scholarly journals The New Institutionalism: Organizational Factors in Political Life

1983 ◽  
Vol 78 (3) ◽  
pp. 734-749 ◽  
Author(s):  
James G. March ◽  
Johan P. Olsen
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
New Institutionalism ◽  
Organizational Factors ◽  
Political Order ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Theoretical Research ◽  
Allocation Of Resources ◽  
Symbolic Action ◽  
Self Interest

Contemporary theories of politics tend to portray politics as a reflection of society, political phenomena as the aggregate consequences of individual behavior, action as the result of choices based on calculated self-interest, history as efficient in reaching unique and appropriate outcomes, and decision making and the allocation of resources as the central foci of political life. Some recent theoretical thought in political science, however, blends elements of these theoretical styles into an older concern with institutions. This new institutionalism emphasizes the relative autonomy of political institutions, possibilities for inefficiency in history, and the importance of symbolic action to an understanding of politics. Such ideas have a reasonable empirical basis, but they are not characterized by powerful theoretical forms. Some directions for theoretical research may, however, be identified in institutionalist conceptions of political order.

scholarly journals The Rhetoric of Hobbes's Translation of Thucydides

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Chris Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Political Order ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Law Of Nature ◽  
Modern Project ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Self Interest ◽  
History Of ◽  
Right Reason

Abstract In several key passages in Thomas Hobbes's understudied translation of Thucydides's History of the Peloponnesian War, Hobbes's Pericles directs audiences to distrust rhetoric in favor of calculative self-interest, inward-focused affective states, and an epistemic reliance on sovereignty. Hobbes's own intervention via his translation of Thucydides involves similar rhetorical moves. By directing readers to learn from Thucydides, Hobbes conceals his own rhetorical appeals in favor of sovereignty while portraying rhetoric undermining sovereignty as manipulative, self-serving, and representative of the entire category of “rhetoric.” Hobbes's double redescription of rhetoric is an important starting point for an early modern project: appeals that justify a desired political order are characterized as “right reason,” “the law of nature,” or “enlightenment,” while rhetoric constituting solidarities or publics outside the desired order is condemned. Hobbes's contribution to this project theorizes rhetoric as a barrier to individual calculations of interest, placing a novel constraint on political life.

scholarly journals Legitimidade democrática e Estado de Direito sob a perspectiva republicana de Philip Pettit [Democratic Legitimacy and the Rule of Law under the Republican perspective of Philip Pettit]

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (47) ◽  
pp. 9
Author(s):  
Alberto Paulo Neto
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Political Legitimacy ◽  
Political Order ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Democratic Legitimacy ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Philip Pettit ◽  
The Right ◽  
Popular Control

A legitimidade política representa a relação adequada entre o Estado de Direito e os cidadãos. A ordem estatal expressa as suas determinações e sua exigência de obrigação por meio da legislação. Os cidadãos avaliam se o “império da lei” não se constitui em restrição ao status social de livres e não-dominados. A teoria política republicana de Philip Pettit propicia os instrumentos avaliativos da atuação da ordem política segundo o critério da legitimidade. Os cidadãos republicanos devem possuir o controle popular para a garantia da aceitação da ordem política legítima. O controle popular tem as características de individualidade, incondicionalidade e eficácia. Os participantes da vida política avaliam as determinações políticas com referência ao “teste de sorte bruta”. Este possibilita inquirir se as decisões políticas têm aceitabilidade racional e não se estabeleceram de forma arbitrária. A liberdade republicana é o fundamento e a bússola da ação dos cidadãos e da estrutura normativa das instituições políticas.[Political legitimacy represents the right relationship between the Rule of Law and citizens. The State order expresses its determinations and its requirement of obligation through the legislation. Citizens assess whether the "Rule of Law" does not constitute a restriction on the social status of the free and non-dominated. Philip Pettit's republican political theory propitiates the evaluation instruments of the political order according to the criterion of legitimacy. Republican citizens must have popular control to ensure the acceptance of legitimate political order. Popular control has the characteristics of individuality, unconditionality and effectiveness. Participants in political life evaluate political determinations with reference to the "tough luck test". This makes it possible to inquire whether political decisions have rational acceptability and are not established arbitrarily. Republican freedom is the foundation and compass of citizens' action and the normative framework of political institutions.]

2. Europeanization: Concept, Theory, and Methods

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo R. Graziano ◽  
Maarten P. Vink
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
European Union ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Goodness Of Fit ◽  
New Institutionalism ◽  
Political Life ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Mediating Factors ◽  
Concept Theory

This chapter explores a number of fundamental issues that arise when studying Europeanization. It first explains what Europeanization is and what it is not, why some parts of political life seem more affected by the process of European integration than others, and how to interpret variation between member states of the European Union. It then considers the theoretical debates about the relevance of Europeanization, focusing on new institutionalism, goodness of fit, mediating factors, and domestic compliance. It also provides examples of Europeanization studies and shows how to design a good Europeanization study. Aside from Europeanization, the chapter examines public opinion and parties, political institutions and governance, and public policy, along with methodological issues such as operationalization, the use of counterfactuals, and different qualitative, quantitative, and mixed approaches.

Women in Power and Decision making Positions : Conditions and Restraints

1970 ◽  
pp. 53-57
Author(s):  
Azza Charara Baydoun
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Political Life ◽  
The Political ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Policies And Procedures ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Status ◽  
Slow Progress

Women today are considered to be outside the political and administrative power structures and their participation in the decision-making process is non-existent. As far as their participation in the political life is concerned they are still on the margins. The existence of patriarchal society in Lebanon as well as the absence of governmental policies and procedures that aim at helping women and enhancing their political participation has made it very difficult for women to be accepted as leaders and to be granted votes in elections (UNIFEM, 2002).This above quote is taken from a report that was prepared to assess the progress made regarding the status of Lebanese women both on the social and governmental levels in light of the Beijing Platform for Action – the name given to the provisions of the Fourth Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995. The above quote describes the slow progress achieved by Lebanese women in view of the ambitious goal that requires that the proportion of women occupying administrative or political positions in Lebanon should reach 30 percent of thetotal by the year 2005!

