The Pandemic of Tyranny

This chapter deals with some of the dangers of the “pandemic” of tyranny that can be made worse during a time of a medical pandemic. In any event, it can result in an attempt to subvert a democratic regime towards more conservative and reactionary political forms. The author studies the case of the Thirty Tyrants of Athens (a result of Athens´s defeat by Sparta in the Peloponnesian War and after the death of Pericles during the pandemic that decimated Athens when it was sieged by Sparta) who substituted democracy with an oligarchy. A fierce repression ensued in which Socrates died, a symbol of the free thought of democratic Athens. The author analyzes the effects of tyranny on people and the Renaissance humanists´ desire to always be vigilant about tyrannical government. He focusses on the civic humanists Francesc Eiximenis (Valencian Kingdom, Crown of Aragon) and Coluccio Salutati (Florence).

The Case of Electoral Absenteeism in Ukraine Borderland, a Challenge to Electoral Model in Eastern European Democratic Regime

Analyzing the electoral absenteeism turnout between 1990 and 2009, one can observe a strong decreasing tendency. Given the various factors that generate absenteeism mentioned in the literature, in this paper we aim to analyze the possible causes of absenteeism experienced in recent years in in Ukraine Borderland.

Tunisian Military and Regime Change

This paper has several research objectives. They are related to the description of the position of the military in the non-democratic regime in Tunisia, as well as to the clarification of its role in the overthrow of the regime, that is, to the identification of the causal factors that determine the military role during uprisings. The purpose of this paper is to show that the support of the military or its neutral position during such uprisings represents necessary condition for success of transition from a non-democratic regime. Applying two-level model of analyses based on the strategic approach to transition, we concluded that the nature of civil-military relations in the previous regime and the nature of protest determine the role of the military in the uprisings. In other words, the character of the previous non-democratic regime and the initiators of transition settle the model and the results of transition, and its consolidation.

A Great Wall? Migration, Political Socialisation and Political Participation among Chinese in New Zealand

<p>Chinese political participation is low by comparison with other migrant and ethnic groups despite high socioeconomic status. This suggests that other barriers to participation are present among this group. This study examines how pre- and post-migration political socialisation affect the electoral participation of Chinese in New Zealand. Fifteen one-on-one, in-depth interviews allowed me to consider the relationship between both length of residence and socialisation in a democratic versus non-democratic regime and electoral participation among this sample. In this case, analysis of each participant’s migration and political participation experiences revealed no correlation between either length of residence and socialisation in a democratic versus non-democratic regime and electoral participation, although it highlighted the significance of demographic factors such as age and life-cycle, and social capital and political interest for electoral participation. Few studies have focused on Chinese migrant political participation specifically in New Zealand and even fewer on the subject of Chinese electoral participation. However, understanding what drives and inhibits electoral participation among this group is both important for the development of New Zealand’s Asia-Pacific identity and ultimately as an indicator of the health of democracy in New Zealand.</p>

A Great Wall? Migration, Political Socialisation and Political Participation among Chinese in New Zealand

<p>Chinese political participation is low by comparison with other migrant and ethnic groups despite high socioeconomic status. This suggests that other barriers to participation are present among this group. This study examines how pre- and post-migration political socialisation affect the electoral participation of Chinese in New Zealand. Fifteen one-on-one, in-depth interviews allowed me to consider the relationship between both length of residence and socialisation in a democratic versus non-democratic regime and electoral participation among this sample. In this case, analysis of each participant’s migration and political participation experiences revealed no correlation between either length of residence and socialisation in a democratic versus non-democratic regime and electoral participation, although it highlighted the significance of demographic factors such as age and life-cycle, and social capital and political interest for electoral participation. Few studies have focused on Chinese migrant political participation specifically in New Zealand and even fewer on the subject of Chinese electoral participation. However, understanding what drives and inhibits electoral participation among this group is both important for the development of New Zealand’s Asia-Pacific identity and ultimately as an indicator of the health of democracy in New Zealand.</p>

The Global Fund

This chapter compares the efforts of NGOs in Russia and South Africa to mediate global approaches to tackling the HIV/AIDS epidemic in their home contexts. It illustrates both the benefits and drawbacks of engaging with GGIs that offer significant levels of authority to NGOs along with very specific rules and standards. Such strong tools, when placed in NGOs’ hands, can help them to mediate effectively in a welcoming domestic political environment; but if dominant political actors oppose global norms, they can lead to pitched battles between civil society and government actors. NGO activists who persevere in a relatively open democratic regime that protects civil and political rights, such as South Africa, can contribute to domestic normative change over time, leading eventually to government policies that align with global principles. Where the political environment is relatively closed and repressive of civil society, as in Russia, NGOs may struggle to muster sufficient authority to mediate effectively.

CORRUPTION, DEVELOPMENT, AND INCOME DISPARITY IN PAKISTAN

Corruption and income disparity have positive correlation and negative impact on Sustainable growth and development. Corruption is the root cause of income inequality. Corruption of all kinds are deeply incorporated in every sector of Pakistani Institutions. Corruption leads to many discriminations in a society where wealthy individuals get wealthier while the marginalized people remain poor. Previous Research also reveal that Income inequality may rise in democratic regime than in Authoritative one. Current study shows the direct relationship between the corruption and inequality and its impact on the Overall Growth and Development of Pakistan. In order to achieve inclusive growth, it is recommended that effective policies should be adopted so that corruption and income disparity could be eradicated.

Democracy and Capitalism in the Interregnum: Trump’s Failed Self-Coup and After

This paper addresses Trump’s failed self-coup, its authoritarian backwash, and threats to democracy. It analyzes his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which contributed to his 2020 election loss and deepened the political polarization that led to the January 6 Capitol insurrection. The essay also discusses how the forty-year acceleration of economic inequality and sociopolitical de-democratization generated a legitimacy crisis of the hegemonic, neoliberal regime that opened way for Trumpist ethnoracial nationalism. The Trump presidency and pandemic increased the intensity of the political-economic contradictions and transparency of the attenuated relationship of democracy and capitalism. In the consequent “interregnum,” fundamental threats to democratic electoral institutions persist, yet a clear, realistic vision of an alternative democratic regime and the political bloc to bring it into being have yet to be forged. The fate of American democracy rides on overcoming the remarkable denial and normalization of the Trump coup attempt and on forging new safeguards for electoral institutions. Preventing a recurrence, however, requires a progressive transformation of Trumpism’s de-democratized seedbed – neoliberal capitalism.

Negotiating Democracy and Religious Pluralism

Negotiating Democracy and Religious Pluralism examines the relationship between the functioning of democracy and the prior existence of religious plurality in three societies outside the West: India, Pakistan, and Turkey. In the introduction, editors Karen Barkey, Sudipta Kaviraj, and Vatsal Naresh frame the theoretical and historical context of each country’s transition from imperial statehood to modern democratic regime. In the subsequent chapters, contributors examine various trajectories of political thought, state policy, and the exercise of social power during and following a transition to democracy, and, reflexively, the political categories that shape our understanding of these concepts in South Asia and Turkey.