scholarly journals Freedom vs. Security: Analyzing the Connection between States' Prioritization of Security over Civil Liberties and Citizen Support for Democratic Norms

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Carlyn Madden
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Arceneaux ◽  
Bert N. Bakker ◽  
Sara Hobolt ◽  
Catherine Eunice De Vries

A defining feature of liberal democracy is the respect for and protection of core civil liberties. Yet, major crises, such as wars, natural disasters and pandemics, can provide a pretext to undermine liberal democratic norms. This raises questions of whether citizens are willing to support policies that violate their civil liberties in a crisis and whether some individuals are more likely to a support such encroachments. We conducted a series well-powered preregistered conjoint and vignette experiments in the US and UK during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. We find that people’s attitudes are relatively malleable and that endorsements by an in-group party and trusted experts can shift support for measures that erode civil liberties. However, the evidence also reveals resistance to certain illiberal policy measures, including banning protests and indefinitely postponing elections. This indicates the presence of liberal democratic norms, even when partisan elites promote illiberal policies.


Significance Although some countries have seen peaceful transfers of power to opposition parties -- such as in Cape Verde last month and Nigeria in March 2015 -- the trend is towards rising authoritarianism, declining respect for civil liberties, and opposition disillusionment with formal electoral politics. Impacts In Niger, opposition parliamentarians' refusal to take up their seats will exacerbate disillusionment with formal politics. In Ivory Coast, the decision of pro-Gbagbo hardliners to boycott the 2015 poll will hasten opposition clefts, strengthening the president. The new Beninois president's plan to limit future presidents to one five-year term will likely face resistance from parliamentarians.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 53-72
Author(s):  
Dilli Raj Gautam

While comparing the Constitution of Nepal 2015 and the Constitution of India 1950 the paper comparatively analyses the major issues such as citizenship, inclusiveness, fundamental rights and independence of judiciary. Both constitutions are committed to socialism based on democratic norms and values, including people’s competitive multiparty democratic system of governance, civil liberties, fundamental rights, federal republic, secularism, adult franchise, periodic elections, full freedom of the press, and independent, impartial, competent and free judiciary and concept of the rule of law. This qualitative research article observes the salient features of the constitution of Nepal and India in descriptive and analytical order with comparative methodology.


2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (02) ◽  
pp. 223-239
Author(s):  
Wajid Ali ◽  
Adil khan ◽  
Manzoor Hussain Shah

This study argues that hybrid regime in Pakistan (2008-2015) with changing exercise has decreased norms of democratic consolidation. Some extensive gains are made in Pakistan during this era 2008-2015 in terms of democratic norms like constitutional amendments and provincial autonomy. Important unique gain is completion of one term as civilian government of Pakistan People’s Party 2008-2013 and the second civilian government of Pakistan Muslim League (N) 2013-2018. Both the civilian regimes have worked as democratic government, but somehow autocratic trend in decision making approach was observed. Political exercise of this hybrid regime in Pakistan created weak condition of the democratic norms which made way for authoritarianism. This regime was tended to be unbalanced, changeable, or both due to weak civil liberties. The civilian control in this political regime was not stable and transparent in decision making. Further, civilian control over five-areas including public policy, elite recruitment, external defense, internal security, and military organization and was not effective. This paper help us to understand why hybrid regime arose which disturbed democratic consolidation process in Pakistan.


Journalism ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 146488492098406
Author(s):  
Ric Neo

Fake news has been recognised as a pressing issue by scholars, who have highlighted the destabilising impact it portends in societies. Beyond an understanding of the empirical effects of fake news on democratic institutions that recent scholarship has shed light on, emergent research also points to the potential of fake news being weaponised as a discursive tool to achieve political ends. In that light, this study sets out to analyse the discourses of fake news as advanced by states. Results from a critical discourse analysis of articles relating to fake news ( n = 450) from four countries – Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam – reveal four key findings: first, fake news is being framed as an existential security issue that directly threatens foundational societal values. Second, fake news as an issue is constructed as a new and unprecedented contemporary problem, and compared on equal terms to other security threats such as terrorism, chemical attacks and cyberwarfare. Third, the threat of fake news is used to justify the passing of broad-reaching legislation and curbs on free speech that are construed as aligned with global democratic norms. Lastly, the term is used to facilitate unsubstantiated ‘lying press’ accusations against media outlets. Overall, this study suggests that fake news can be damaging to the quality of democracies not only as a result of its dissemination, but also through the discursive instrumentalisation of the term to curb civil liberties and justify crackdowns.


Author(s):  
Joseph Chan

Since the very beginning, Confucianism has been troubled by a serious gap between its political ideals and the reality of societal circumstances. Contemporary Confucians must develop a viable method of governance that can retain the spirit of the Confucian ideal while tackling problems arising from nonideal modern situations. The best way to meet this challenge, this book argues, is to adopt liberal democratic institutions that are shaped by the Confucian conception of the good rather than the liberal conception of the right. The book examines and reconstructs both Confucian political thought and liberal democratic institutions, blending them to form a new Confucian political philosophy. The book decouples liberal democratic institutions from their popular liberal philosophical foundations in fundamental moral rights, such as popular sovereignty, political equality, and individual sovereignty. Instead, it grounds them on Confucian principles and redefines their roles and functions, thus mixing Confucianism with liberal democratic institutions in a way that strengthens both. The book then explores the implications of this new yet traditional political philosophy for fundamental issues in modern politics, including authority, democracy, human rights, civil liberties, and social justice. The book critically reconfigures the Confucian political philosophy of the classical period for the contemporary era.


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