scholarly journals Democratic Backsliding in Poland on Example Drafts Amendments in Electoral Code During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Maciej Skrzypek ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Institutions ◽  
Ruling Elite ◽  
Quality Of Democracy ◽  
Military Threat ◽  
The Face ◽  
Research Goal ◽  
Constitutional Tribunal ◽  
Democratic System ◽  
Theoretical Category

The COVID-19 pandemic occurred in Poland during the campaign before the presidential election scheduled for May 10. This non-military threat changed the election campaign’s dynamics, leading to an unprecedented failure to hold elections and postponing them. Around the changes in the election procedure, many constitutionalists and political scientists voiced their inconsistency with the law and the provisions of the Constitutional Tribunal. Both the proposed provisions and the manner of their organization raised objections. The article classifies these changes as manifestations of democratic backsliding, weakening democratic institutions and leading to a decline in the quality of democracy. The research goal is to analyze the records in the selected source material and relate them to the selected theoretical category (democratic backsliding). In the course of the research, the following hypothesis is verified: in the face of the COVID-19 epidemic in Poland, attempts by the ruling elite to change the provisions related to organizing the presidential elections scheduled for May 10 are an example of democratic backsliding, which, by weakening democratic institutions, has threatened the constitutional provisions and the essence of the democratic system.

scholarly journals Don’t Good Democracies Need “Good” Citizens? Citizen Dispositions and the Study of Democratic Quality

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quinton Mayne ◽  
Brigitte Geißel
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Democratic Institutions ◽  
National Data ◽  
Quality Of Democracy ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Democratic Quality ◽  
Cross National

This article advances the argument that quality of democracy depends not only on the performance of democratic institutions but also on the dispositions of citizens. We make three contributions to the study of democratic quality. First, we develop a fine-grained, structured conceptualization of the three core dispositions (democratic commitments, political capacities, and political participation) that make up the citizen component of democratic quality. Second, we provide a more precise account of the notion of inter-component congruence or “fit” between the institutional and citizen components of democratic quality, distinguishing between static and dynamic forms of congruence. Third, drawing on cross-national data, we show the importance of taking levels of inter-dispositional consistency into account when measuring democratic quality.

The New Party Challenge

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Haughton ◽  
Kevin Deegan-Krause
Keyword(s):  
Party Systems ◽  
Quality Of Democracy ◽  
New Parties ◽  
Party Leaders ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
The Face ◽  
Multiple Challenges ◽  
Election Results

Why are there so many new parties? Why do so few of them survive? And why are they appearing and disappearing in so many more countries these days? Based on hundreds of interviews with party leaders, activists and voters and three decades of election results across Europe, The New Party Challenge introduces new tools for mapping and measuring party systems and develops an integrated conceptual framework for analysing the dynamics of party politics, particularly the birth and death of parties. The book charts and explains the patterns of politics in Central Europe since 1989, and then shows how similar processes are at play on a far wider geographical canvas. The repeated breakthroughs of new parties poses multiple challenges: existing parties that must staunch the outflow of disillusioned voters to fresh alternatives, new parties must figure out how to hold on to those new voters in the face of even newer alternatives, and society as a whole must find a way to pursue long-term policies in a political environment where the roster of political actors is constantly changing. The book underlines the importance of agency and choice in explaining the fate of parties, highlights the salience of the clean versus corrupt dimension of politics, charts the flow of voters in the new party subsystem and emphasizes the dimension of time and its role in shaping developments. The book concludes by reflecting on how the emergence of so many short-lived new parties may affect the health and quality of democracy, and what could and should be done.

Permissive Winners? The Quality of Democracy and the Winner–Loser Gap in the Perception of Freedoms

2020 ◽  
pp. 003232172095223
Author(s):  
Alejandro Monsiváis-Carrillo
Keyword(s):  
Survey Data ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Political Context ◽  
The Political ◽  
Democratic Institutions ◽  
Quality Of Democracy ◽  
Regime Stability ◽  
Latin American Countries

Voters usually differ in their assessment of the regime’s legitimacy, depending on their status as winners or losers. However, how wide or narrow the winner–loser gap is also depends on the quality of democratic institutions. Using survey data from 18 Latin American countries, this research provides evidence that winners and losers respond differently to the quality of democracy. While most research is concerned with the losers’ consent, this study shows that the winners express more favorable assessments of the supply of freedoms, even in regimes where democracy is weak or undermined by the deliberate efforts of the political authorities. Instead, in their perception of freedoms, losers are more willing to acknowledge if the quality of democracy improves or declines. These results suggest that the potential consequences of the winner–loser gap for regime stability are highly dependent on the democratic attributes of the political context.

Happiness in developing countries: can government competitiveness substitute for formal institutions?

