scholarly journals ON-LINE POLITICS AND VOTING: OVERCOMING THE DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1462-1471
Author(s):  
Stevo Pendarovski ◽  
Veno Pachovski ◽  
Marko Andonov ◽  
Zoran Mihajloski ◽  
Kimo Cavdar
Keyword(s):  
Political Process ◽  
The Political ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Internet Voting ◽  
The Past ◽  
Meaningful Participation ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
On Line ◽  
The Republic

The advance of digital technology in the field of politics in the last 20 years has raised the expectations about enhancing the potentials of the long dominant model of representative democracy. The need to reinvigorate the overall political process was talked about since the first signs of decline in the civic engagement in the second half of the past century. In the meantime, technological gadgets, and, especially the great versatility of Internet applicability have indeed contributed for better communication between the political elites and their people and for sharing the information on the unprecedented level. Yet, the key challenge still seems barely touched: how to provide meaningful participation of the politically awakened individuals in the decision-making processes within the states. In the article we offer a brief survey of the European and USA achievements in the field of e-voting and Internet-voting in order to show how the political, technical and security concerns are still prevailing in the debates thus undermining the trust in the new modes of casting the votes. Also, we present the results of the survey done with 120 students in the Republic of Macedonia and their considerations about the eventual Internet voting in the country. Applying the descriptive and analytical methods we would argue that the immense possibilities for using Internet in politics are far from being exploited, so the initial miscalculation and failures should not discourage the communities from observing new pathways for improving the unavoidable digital component of democracy. 

E-technics for interaction between government and communities

2017 ◽  
pp. 274-283
Author(s):  
Antonina Mytko
Keyword(s):  
Political Process ◽  
Good Opportunity ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
The Past ◽  
Analysis Technique ◽  
Internet Information ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
On Line ◽  
The Will ◽  
Everyday Problems

The article deals with dialogue forms of cooperation between government and community. We studied the analysis technique of e-participation and noted examples of their successful use in the parliaments and governments of different countries. Advantages and disadvantages of e-participation are defined. We analysed the prospects of e-participation techniques for the development of interactive forms of interaction between government and civil society. The main points of the article - a) new needs of people demand a new organization of interaction between them and the state, a new self-government structures; b) IT reduces, optimizes, makes more efficient and closer cooperation between state structure, its function and citizens. Proved that as the experience of the past few years, Internet gives citizens a good opportunity to expand its direct participation in the political process. Examples include online access to decision-making processes, on-line consultation with everyday problems, the online summary of opinions, views and differences and so on. The current problem of every political system is to make as much effort to avoid possible manipulation and abuse of the will of the citizens in the use of information democracy. Keywords: E-participation, Internet, information technology, citizens, state

Union Security, Race, and the Political Process: Some Reflections on Unions and Democracy

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 403-413
Author(s):  
William B. Gould
Keyword(s):  
Financial Support ◽  
Political Process ◽  
The Political ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Fair Share ◽  
Employment Practices ◽  
Union Security ◽  
The Past ◽  
Union Democracy ◽  
Fair Employment

The article focuses upon developments in (1) so-called union security and fair share laws through which financial support of unions is obliged; (2) the cases and practices involving both union democracy and discrimination that have emerged with considerable frequency, particularly in the wake of comprehensive fair employment practices legislation; (3) involvement of the unions in the political process and the ways in which this has altered over the past century.

scholarly journals Symbolic Capital as a Brand Tool of Sociocultural Life (on the Material of the Northern Cities of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia))

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 597-612
Author(s):  
Irena Khokholova ◽  
Natalya Danilova ◽  
Marina Kysylbaikova ◽  
Kyunney Pestereva ◽  
Alina Vasileva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Historical Memory ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Symbolic Capital ◽  
The Political ◽  
Cognitive Approach ◽  
Symbolic Space ◽  
The Past ◽  
Art Objects ◽  
Northern Cities ◽  
The Republic

Aim. The aim of the research is to study the symbolic capital of northern cities (semiotic potential) contained in "urban texts" and the influence of the historical memory of a multiethnic region on the political process of the region and the country as a whole, through a comprehensive and interdisciplinary study of the symbolic space of cities in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). Methods. The study used the cognitive approach, the method of space-time analysis, and the method of historicism and questionnaire survey. Symbolic space as a text is a heterogeneous content. Results. The results of the study show the importance of a symbolic resource as a brand tool, first, depending on the political context and introduction into the collective memory through a constant "reminder" of its importance and significance in the socio-cultural and everyday life of citizens. The resulting databases of monuments served as the basis for compiling a virtual album of monuments and art objects in the cities of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). The research results can practically be applied in the field of education, politics, culture, in the study and promotion of the cultural and historical heritage of the regions of Russia. Conclusions. The urgent problem is the task of preserving the accumulated experience and values, places of memory, relics of the past, as well as ideas about the past that are stored in the memory of its inhabitants and the transfer of this knowledge to the younger generation.

