The impact of democracy and press freedom on corruption: Conditionality matters

This paper empirically analyzes the joint impact of democracy and press freedom on corruption. Based in the theoretical literature, we argue that both institutional features are complements rather than substitutes in controlling corruption. Our regressions are based on a cross section of 170 countries covering the period from 2005 to 2010 as well as on panel evidence for 175 countries from 1996 to 2010. The results show that democratic elections only work in controlling corruption, if there is a certain degree of press freedom in a country, vice versa. Our policy implication is that democratic reforms are more effective, if they are accompanied by institutional reforms strengthening the monitoring of politicians.     

Elites,Oil, and Democratization: A Survival Analysis*

Objective. This study explores the relationship between natural resource wealth, most notably oil, and democratic survival. I contend that natural resources help sustain democratic regimes by easing social conflict between the rich and the poor. As such, the availability of abundant natural resource revenues alleviates the elites' fear of redistribution of wealth, thereby stabilizing the regime. Methods. I estimate a series of survival analyses for the period between 1960 and 1999. Results. Elite support and oil wealth independently help stabilize democracies. Conclusions. The results bring the widely held views on the link between oil and democracy into question and invite further scrutiny.     

News media and the Muslim identity after the Christchurch mosque massacres

ABSTRACT

This article discusses news about Muslims via one researcher’s social media news feeds after the Christchurch tragedy. Using intercultural and Islamic communication theories, the contents of several news stories are analysed for their contribution to the Muslim person’s identity. Findings reveal four main categories: Muslim women and hijab; religion and terrorism; media, government, democracy and the politics of oppression; and representation of the Muslim voice. Substantial news content also depicts peace, love and forgiveness in its presentation of the human angle in New Zealand media. There is a significant shift from the negative othering rhetoric of international media to an inclusive national approach in the tone of the New Zealand press. However, Muslim narratives reveal that structural discrimination and systemic oppression do exist and pose safety and identity challenges. While news continues to divide and unite people depending on the press agenda, their depictions of Islam and Muslims have potentially major influences and serious consequences on the Muslim person’s identity within the local and global Muslim communities.     

Inclusionary policy and marginalised groups in Aoteaora/New Zealand process,impacts and politics

ABSTRACT

This paper presents the consolidated findings of a four-year research project that evaluated policy inclusion between the New Zealand government and communities of difference – specifically, ethnic/migrant/refugee groups, women/gender and Māori. Policy inclusion builds on foundational principles of deliberative democracy that dialogue and relationship not only improve policy but also foster democratic transitions towards pluralism and diversity. Although associated with the social democratic agenda of the Fifth Labour government, collaborative policymaking with marginalised groups continued in the subsequent National government. Drawing on interviews with policy communities, this paper analyses (a) the processes of inclusionary policymaking, (b) policy impacts and (c) implications for politics of difference. The findings suggest that, overall, the greatest efforts in inclusive policy have been at the level of design, primarily by maximising the presence of members and promoting visibility for communities of difference. These processes have had less impact on sustained, deep political transformations or opportunities for advancing diversity. The findings suggest that inclusionary policymaking had benefits for recognition politics, but against the backdrop of recent neo-conservatism, the prospects for pluralistic politics have been compromised, paving instead a politics of regulation.     

民主的两种批评者

在当代政治哲学中,人们主要从以下两个维度来定义民主：一种是以公共利益为基本导向的民主理论;另一种民主理论认为,在现代社会中,随着实质性的共同利益的消失和单一的群体性意志的不可能,民主不可能在以公共利益为基本导向的模式上建立起来,所以,它们认为＂多元＂和＂竞争＂才是民主的本质性特征。在这两种民主理论中,前者往往被认为是一种压迫性的、独裁性的民主理论;而后者则往往被认为有着重陷霍布斯状态的倾向。     

Does social media promote democracy? Some empirical evidence

This study explores the relationship between social media and democracy in a cross-section of over 125 countries around the world. We find the evidence of a strong, positive correlation between Facebook penetration (a proxy for social media) and democracy. We further show that the correlation between social media and democracy is stronger for low-income countries than high-income countries. Our lowest point estimates indicate that a one-standard deviation (about 18 percentage point) increase in Facebook penetration is associated with an improvement in the democracy index by about 8-point (on a scale of 0–100) for the world sample and over 11 points for the sample of low-income countries.     

The transfer of arms and the diffusion of democracy: do arms promote or undermine the “third wave”?