2021 ◽  
pp. 002085232110004
Author(s):  
Kee Hoon Chung ◽  
Tobin Im
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Instrumental Variable ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Panel Data Analysis ◽  
Judicial Independence ◽  
Democratic Institutions ◽  
Quality Of Democracy ◽  
Government Capacity

Accumulated empirical studies have examined how various qualities of governance affect happiness across countries. This study contributes to prior studies by testing a hypothesis that when developing countries lack effective legal and political institutions, capable government may substitute for their functions to promote happiness via effective policy planning and implementation. To test this expectation, this study compares which qualities of governance—government capacity, democracy, and legal system—matter for happiness in developing countries. While prior studies have overwhelmingly relied on the World Governance Indicator to measure government capacity, we introduce a new measure—government competitiveness—developed by the Center for Government Competitiveness, which overcomes some criticisms. Using this indicator, we employ pooled Ordinary Least Square and two-way fixed effects panel data analysis for 80 non-Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries spanning the years 2015–2018. As a robustness test, we conduct instrumental variable estimation, using geography as an instrument for government competitiveness. Our analysis shows that government competitiveness has a positive and statistically robust effect on happiness across all estimations, while quality of democracy and judicial independence display ambivalent effects. Our instrumental variable results suggest that judicial independence and quality of democracy display a substituting and complementing relationship with government competitiveness, respectively. Points for practitioners This article suggests that institutional arrangements for promoting happiness in developing countries differ from developed countries. In developing countries: (1) government competitiveness may play a more important role than judicial and democratic institutions; and (2) government competitiveness may complement democratic institutions but substitute for judicial institutions. For developing countries facing resource constraints, this article recommends policymakers to prioritize fostering competitive government for promoting happiness.

scholarly journals The impact of distrust of the judiciary on enforcement of court decisions in Ukraine

2020 ◽  
pp. 263-266
Author(s):  
Anastasiia Vyshnevska
Keyword(s):  
Negative Impact ◽  
The State ◽  
Court Decisions ◽  
Relevant Today ◽  
The Face ◽  
Democratic System ◽  
Local Courts ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

The issue of enforcement of court decisions remains quite relevant today, despite the large number of studies conducted on thistopic.In Ukraine, the issue of reforming the system of enforcement of court decisions is quite acute.Non-execution of court decisions or its poor execution leads to the loss of the very meaning of justice, it undermines the credibilityof the judiciary in particular and the government in general. Complaints about the activities of the judiciary exist both among citizens and among representatives of other branches of government,which has an extremely negative impact on the authority of the judiciary, the judiciary itself and the activities of the state as awhole. Ukraine’s judicial system is based on trust and respect for it, on confidence in its independence, impartiality and justice.The problem of non-enforcement of court decisions in Ukraine sharply undermines the authority of the state, because it is a signalof mass violations of human rights, but also causes significant distrust of Ukrainian society to the current government.Only through the full implementation of court decisions the fundamental principles of the world democratic system are realized:humanism, justice and the rule of law.An important way to increase trust and respect for the court is to form a legal culture and legal awareness of citizens, a greaterunderstanding of the importance of the court.It is also important to remember that people who provide court services are the face of justice. They have the greatest influenceon the formation of the authority of the judiciary, and consequently trust in it.It is necessary to introduce verification of candidates in local courts for compliance with the criteria of integrity and professional ethics.Among the most important tasks facing the judiciary in the state – is to gain the trust of citizens, strengthen their authority andincrease social status in society, which will significantly affect the quality of execution of court decisions.

Manajemen Ekonomi Outopilot: Kegagalan Negara Mencari Identitas?

Liquidity ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 142-152
Author(s):  
Mukhaer Pakkanna
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
National Economy ◽  
The State ◽  
Political Democracy ◽  
Economic Democracy ◽  
Quality Of Democracy ◽  
Economic Disparities ◽  
National Economic ◽  
Production And Distribution

Political democracy should be equivalent to the economic development of the quality of democracy, economic democracy if not upright, even the owner of the ruling power and money, which is parallel to force global corporatocracy. Consequently, the economic oligarchy preservation reinforces control of production and distribution from upstream to downstream and power monopoly of the market. The implication, increasingly sharp economic disparities, exclusive owner of the money and power become fertile, and the end could jeopardize the harmony of the national economy. The loss of national economic identity that makes people feel lost the “pilot of the state”. What happens then is the autopilot state. Viewing unclear direction of the economy, the national economy should clarify the true figure.

Economic Institutions and Growth Nexus: The Role of Governance and Democratic Institutions—Evidence from Time Varying Parameters’ (TVPs) Models

2016 ◽  
Vol 55 (4I-II) ◽  
pp. 675-688
Author(s):  
Ghulam Murtaza ◽  
Muhammad Zahir Faridi
Keyword(s):  
Structural Changes ◽  
Jel Classification ◽  
Economic Institutions ◽  
Time Varying ◽  
Democratic Institutions ◽  
Main Hypothesis ◽  
Dynamic Relationship ◽  
Rolling Window

The present study has investigated the channels through which the linkage between economic institutions and growth is gauged, by addressing the main hypothesis of the study that whether quality of governance and democratic institutions set a stage for economic institutions to promote the long-term growth process in Pakistan. To test the hypothesis empirically, our study models the dynamic relationship between growth and economic institutions in a time varying framework in order to capture institutional developments and structural changes occurred in the economy of Pakistan over the years. Study articulates that, along with some customary specifics, the quality of government and democracy are the substantial factors that affect institutional quality and ultimately cause to promote growth in Pakistan. JEL Classification: O40; P16; C14; H10 Keywords: Economic Institutions, Growth, Governance and Democracy, Rolling Window Two-stage Least Squares, Pakistan

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