The Argument for Democracy

This chapter defends an epistemic argument for democracy, namely the argument that the rule of the many is better at aggregating knowledge and, in the version presented here, at producing better decisions than the rule of the few. This argument builds on the formal properties of two key democratic decision-making mechanisms of democracy, namely inclusive deliberation on equal grounds and majority rule with universal suffrage. Properly used in sequence and under the right conditions, these two mechanisms ensure that no information and viewpoint is ignored and maximize the cognitive diversity brought to bear on collective political problems and predictions. Building on existing formal results by Lu Hong and Scott Page, the chapter introduces the “Number Trumps Ability” theorem, which formalizes the intuition that many minds are smarter than just a few. Under the right conditions systems governed by democratic decision-procedures can be expected to deliver greater epistemic performance than less inclusive and egalitarian systems.

‘Not more democratic, but more moral’: Tocqueville on the suffrage in America and France

Tocqueville has been portrayed as a “strange liberal” for his singular defenses of individual liberty. This essay highlights an overlooked instance of Tocqueville’s distinctiveness by analyzing his thoughts on suffrage, which placed him at odds with his French liberal contemporaries. It uncovers Tocqueville’s attitude toward universal suffrage in America and his critiques of a capacitarian suffrage in France. I argue that Tocqueville articulated his hope not for a “more democratic, but for a more moral” electoral law during most of the July Monarchy, aiming to transcend existing debates over the extent of the electorate or the capacité politique of the individual elector. By arguing for Tocqueville’s singularity on the suffrage, this essay brings to light both his departures from the thought of the liberal Doctrinaires and his reflections on the particular character of democracy in France.

Somalia faces long and turbulent election season

Significance However, like the Senate elections, the process has gotten off to a staggered and chaotic start. Moreover, it threatens to be far more complicated and contentious. Impacts International stakeholders might accept a sub-optimal election because of the attention Ethiopia and Sudan are currently demanding. Recent universal suffrage elections in Puntland may offer useful lessons to adapt such a model for the national stage. The control elites have over indirect polls will disincentivise moves to universal suffrage without more grassroots and external pressure.

How to select good leaders in Asian countries: the case of China and Singapore

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to bring out the possibility of selecting good leaders in Asian countries, i.e., China and Singapore.Design/methodology/approachSince comparative historical analysis enhances the objectivity for academic discussion, Deng Xiaoping’s and Lee Kuan Yew’s leadership successions have been chosen as the cases for studies by virtue of “method of agreement”. Incorporating “argument based on the contrary” into the context for macro-historical analysis, this paper characterises the duo’s successful (at least quite successful) leadership successions, thus offering an alternative paradigm beyond Western-style democracy.FindingsBoth cases of post-Mao China and the independent Singapore indicate that in quite a number of Asian countries, good leaders could still be selected beyond universal suffrage as practised among Western Electoral Democracies, mainly because of the elites-driven context. As to the duo’s succession results, Deng Xiaoping’s selection of leaders was somewhat successful, while Lee Kuan Yew’s was phenomenal.OriginalityThis paper offers readers a glance over the possibility of selecting good leaders in Asian countries not fully based on Western-style democracy. Learning from the duo’s leadership successions, the West may treat elite politics as the supplement under Western Electoral Democracies in order to avoid their countries falling into the trap of populism. The West could meanwhile consider the exceptional criteria prized by the duo for leadership successions. Considering such interactions among elites in the real-life context, it could serve as an alternative model to Western-style democracy.

The historical significance of the 2019 Hong Kong revolt

This essay discusses why the Hong Kong 2019 revolt means so much for future democratic movements despite its tragic defeat and its weaknesses. This was a massive democratic movement, with entirely legitimate demands: the dropping of an extradition bill which could legalise Beijing's attempts to prosecute Hong Kong citizens under the Mainland legal system; and the honouring of its commitment of granting universal suffrage to the Hong Kong people. This massive movement naturally brought with it multiple tendencies and contradictions. Taking advantage of the absence of a left labour movement, and a young generation who were newcomers to politics, right-wing and anti-Chinese voices became more vocal than their organisational strength might have indicated - though not strong enough to alter the fundamental character of this revolt as a democratic movement. In the last analysis, however, the balance of forces means that Hong Kong has little chance of preserving its liberty unless the Mainland situation begins to change. Success will ultimately depend on a united front between democratic forces in the Mainland and Hong Kong, an issue which the 2019 r evolt has not thought sufficiently about. However, the 2019 revolt, which helped to consolidate democratic consciousness among millions in Hong Kong, itself constitutes a new starting point for the future of democratic struggle, both in the Mainland and in Hong Kong.

Conditioning the position of the President of the Republic of Poland in the country’s system of governance during its 1989–1997 transformation period

This article seeks to identify and detail the most important determinants that shaped the position of Poland’s President in the system of governance during the country’s period of transformation extending from 1989 through to 1997. The conditioning presented determined the position of the office of President by reference to four legal instruments, i.e. the new proposal of April 1989, the 1990 Act on universal suffrage in electing the President of the Republic of Poland (Ustawa o powszechnych wyborach prezydenta RP), the so-called “Small Constitution” of 1992, and the (still-binding) 1997 Constitution of the Republic of Poland. It is claimed here that this conditioning underpinning the establishment of the post of President within Poland’s system of governance, on the basis of these different instruments of law, remained similar (sometimes in fact identical), with the overriding, repeated determinant being the political situation at the given time.

Britain as a protector, a mediator or an onlooker?

Since Hong Kong’s handover to China, British newspapers still play an active role in constructing Britain’s connections with its former colony. This study elaborates a schema for protests to help better understand protests in general. Based on this schema, the study examined representations of the 2019–20 protests in British newspapers using the approach of corpus-assisted critical discourse studies. The analysis shows that they mainly used the predicational strategy, and emphasized the Chinese government’s control of Hong Kong – including the inabilities of the Hong Kong government and police violence – in contrast with the protestors’ demands for universal suffrage. They suggested that Britain act as a mediator to shoulder a moral responsibility over Hong Kong. Their attitudes are interpreted with regard to Britain’s foreign policies and the dominant ideology cultivated in its historical, socio-political contexts and suggest that the UK journalistic practice regarding Hong Kong issues is political-driven to a great extent.

V. I. Lenin on the “Woman Question”

In his writings and speeches Lenin showed considerable interest in the “Woman Question.” He argued, first, that the exploitation of female labor performs a central function in the development of capitalism. He claimed that women are “doubly oppressed,” since they lack equality in both the legal–political and domestic spheres. Second, Lenin endorsed the women's rights movement. He called for universal suffrage, criticized prostitution, and supported the struggle for freedom of divorce and abortion. At the same time, he sought to highlight the limits of female liberation under capitalism. Third, Lenin connected the emancipation of women with the construction of socialism and communism. In Soviet Russia he pushed for the equalization of male and female rights. He called for the mass participation of women in politics and economic administration. He planned the socialization of domestic labor and the abolition of household slavery. Under socialism, Lenin argued, women would emancipate themselves.

Aristocracy Must Advertise: Repurposing the Nobility in Interwar British Fiction

In the interwar years, authors Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, and Margery Allingham wrote popular detective fiction that explored possible roles for the aristocracy in an age of universal suffrage. Critics have seen these novels as nostalgic encomia for hierarchy and tradition. This article argues that they should be seen instead as part of a larger trend in interwar fiction that sought to make connections between aristocracy, national identity, and social cohesion. Far from celebrating an imagined idyllic past, these novels suggested possibilities for the continuing relevance of the nobility to the upholding of justice, and indeed, to the success of British democracy.