scholarly journals Reducing the Democratic Deficit: Representation, Diversity and the Canadian Judiciary, or towards a Triple P Judiciary

1969 ◽  
pp. 734 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Devlin ◽  
A. Wayne MacKay ◽  
Natasha Kim
Keyword(s):  
Detailed Examination ◽  
Statistical Information ◽  
Triple P ◽  
Democratic Deficit ◽  
Judicial Selection ◽  
Realist Theory ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Judicial Appointments ◽  
Theory Of Law ◽  
Democratic Norms

The authors review the current structures for judicial appointments in Canada and provide statistical information about the results of these mechanisms in respect to diversity of representation on the courts. They are also critical of the fairness and openness of judicial appointments processes. After examining several variants of the dominant liberal view of law and of judges, the authors proffer and articulate a neo-realist theory of law and what they term a "bungee cord theory of judging." According to the former, law is inevitably a form of politics; according to the latter, judges are unavoidably political actors. In consequence, the judiciary is properly subject to democratic norms, including especially the norms of representation and of diversity. The authors then argue that, judged against those democratic norms, the present systems of judicial appointment (and the judiciary which it has put in place) suffers from what they term "a democratic deficit." After a detailed examination of past attempts to reform this system, of arguments for and against a more democratic and representational approach to judicial selection, and possible models of judicial selection, the authors propose their own reform: the establishment by statute of Judicial Appointments Commissions. Such an approach might help cure the democratic deficit and produce what they dub a Triple-P judiciary, that is, one that is politically accountable, professionally qualified, and proportionally representative.

Perceived Discrimination and Political Behavior

2018 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 867-892 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kassra A.R. Oskooii
Keyword(s):  
Political Behavior ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Disciplinary Boundaries ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Political Behaviors ◽  
Democratic Norms ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractCan different experiences with discrimination produce divergent political behaviors? Does it make a difference whether individuals are discriminated against by their peers or community members in the course of everyday life as opposed to political actors or institutions tasked with upholding democratic norms of equality and fairness? Crossing disciplinary boundaries, this study proposes a new theoretical perspective regarding the relationship between discrimination and political behavior. Specifically, it distinguishes between societal (interpersonal) and political (systematic) discrimination when examining the behaviors of racial and ethnic minorities in Great Britain. The results illustrate that although experiences of political discrimination may motivate individuals to take part in mainstream politics for substantive or expressive purposes, the same conclusion cannot necessarily be drawn for those who experience societal rejection. The principal aim of this study is to further highlight the complex and multidimensional nature of discrimination, and to encourage further analyses of how different types of discrimination may impact the civic and political behaviors of minority groups.

scholarly journals One Step Forward, Two Steps Back? Côte d'Ivoire's 2015 Presidential Polls

2016 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giulia Piccolino
Keyword(s):  
Cote D'ivoire ◽  
Voter Turnout ◽  
Côte D’Ivoire ◽  
Democratic Deficit ◽  
Electoral Institutions ◽  
Cote D’Ivoire ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Côte D'ivoire ◽  
One Step ◽  
Important Test

The 2015 presidential election in Côte d'Ivoire was seen as an important test for the country given the 2010 post-election crisis. Although the 2015 polls were peaceful, they were affected by problems not new to Côte d'Ivoire: lack of competition due to non-participation of major political actors, low voter turnout, mistrust in electoral institutions. The unpreparedness of the Commission Electorale Indépendante (CEI) was also problematic, especially with respect to the revision of the voter list. Due to the boycott of partisans of former president Laurent Gbagbo and because of the support of the Rassemblement des Houphouëtistes pour la Démocratie et la Paix (RHDP), President Alassane Ouattara's re-election was essentially a given from the start. With the ruling coalition firmly in control, Côte d'Ivoire appears stable. However, the country's democratic deficit might lead to renewed violence once the RHDP has to pick Ouattara's successor.

