africa is to provide the enabling conditions for capitalist exploitation. Thus, it argues that without the political ground- clearing capacity of liberal democracy, the economic domination and control by capitalism in Africa would be very difficult. In conclusion, the paper draws from the actual experience of liberal democracy and the thrust of capitalism in Africa to demonstrate their ontological ambivalence.

Rawls's Practical Conception of Justice: Opinion, Tradition and Objectivity in Political Liberalism

2006 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-43
Author(s):  
Alexander Kaufman
Keyword(s):  
Political Culture ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Political Liberalism ◽  
Reflective Equilibrium ◽  
The Political ◽  
Justice As Fairness ◽  
Liberal Conception ◽  
The Stability

AbstractIn Political Liberalism, Rawls emphasizes the practical character and aims of his conception of justice. Justice as fairness is to provide the basis of a reasoned, informed and willing political agreement by locating grounds for consensus in the fundamental ideas and values of the political culture. Critics urge, however, that such a politically liberal conception of justice will be designed merely to ensure the stability of political institutions by appealing to the currently-held opinions of actual citizens. In order to evaluate this concern, I suggest, it is necessary to focus on the normative character of Rawls's analysis. Rawls argues that justice as fairness is the conception of justice that citizens of modern democratic cultures should choose in reflective equilibrium, after reflecting fully upon their considered judgments regarding justice. Since judgments in reflective equilibrium are grounded in considered judgment, rather than situated opinions, I argue that the criticism fails.

THE INFLUENCE OF POPULISM ON DEMOCRACY IN THE CONTEXT OF CONTEMPORARY POLITICAL THEORY

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 46-52
Author(s):  
Mirilias Azad ogly Agaev ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Representative Democracy ◽  
The Political ◽  
Democratic Institutions ◽  
Silent Majority ◽  
Political Sphere ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
The Impact

The article is devoted to the impact of populism on democracy. To investigate the impact of populism on democracy, the author explores key approaches to the populism notion: political, socio-cultural and ideological. The article notes that populism studies lack a single definition and emphasizes there are negative, positive and neutral evaluations of the nature of this phenomenon. These conclusions are used for further assumptions about the impact on liberal democratic institutions. After analyzing the works on the populism of such scholars as B. Arditi, H.-G. Betz, M. Canovan, E. Laclau, K. Mudde, S. Mouffe, K. Rovira Kaltwasser, N. Urbinati, and others, the article draws conclusions about the multidimensionality of influence on liberal democracy and, in particular, about the fallacy of solely negative assessments of this impact. The author underlines the presence of both positive aspects (providing the interests of the “silent majority”, mobilizing excluded groups and integrating them into the political sphere), and negative aspects (rejection of representative democracy and parliamentarism) of populism.

Political Culture

2019 ◽  
pp. 591-596
Author(s):  
Detlef Pollack
Keyword(s):  
Political Culture ◽  
Economic Transformation ◽  
Value Orientations ◽  
Political Order ◽  
The Political ◽  
Culture Studies ◽  
East Central ◽  
East Europe ◽  
Diffuse Support ◽  
The Stability

Political culture studies presuppose that the stability of political order considerably depends upon cultural support of the population. In the event of political and economic transformation political culture studies raise the question whether internalized value orientations can change as quickly as political and economic structures to be conducive for the stabilization of the new political order. In order to answer the question of how far political orders in the countries of East Central and Eastern Europe are culturally legitimized, this chapter draws a distinction between the evaluation of the performance of the political system (specific support) and the evaluation of democracy as an idea and value (diffuse support). As far as the idea of democracy is concerned, the majority of the populations in the countries in East and Central East Europe appreciate democracy; as far as its current performance is concerned, they are, however, dissatisfied with democracy.

scholarly journals The limits of conjecture: Political liberalism, counter-radicalisation and unreasonable religious views

Ethnicities ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 293-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriele Badano ◽  
Alasia Nuti
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
John Rawls ◽  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Political Liberalism ◽  
Comprehensive Doctrine ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
Theory Reasoning ◽  
The Stability