The Priority of Democracy

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack Knight ◽  
James Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Monetary Policy ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Federal Reserve ◽  
Democratic Politics ◽  
Institutional Choice ◽  
Democratic Process ◽  
Strong Case ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Relationship

Pragmatism and its consequences are central issues in American politics today, yet scholars rarely examine in detail the relationship between pragmatism and politics. This book systematically explores the subject and makes a strong case for adopting a pragmatist approach to democratic politics—and for giving priority to democracy in the process of selecting and reforming political institutions. What is the primary value of democracy? When should we make decisions democratically and when should we rely on markets? And when should we accept the decisions of unelected officials, such as judges or bureaucrats? This book explores how a commitment to pragmatism should affect our answers to such important questions. It concludes that democracy is a good way of determining how these kinds of decisions should be made—even if what the democratic process determines is that not all decisions should be made democratically. So, for example, the democratically elected U.S. Congress may legitimately remove monetary policy from democratic decision-making by putting it under the control of the Federal Reserve. This book argues that pragmatism offers an original and compelling justification of democracy in terms of the unique contributions democratic institutions can make to processes of institutional choice. This focus highlights the important role that democracy plays, not in achieving consensus or commonality, but rather in addressing conflicts. Indeed, the book suggest that democratic politics is perhaps best seen less as a way of reaching consensus or agreement than as a way of structuring the terms of persistent disagreement.

scholarly journals Moral Decision Making: From Bentham to Veil of Ignorance via Perspective Taking Accessibility

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 66
Author(s):  
Rose Martin ◽  
Petko Kusev ◽  
Joseph Teal ◽  
Victoria Baranova ◽  
Bruce Rigal
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Perspective Taking ◽  
Moral Decision ◽  
Moral Decision Making ◽  
Veil Of Ignorance ◽  
Self Interest ◽  
Moral Behaviour ◽  
New Type ◽  
The Veil ◽  
Theoretical Proposal

Making morally sensitive decisions and evaluations pervade many human everyday activities. Philosophers, economists, psychologists and behavioural scientists researching such decision-making typically explore the principles, processes and predictors that constitute human moral decision-making. Crucially, very little research has explored the theoretical and methodological development (supported by empirical evidence) of utilitarian theories of moral decision-making. Accordingly, in this critical review article, we invite the reader on a moral journey from Jeremy Bentham’s utilitarianism to the veil of ignorance reasoning, via a recent theoretical proposal emphasising utilitarian moral behaviour—perspective-taking accessibility (PT accessibility). PT accessibility research revealed that providing participants with access to all situational perspectives in moral scenarios, eliminates (previously reported in the literature) inconsistency between their moral judgements and choices. Moreover, in contrast to any previous theoretical and methodological accounts, moral scenarios/tasks with full PT accessibility provide the participants with unbiased even odds (neither risk averse nor risk seeking) and impartiality. We conclude that the proposed by Martin et al. PT Accessibility (a new type of veil of ignorance with even odds that do not trigger self-interest, risk related preferences or decision biases) is necessary in order to measure humans’ prosocial utilitarian behaviour and promote its societal benefits.

scholarly journals The Perception of the Legitimacy of Citizens’ Assemblies in Deeply Divided Places? Evidence of Public and Elite Opinion from Consociational Northern Ireland

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
John Garry ◽  
James Pow ◽  
John Coakley ◽  
David Farrell ◽  
Brendan O'Leary ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Policy Issue ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Elite Interviews ◽  
Support Decision Making ◽  
Selection Of

Abstract How much public and elite support is there for the use of a citizens’ assembly – a random selection of citizens brought together to consider a policy issue – to tackle major, deadlock-inducing disagreements in deeply divided places with consociational political institutions? We focus on Northern Ireland and use evidence from a cross-sectional attitude survey, a survey-based experiment and elite interviews. We find that the general public support decision-making by a citizens’ assembly, even when the decision reached is one they personally disagree with. However, support is lower among those with strong ideological views. We also find that elected politicians oppose delegating decision-making power to an ‘undemocratic’ citizens’ assembly, but are more supportive of recommendation-making power. These findings highlight the potential for post-conflict consociations to be amended, with the consent of the parties, to include citizens’ assemblies that make recommendations but not binding policy.

Between Two Worlds: Europe in a Globalizing Era

2002 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 343-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony McGrew
Keyword(s):  
Necessary Conditions ◽  
Political Order ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Nation States ◽  
The Future

Globalization – Simply The Growing Intensity, Extent And deepening impact of worldwide interconnectedness – poses anew the classic questions of political life, namely: who rules, by what means, in whose interests and to what purpose? This is not to suggest, as some do, that the forces of globalization are eclipsing sovereign states but it is to acknowledge that the necessary conditions for sovereign and democratic self-government are undergoing a significant transformation. This is especially evident in Europe where, at the great intersection of regionalism and globalism, a novel continental political order is crystallizing: not quite federalism in its orthodox form but clearly something more than classic intergovermentalism. Caught between two worlds – a Europe of nation-states and a Europe of Citizens to use Joschka Fischer's construction – the future political trajectory of the continent, in part, will depend upon how effectively regionalism mediates the dynamics of globalism and localism.

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