Democracy and Global Governance

2018 ◽  
pp. 384-399
Author(s):  
Carol C. Gould
Keyword(s):  
Global Governance ◽  
Institutional Framework ◽  
Democratic Deficit ◽  
The People ◽  
Substantial Control ◽  
Democratic Norms ◽  
Transparency And Accountability

Is it feasible to democratize the powerful institutions of global governance that currently work to advance globalization processes, making them more responsive to the needs and interests of the people affected by their policies? This chapter discusses the motivation for addressing this “democratic deficit” at the transnational level, in the context of the inequalities in power and resources engendered by globalization and its institutional framework. It critically analyses two main lines of argument put forward for democratization of global governance—the “all subjected” and the “all affected” principles—and then proposes a reformulation of them for this new context. It concludes by considering some concrete directions for fulfilling democratic norms transnationally, including ways of introducing greater transparency and accountability in transnational institutions, as well as more extensive changes that would enable people to gain substantial control over the forces and structures that currently profoundly affect them.

scholarly journals Exploring the Links between Party and Appointment: Canadian Federal Judicial Appointments from 1989 to 2003

2010 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 633-659 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lori Hausegger ◽  
Troy Riddell ◽  
Matthew Hennigar ◽  
Emmanuelle Richez
Keyword(s):  
Group Representation ◽  
Comparative Perspective ◽  
Political Connections ◽  
Judicial Selection ◽  
Judicial Appointments ◽  
New Process ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract. Studies of federal judicial appointments made before 1988 discovered significant partisan ties between judicial appointees and the governments appointing them. In 1988, in response to criticism of these “patronage appointments,” the Mulroney government introduced screening committees to the process. This article explores the impact of these committees. Using information gained from surveys of legal elites, we trace the minor and major political connections of federal judicial appointees from 1989 to 2003 in order to determine whether patronage has continued despite the reform to the process. We discover that political connections continued to play an important role in who was selected for a judicial appointment. However, these connections were not quite as common as those found before 1988, and the new process does appear to have prevented the politically motivated appointment of completely unqualified candidates. Interestingly, our findings also suggest that the impact of patronage varies by region and interacts with other, newer influences, in particular, concerns for group representation on the bench. The paper concludes by briefly discussing these results in the context of the relationship between judicial selection and politics with a comparative perspective.Résumé. Les études sur les nominations judiciaires fédérales réalisées avant 1988 ont découvert des liens partisans étroits entre les juges nommés à la cour et les gouvernements les nommant. En 1988, en réponse aux critiques sur le favoritisme entourant les nominations, le gouvernement Mulroney a introduit des comités d'évaluation dans le processus. Cet article explore l'impact de ces comités. En utilisant de l'information recueillie lors de sondages menés auprès de la communauté légale, nous retraçons les connexions politiques mineures et majeures des attributaires judiciaires fédéraux de 1989 à 2003 en vue de déterminer si le favoritisme a persisté malgré la réforme du système. Nous découvrons que les connexions politiques continuent à jouer un rôle important dans la sélection des juges. Toutefois, ces connexions ne sont pas aussi importantes que celles qu'on a identifiées avant 1988 et le nouveau processus semble avoir réussi à prévenir les nominations partisanes de candidats entièrement non qualifiés. Les résultats de notre recherche suggèrent également que l'effet du favoritisme varie par région et dépend aussi d'autres facteurs plus nouveaux, en particulier le souci de représentation de certains groupes au sein de la magistrature. L'article conclut en discutant brièvement ces résultats dans le contexte de la relation entre la sélection judiciaire et la politique dans une perspective comparative.

Indian Politics: Haunted by Spectre of Post-democracy?

2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 631-648
Author(s):  
Ravindra Kumar Verma
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Party Politics ◽  
Democratic Politics ◽  
Social Classes ◽  
Political Regimes ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Indian Politics ◽  
Western Scholarship ◽  
Democratic Norms ◽  
The Impact

The dawn of 21st century has witnessed some new features of democratic politics that seem to be shifting away from what we call democratic. The impact of globalisation has created such a nexus among elites of politics–corporates–media that has made political regimes to ignore the democratic norms and well-being of common masses and overemphasise economic growth and corporate-friendly policy priorities. Besides, the approach of the political actors (parties and politicians), in the process of power-seeking, has shown unconventional trends. These features do not resemble either dictatorship or totalitarianism; rather they depict trends of aristocratic mode of decision-making by using democratic framework and institutions. Such trends have been termed as ‘post-democracy’ by recent Western scholarship. Indian politics is not an exception. These trends have created an imbalance between interest of social classes and corporative interests which has prompted political regimes to take tough decisions, in despotic ways. Though the present article does not posit that Indian democracy is on the brink, it attempts to underline the post-democratic features visible in Indian politics through examination of (a) party politics in terms of democratic framework, ideology, policy initiations and reforms, electioneering, etc.; (b) politicians–corporates–media nexus; and (c) modes and trends of politicians in communicating and relating with the electorate.

