Problems of Democratic Reform in China

2019 ◽  
pp. 221-231
Author(s):  
Su Shaozhi
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Reform

Democratic Development in Oman

2005 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 376-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Jones ◽  
Nicholas Ridout
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Development ◽  
Democratic Reform ◽  
Local Traditions

Everyone accepts a one size fits all model cannot deliver successful democratic reform. But it is less widely understood that the process is open-ended, with no predetermined finishing line. Development depends on a political version of bio-diversity, in which democracy emerges organically out of existing local traditions and practices. In the case of Oman a deeply rooted tradition of consultative rule, and the distinctive philosophy of Ibadism has been shaping democratic development for 30 years.

Islamic Feminism

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne Schröter
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Reform Movements ◽  
Islamic Feminism ◽  
Political Dimension ◽  
Democratic Reform ◽  
Civil Rights Movements ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Islamic Historiography ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Transformation Processes

The aims of Islamic feminism are at once theological and socially reformist. Its proponents are often activists, as well as authors and scholars. It is linked to democratic reform movements within the Islamic world as well as to civil rights movements in Europe and the USA, and is supported by actors who resist the advances of patriarchal religious positions as well as Western secular definitions of modernity. Unlike secular feminists, proponents of Islamic feminism see the justification for their fight for women’s rights and gender equality in their own interpretation of Islam’s sacred text, the statements attributed to the Prophet, and his supposed life circumstances. In addition, they draw on approaches taken from new Islamic historiography. This chapter deals with the foundations of Islamic feminism and its transnational political dimension, and asks in what national and local transformation processes its proponents were able to have an impact.

Digital De-Citizenship: The Rise of the Digital Denizen in Bahrain

2020 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 740-747
Author(s):  
Marc Owen Jones
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Cooperation Council ◽  
Small Island ◽  
Modern History ◽  
Security Forces ◽  
Democratic Reform

Revolutions seldom involve more than one percent of the population. However, in Bahrain, a small island nation with a population of around 570,000, twenty percent of the population took to the streets in February 2011 to demand greater democratic reform, making it “proportionally one of the greatest shows of ‘people power’ in modern history.” The regime's response was disproportionally brutal. Saudi-dominated troops from the Gulf Cooperation Council Peninsula Shield Force were “invited to” or “invaded” Bahrain, depending on who is telling the story. Under cover of the Saudi military, Bahrain's security forces killed dozens of civilians, torturing, maiming, and raping many others. The arsenal of repressive techniques was exhaustive. Belonging also was used as a tool of repression, with many being stripped of their Bahraini citizenship on spurious, terror-related charges.

Democratic Reform in Africa: The Quality of Progress

2004 ◽  
Vol 83 (6) ◽  
pp. 164
Author(s):  
Gina Lambright ◽  
E. Gyimahboadi
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Reform

Democratization, Nationalism and Regional Security in the Southern Caucasus

1997 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 399-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Neil MacFarlane
Keyword(s):  
International Development ◽  
The United States ◽  
Regional Security ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Pressure Groups ◽  
Democratic Reform ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Independent States

FOR SOME YEARS NOW, WESTERN ACADEMICS AND POLICY-MAKERS HAVE embraced the cause of democratic reform in Central and Eastern Europe. To take but one well-known example, President Clinton in the 1994 State of the Union Address cited the absence of war among democracies as a reason for promotion of democracy around the world. Assistance to former Warsaw Pact and newly independent states has been made conditional to varying degrees on the acceptance of democratic change. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the European Union, the United States Agency for International Development and associated non-governmental organizations have unleashed armies of promoters of democracy throughout the region to: observe elections; monitor human rights; draft new constitutions and laws defending civil and political rights; train judges and police personnel; and organize and assist political parties, media and non-governmental pressure groups. In short, they have sought to transplant the fabric of civil society and democratic institutions. These armies have landed on terrain often quite foreign to them and have often displayed little sensitivity to the social, economic and political context in which they are operating. This may have contributed to results other than those intended.

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