Frozen Negotiations: The Peace Process in Chiapas

2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raúúl Beníítez Manaut ◽  
Andrew Selee ◽  
Cynthia J. Arnson
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Democratic Transition ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Peace Process ◽  
Democratic Society ◽  
The Political ◽  
Peace Agreement ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Government ◽  
Better Than

Mexico's democratic transition has helped reduce, if not eliminate, the threat of renewed armed conflict in Chiapas. However, absent more active measures from the government and the Ejéército Zapatista de Liberacióón Nacional (EZLN) to seek a permanent peace agreement and come to terms with the legacies of the past, the conflict will linger on in an unstable déétente, which we term ““armed peace.”” While this situation is far better than the open hostilities of the past, it also belies the promise of a fully democratic society in which all citizens are equally included in the political process. La transicióón democráática en Mééxico ha contribuido a reducir, si no eliminar, la posibilidad de que el conflicto armado en Chiapas se reanude. Sin embargo, sin esfuerzos mas activos por parte del gobierno y del Ejéército Zapatista de Liberacióón Nacional (EZLN) para buscar un acuerdo de paz permanente y saldar cuentas con el pasado, el conflicto permaneceráá en un estado inestable que llamamos ““paz armada””. Aunque esta situacióón es mucho mejor que las tensiones y agresiones del pasado, no cumple los requisitos de una sociedad plenamente democráática en que todos los ciudadanos participan en condiciones de igualdad en el proceso políítico.

scholarly journals Chasing the green buck? Environmental activism in post-communist Baltic States

2016 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timofey Agarin ◽  
Miķelis Grīviņš
Keyword(s):  
Political Process ◽  
Past Research ◽  
The Political ◽  
Economic Interests ◽  
Economic Resource ◽  
International Networks ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Past ◽  
National Environment ◽  
Collapse Of Communism

The paper investigates the dynamics and volution of issues on the agenda of Baltic environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs) since the collapse of communism. The past research on Baltic environment activism suggests that these enjoy high visibility because they tapped the core societal views of natural environment as a crucial asset of a nation. As we demonstrate in this paper, the changes in agendas of Baltic environmental non-governmental organisations (ENGOs) make clear that the rhetorical toolbox of ‘national environment’ is often used to mainly achieve greater financial gains for individual members, rather than for society at large. We illustrate how the dearth of economic opportunities for domestic public has impacted perceptions of ‘nature’ advocated by the environmental activists, focussing specifically on national perceptions of ownership and the resulting actions appropriating ‘nature’ as a source for economic development, only tangentially attaining environmental outcomes on the way. The vision that the ‘environment’ is an economic resource allowed ENGO activists to cooperate with the domestic policymaking, while tapping international networks and donors for funding. Throughout the past decades they worked to secure their own and their members’ particularistic economic interests and, as we demonstrate, remained disengaged from the political process and failed to develop broader reproach with publics.

scholarly journals The social origins and political uses of popular narratives on Serbian disunity

2005 ◽  
pp. 65-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Slobodan Naumovic
Keyword(s):  
Identity Politics ◽  
Party System ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Party Politics ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
The Social ◽  
Identity Based

The text offers an examination of socio-political bases, modes of functioning, and of the consequences of political instrumentalisation of popular narratives on Serbian disunity. The first section of the paper deals with what is being expressed and what is being done socially when narratives on Serbian disunity are invoked in everyday discourses. The next section investigates what political actor sty, by publicly replicating them, or by basing their speeches on key words of those narratives. The narratives on Serbian disunity are then related to their historical and social contexts, and to various forms of identity politics with which they share common traits. The nineteenth century wars over political and cultural identity, intensified by the struggle between contesting claims to political authority, further channeled by the development of party politics in Serbia and radicalized by conflicts of interest and ideology together provided the initial reasons for the apparition of modern discourses on Serbian disunity and disaccord. Next, addressed are the uninnally solidifying or misinterpreting really existing social problems (in the case of some popular narratives on disunity), or because of intentionally exploiting popular perceptions of such problems (in the case of most political meta-narratives), the constructive potential related to existing social conflicts and splits can be completely wasted. What results is a deep feeling of frustration, and the diminishing of popular trust in the political elites and the political process in general. The contemporary hyperproduction of narratives on disunity and disaccord in Serbia seems to be directly related to the incapacity of the party system, and of the political system in general, to responsibly address, and eventually resolve historical and contemporary clashes of interest and identity-splits. If this vicious circle in which the consequences of social realities are turned into their causes is to be prevented, conflicts of interest must be discursively disassociated from ideological conflicts, as well as from identity-based conflicts, and all of them have to be disentangled from popular narratives on splits and disunity. Most important of all, the practice of political instrumentalisation of popular narratives on disunity and disaccord has to be gradually abandoned.