scholarly journals From Practice to Principle and Back: Applying a New Realist Method to the European Union’s Democratic Deficit

2017 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 339-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Pieter Beetz
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Political Order ◽  
Democratic Deficit ◽  
Bernard Williams ◽  
Step Method ◽  
Realist Theory ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
Political Theories ◽  
Sensitive Phase ◽  
European Union Studies

The prospect of a Brexit illustrates that the European Union’s legitimacy deficit can have far-reaching political consequences. In normative political theory, realists take a keen interest in questions of legitimacy. Building on Bernard Williams’ realist writings, I propose a two-step method of normative political theorization. Each step contains both a practice-sensitive phase and a practice-insensitive phase. First, the conceptualization of a norm should draw on conceptual resources available to agents within their historical circumstances. Second, the prescriptions that follow from this norm should take into account whether political order can be maintained. Applying this method to the European Union’s democratic deficit yields, first, based on public opinion research, the norm of European deep diversity and, second, a set of prescriptions for a demoicratic confederacy. Thereby, I demonstrate that this realist method is able to yield political theories distinct from other philosophical approaches. Moreover, I contribute a realist theory to the normative literature in European Union studies.

The Movement of Popular and Neighborhood Assemblies in the City of Buenos Aires, 2002–2011

2013 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastián Mauro ◽  
Federico M. Rossi
Keyword(s):  
Buenos Aires ◽  
Detailed Examination ◽  
Political Identities ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
The Social ◽  
National Perspective ◽  
The City ◽  
Over Time

The assembly movement of Buenos Aires was one of the main political actors that emerged with the social explosion of December 2001. It initially called for a complete renewal of the country’s elites, but it gradually divided into a sector that focused on neighborhood demands and a sector that adopted a national perspective. A detailed examination of a decade of development of two assemblies that are paradigmatic examples of the movement’s division show that they retained their political identities over time, with the result that the “neighborhood” assembly disbanded once the problems on which it had concentrated were considered resolved while the “popular” assembly continued to engage in cultural and political projects. El movimiento asambleario de Buenos Aires fue uno de los más importantes actores políticos que emergió con la explosión social de diciembre de 2001. Inicialmente reclamaba la completa renovación de las elites, pero gradualmente fue dividiéndose en un sector que se enfocó en demandas barriales y otro sector que adoptó una perspectiva nacional. Un examen detallado de una década de desarrollo de dos asambleas que son consideradas ejemplos paradigmáticos de la división del movimiento muestra que ambas asambleas conservaron a través del tiempo sus identidades, con el resultado de que la asamblea “vecinal” se disolvió una vez que consideraron resueltos los problemas en los que se enfocaba, mientras que la asamblea “popular” continuó activamente involucrada en proyectos políticos y culturales.

European Governance and Civic Participation: Beyond Elitist Citizenship?

2003 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 144-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Magnette
Keyword(s):  
European Commission ◽  
Civic Participation ◽  
General Level ◽  
Democratic Deficit ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
European Governance ◽  
Institutional Model ◽  
Modes Of Governance ◽  
The Eu ◽  
New Modes Of Governance

Since the end of the 1990s, ‘new modes of governance’ have been presented by academics and political actors as an answer to the EU's ‘democratic deficit’. Analysing the intellectual roots of this idea, and the concrete proposals made by those who, like the European Commission, support it, this paper argues that it is very unlikely to reach this ambitious purpose. Far from breaking with the Community method, these participatory mechanisms constitute extensions of existing practices, and are underpinned by the same élitist and functionalist philosophy. They remain limited to ‘stakeholders’ and will not improve the ‘enlighted understanding’ of ordinary citizens and the general level of participation. The paper examines the obstacles to the politicisation of the EU inherent in its institutional model, and discusses other options which might help bypass the limits of ‘governance’.

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