scholarly journals Brazil-Russia: similarities, parallels, differences. Paradoxes of the phenomenon of transition 68

2015 ◽  
pp. 68-90
Author(s):  
L. S. Okuneva

In the article are considered criteria and possibilities of comparative analysis of the processes of political modernization of Brazil and Russia that unfolded there at the turn of the 1980s-1990s. The article deals with the features of the formation of civil society and political culture on the stage of a radical transformation of political structures in both countries (party system, the role of political leadership, etc.). Also the article investigates character of the differences in the development of the both countries at the beginning of the XXI century.

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ιωάννης Σακιώτης

The target of this thesis was the investigation of the role of the Greek intellectuals, who having adopted the man ideas of the ecological (or green) theory, critisized the Greek post - war model of development. Regarding the methodology we used the approach of discourse analysis of the texts that had been selected from a wide bibliography as well as the comparative analysis approach of the ideas which rise up in this work. In addition to this the biographical method was used.As a conclusion greek intellectuals built up a public discussion of high quality, through which they presented a strong criticism on the Greek development model and they supported as an alternative the sustainable development model, for which they suggested the implementation of certain environmental policies.At last, they suceeded in influencing the opinion makers, the wider public opinion and the civil society whose pressure on the Greek state resulted in the adoption of sustainable policies


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Chiara Fiorelli

Contemporary democracies face a trend toward the diffusion of the representational void left by under- legitimized political parties (Mair 2013). The essential functions of traditional political parties to organize and articulate political conflict and societal interests have been challenged both from the inside of the party system, by the emergence of populist habits of newcomers, and from the outside, by the progressive erosion of old political culture and corresponding increasing of hostility feeling. Intermediaries organizations of political and economic interests usually push their demands toward political actors in order to shape policy choices. What can happen when the traditional party system suffers from de- legitimation? In this paper, I will try to understand the level of concern of interest organizations toward the progressive detachment of civil society from political actors, in order to define if the risk of a void of representation is perceived as real and contingent. Thanks to a new original European dataset (the Comparative Interest Groups Survey), the analysis shows that different types of interest groups perceive the void to be real and with a possible impact on their activities and their own survival. As expected, in the regression model, differences emerge between countries with a traditional strong interests’ system and countries where groups activities are usually barely regulated. The results support the idea that the distance between civil society and political representatives should be considered a prominent focus of contemporary social and political investigation in order to understand the challenge for democratic life and the possible strategy of reaction.


Author(s):  
Ian Cummins ◽  
Emilio José Gómez-Ciriano

AbstractThis paper presents a comparative analysis of two reports by the UN Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, one for Spain and one for the UK. In both countries, austerity policies were introduced following the banking crisis of 2008. The UN Rapporteur reports highlight the damage that was done by welfare retrenchment. In particular, the reports document the impact of austerity on the most vulnerable individuals and communities. The paper uses Somers' (2008) conceptual model of citizenship as the basis for a comparative analysis of two reports. Somers' (2008) model of citizenship is a triadic one which sees the state, market and civil society as competing elements. Each one can serve to regulate and limit the influence or excesses of the other two. Somers argues that neoliberalism has seen the dominance of the market at the expense of the role of the state and the institutions of civil society. Austerity policies saw the market dominating. Having examined the context of the two reports and their conclusions, the paper discussed the implications for individual social workers’ practice and the role of social work as a profession in tackling poverty and marginalisation.


2004 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 619-636 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zibani Maundeni

State/civil society interaction in Botswana displays patterns characterised by mutual criticism in each other's presence, the willingness of state officials to meet and exchange views with non-state leaders, and the media's role of reminding the contestants to meet and exchange views. The Botswana political culture compels/constrains contestants to meet and exchange views rather than to disengage and resort to the trading of unpleasant remarks in the media and to industrial action on the street. The theoretical implication is that political culture vitally shapes state/civil society interaction and should not be ignored by researchers who seek to define/characterise strong/weak civil societies.


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liutauras Gudžinskas

AbstractThe paper focuses on the variation of institutional confidence in the Baltic countries. Within of framework of qualitative comparative framework, it employs a historical approach to detect causes of divergence of trust in rule of law institutions between Estonia vis-à-vis other two Baltic states. While it observes a range of variables that could affect the differences, it emphasises the role of political leadership during critical junctures, which might explain both why Estonia forged ahead at the outset of the post-communist transformation and most recent positive developments in the Baltic countries since the financial crisis in 2008–2010.


2011 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Masudul Haque

AbstractThe holding of free, fair, and credible elections in Bangladesh remains a big challenge. In an effort to ensure credible, free and fair elections, the Constitution was amended, known as the Constitution (Thirteenth Amendment) Act 1996. This provided some extraordinary powers to the titular President without mechanisms of proper accountability. This paper critically analyses the provisions of this amendment, particularly the role of the President. We argue that this innovation in holding election is itself unconstitutional. In light of the experiences from the events leading to the declaration of emergency, the role of the President during the caretaker mode needs to be re-examined. It argues that formal provisions of the constitution through important but successful enforcement of constitutional provisions, including holding free and fair elections, largely depends on political culture and the willingness of the political parties, including civil society, to abide by those formal provisions along with their spirit.


Author(s):  
A. G. VOLODIN

The article, India taken as a case study, is focused on civil  society/party system interrelationship. Among origins of comparative  advancement of India’s party system are such  historical constituents as: lasting existence of “centre- periphery” relations, ambivalent role of “pragmatic” British imperial  rule in country’s development, availability of proactive social forces susceptible to absorb overseas industrial culture as well as  political democracy. In the ultimate analysis, these and other  “motives” were instrumental in India’s choice for representative  institutions as most functional mode of governance. India’s civil society and party system are examined from  the “classic”/ west European political economy perspective.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Chiara Fiorelli

Contemporary democracies face a trend toward the diffusion of the representational void left by under- legitimized political parties (Mair 2013). The essential functions of traditional political parties to organize and articulate political conflict and societal interests have been challenged both from the inside of the party system, by the emergence of populist habits of newcomers, and from the outside, by the progressive erosion of old political culture and corresponding increasing of hostility feeling. Intermediaries organizations of political and economic interests usually push their demands toward political actors in order to shape policy choices. What can happen when the traditional party system suffers from de- legitimation? In this paper, I will try to understand the level of concern of interest organizations toward the progressive detachment of civil society from political actors, in order to define if the risk of a void of representation is perceived as real and contingent. Thanks to a new original European dataset (the Comparative Interest Groups Survey), the analysis shows that different types of interest groups perceive the void to be real and with a possible impact on their activities and their own survival. As expected, in the regression model, differences emerge between countries with a traditional strong interests’ system and countries where groups activities are usually barely regulated. The results support the idea that the distance between civil society and political representatives should be considered a prominent focus of contemporary social and political investigation in order to understand the challenge for democratic life and the possible strategy of reaction.


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