The Structure of Communist Politics

1972 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 498-517 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard C. Thornton
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Studies ◽  
Conceptual Development ◽  
Political History ◽  
Political Process ◽  
The Political ◽  
East European ◽  
The Past ◽  
Restricted Sense ◽  
Analytical Tools ◽  
General Advancement

The past decade has witnessed a general advancement in comparative studies of communism. Yet, in comparing the conceptual development of the Soviet-East European and Chinese Communist fields, one is struck by the peculiarly arrested state of the Chinese side. By comparison, the “Kremlinologists” have produced a veritable storehouse of analytical tools with which they have contributed to the explanation of the nature and functioning of the Soviet political process and Soviet-East European interrelationship. Relatively little conceptual development is discernible in the China field. In this brief essay on comparative developments in the study of communism, I will attempt to compare the concepts which Western scholars have evolved to analyze the politics of the Communist world, account for different approaches, and analyze Chinese political history to determine the most meaningful approach. I speak of the nature and functioning of the political process in a restricted sense—the ways in which leaders interact, how political positions are attained and maintained, and, in general, the structure of leadership politics in the Communist world.

Candidate Selection in Ireland: The Impact of Localism and the Electoral System

1980 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 489-503 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Gallagher
Keyword(s):  
Political Process ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Candidate Selection ◽  
The Political ◽  
National Parliament ◽  
Republic Of Ireland ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Selection Of ◽  
The Way

Although the selection of candidates for elections to the national parliament is an important part of the political process, there is little writing on the way in which this is carried out in the Republic of Ireland. This no doubt springs largely from parties' reluctance to reveal details of this essentially internal matter. In Duverger's words, ‘parties do not like the odours of the electoral kitchen to spread to the outside world’.

Opinion Representation versus Social Representation; or, Why Women Can't Run as Women and Win

1980 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerry Perkins ◽  
Diane L. Fowlkes
Keyword(s):  
Government Intervention ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Social Representation ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Minority Representation ◽  
Representation Versus ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
Degree Of Acceptance ◽  
Party Activists

This article, by employing voting simulations in a survey of party activists, examines responses to a woman's claim to party office on the basis of her sex. The degree of acceptance of this claim or the willingness to grant what is called social representation, is contrasted with the respondents' inclinations to select candidates favorable to women's rights, or the willingness to grant what is called opinion representation. Variations in responses to the two simulations are analyzed in terms of attitudes toward gender roles, government intervention and the legitimacy of groups in the political process. Voting in the simulation involving opinion representation can best be understood in terms of the respondent's attitude toward government intervention, while the simulation involving social representation activates the attitude toward groups. Discussion of the findings focuses on the dilemma of group claims for minority representation in a liberal democratic context and the need for better understanding of attitudes toward groups among political elites.

scholarly journals 15 YEARS OF THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA IN NATO – A CRITICAL VIEW ON DEFENCE SYSTEM

2019 ◽  
pp. 83-94
Author(s):  
MARKO CEHOVIN
Keyword(s):  
Human Resource ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Critical View ◽  
Defence System ◽  
Defence Spending ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Developed World

Abstract Shortly after Independence, and even more profoundly after joining NATO, the issue of defence and security in Slovenia was set aside. It has been quickly forgotten that an army is a fundamental element of statehood, and that several times in history Slovenes have been forced to defend their existence with an armed force. “Budgetary malnutrition”, in combination with malfunctioning human resource management, has pushed the defence system into a spiral quest for the lowest point. By failing to fulfil its commitments on the level and structure of defence spending, Slovenia has lost much of its credibility in the Alliance in recent years. Slovenia gained a great deal by joining NATO. Geopolitically it has (re)positioned itself as part of the most developed world. The most significant benefit of membership is collective security, which has brought manifold effects, including economic ones; defence is much cheaper today than it would be if Slovenia were not a member of the Alliance. After fifteen years of NATO membership, Slovenia is still divided between peace idealism and realism that historically confirms that allies are required. The defence system needs to be renovated, transformed and integrated, and solutions that have been repeatedly already identified must be implemented. The role of the political elites is to recognize, lead and guide these challenges. Key words Defence system, NATO, critical analysis, reforms.

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