Originally proposed by John Rawls, the idea of reasoning from conjecture is popular among the proponents of political liberalism in normative political theory. Reasoning from conjecture consists in discussing with fellow citizens who are attracted to illiberal and antidemocratic ideas by focusing on their religious or otherwise comprehensive doctrines, attempting to convince them that such doctrines actually call for loyalty to liberal democracy. Our goal is to criticise reasoning from conjecture as a tool aimed at persuasion and, in turn, at improving the stability of liberal democratic institutions. To pursue this goal, we use as case study real-world efforts to counter-radicalise at-risk Muslim citizens, which, at first glance, reasoning from conjecture seems well-placed to contribute to. This case study helps us to argue that the supporters of reasoning from conjecture over-intellectualise opposition to liberal democracy and what societies can do to counter it. Specifically, they (i) underestimate how few members of society can effectively perform reasoning from conjecture; (ii) overlook that the burdens of judgement, a key notion for political liberals, highlight how dim the prospects of reasoning from conjecture are and (iii) do not pay attention to the causes of religious persons’ opposition to liberal democracy. However, not everything is lost for political liberals, provided that they redirect attention to different and under-researched resources contained in Rawls’s theory. In closing, we briefly explain how such resources are much better placed than reasoning from conjecture to provide guidance relative to counter-radicalisation in societies (i) populated by persons who do not generally hold anything close to a fully worked out and internally consistent comprehensive doctrine and (ii) where political institutions should take responsibility for at least part of the existing alienation from liberal democratic values.

Beyond Tocqueville, Myrdal, and Hartz: The Multiple Traditions in America

1993 ◽  
Vol 87 (3) ◽  
pp. 549-566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rogers M. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Political Culture ◽  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
The Political ◽  
Racial And Ethnic Minorities ◽  
American Political Culture ◽  
Political Status ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
The Enlightenment ◽  
Political Traditions ◽  
Liberal Democratic Society

Analysts of American politics since Tocqueville have seen the nation as a paradigmatic “liberal democratic” society, shaped most by the comparatively free and equal conditions and the Enlightenment ideals said to have prevailed at its founding. These accounts must be severely revised to recognize the inegalitarian ideologies and institutions of ascriptive hierarchy that defined the political status of racial and ethnic minorities and women through most of U.S. history. A study of the period 1870–1920 illustrates that American political culture is better understood as the often conflictual and contradictory product of multiple political traditions, than as the expression of hegemonic liberal or democratic political traditions.

scholarly journals Transformation of the political culture of Russian monarchism in panegyrics at the turn of XVIII—XIX centuries

2021 ◽  
pp. 81-99
Author(s):  
K. D. Bugrov ◽  
◽  
V. S. Ivshin ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Political Culture ◽  
French Revolution ◽  
Political Theology ◽  
The Political ◽  
Historical Analogy ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Xix Century ◽  
The Military ◽  
The French Revolution

The article analyzes the transformation of the “Peter-Catherine imagery” in the panegyric literature of the late XVIII — first quarter of the XIX century. The paper demonstrates the evolution of this imagery against the background of the French Revolution of 1789, the formation of an adamant cult of Catherine at the end of the empress’s reign, the stability of this cult in the panegyric tradition during the reign of Paul I and the first years of Alexander’s reign. The use of the “Catherine imagery” in secular panegyrics dedicated to the accession of Alexander I was unique: it aimed at presenting the new monarch not only as the new Peter, but also as the new Catherine, while criticizing Paul’s “tyranny”. At the same time, the political theology of the “beautiful days of Alexander’s reign” lacked the historical analogy with the “Catherine imagery”, which allowed the authors to conclude that the cult of Catherine II began to gradually “die away” during the reign of Alexander I and the figure of the tsar himself as the savior of Russia and Europe against the background of the military fortune of 1812 was subsequently redefined.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document