The post–Cold War world has witnessed a proliferation of countries governed by democratic rule. Consequently, optimism has arisen about the prospects for the spread of freedom along with democratic peace and prosperity. Along these lines, many democratic countries have made the active promotion of democracy an explicit goal and a condition for third world countries’ assistance. However, such intentions may be threatened by the ever-present arms trade. Not only do arms transfers play a key role in the foreign policies of many democratic countries, but many developing countries continue to purchase arms from abroad at a steady rate. From the perspective of the developing recipients, this study seeks to empirically assess the impact of the arms trade on democratization. To this end, this paper utilizes an exploratory data technique, locally weighted scatterplot smoother (LOWESS) to examine data for developing countries between 1982 and 1992. By exploring graphically the patterns and distributions revealed by these indicators, the implications of the international arms trade for the spread of democracy are assessed.     

Social Insurance Expansion and Political Regime Dynamics in Europe, 1880–1945*

Objectives. This article analyzes the causal relationship between political regime dynamics and social insurance expansion. I theorize that the social insurance expansion is the result of the ruling elites' strategic decision about regime change to dispel revolutionary motives. The key testable implication is that social insurance expansion is more likely to happen under a democratic regime, which, in turn, is influenced by the threat of social revolution evinced by strike activities. Methods. Using historical data on social insurance coverage from 12 European countries from 1880 to 1945, I test the hypothesis employing a treatment‐effects model that endogenizes democratization. Results. I find a positive association between social insurance expansion and democracy, controlling for other political mechanisms. Furthermore, I find that democratic transition is greatly influenced by the duration and intensity of strikes. Conclusion. This study suggests that social insurance expansion requires a link between a threat of revolution and democratization.     

Government for the people: the substantive elements of democracy

The most widely used understandings of the concept of democracy – normative, procedural and institutional – focus on its methods and approaches. This article argues that democracy needs also to be understood in terms of its substantive implications. Democratic rights include not only the civil and political rights associated with liberal democracy, but also the economic and social rights promoted in industrially developed countries. Liberal principles promote democracy and economic development. Social rights have developed, not just through state action, but through the independent establishment of solidarities facilitated by the exercise of democratic rights. Every established democracy has a system of social welfare provision. This is not coincidental. Democracy, economic development and social protection are intimately linked.     

FDI,democracy and corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper investigates the relationship between FDI, democracy and corruption among 30 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) over the period of 1985–2014 to determine whether the ‘helping hand’ or ‘grabbing hand’ hypothesis is most applicable. The results of GMM analysis show that corruption is used by FDI investors to overcome the region’s weak democratic regulatory and institutional status and thus the ‘helping hand’ is more prevalent. However, the results further show that as democratic capital accumulates, this association may outlive its usefulness and thus corruption as a ‘helping hand’ in time becomes a ‘grabbing hand’ instead. These results imply that SSA countries should focus on integrating into the international economy so as to take advantage of existing financial enforcement legislation while reconstructing and strengthening domestic constitutional anti-corruption legislation and institutions.     

Karl Marx's sociological theory of democracy: Civil society and political rights

This essay reconstructs Marx's relationship to democracy and liberalism through an examination of his early work which was directly concerned with the issues of understanding democracy as a kind of society. Only with an analysis of the dynamics of civil society—a political economic, sociological, and historical understanding—could the true nature of citizenship be discerned. In contradistinction to liberal political theory, he would argue that political theory could not stand on its own if it analyzed only the state. Marx came to understand the contradiction between the liberal state and civil society as what he called a sophistry because it undermined the possibility of the democratic agency of workers. This was a sophistry, not because he opposed political democracy, but because the development of capitalism undermined the possibility of democratic agency. Citizenship could be nothing but a “lion's skin” of politics concealing the nature of civil society beneath it. This contradiction would drive Marx's thought forward as he moved from liberalism to democratic socialism with his developing understanding of the structure and dynamics of capitalism from 1843 until the end of his life. The essay illustrates two closely related claims about Marx's thought regarding liberalism and democracy. First, I argue that Marx engaged in a democratic critique of liberalism; second, and as a response to his democratic critique of liberalism, Marx developed a more sociological understanding of democracy, and hence believed that political democracy was a necessary condition of freedom, though not a sufficient condition.     

The Role of Consultative Democracy under the Constitutional Framework and the Associated Rule of Law*

The logical sequence of China’s state governance is “governing party—consultative conferences—people’s congresses—the people.” The “governing party—consultative conferences” link in the chain involves political consultation through people’s consultative conferences. The “governing party—consultative conferences—people’s congresses” link involves a process of obtaining legitimacy for the Party’s views based on political consultations which are then translated into the national will by the system of people’s congresses. The “people’s congresses—the people” link involves the two-pronged logic of elections and governing the country according to law. The “governing party—the people” link is an illustration of the party’s mass line, which essentially involves social consultation. Consultative democracy usually includes the political consultation in the “governing party—consultative conferences” link and the social consultation in the “governing party—the people” link in the chain, both of which are connected through the system of people’s congresses. This logically determines the inner relations between the Party’s leadership, consultative democracy and the people’s congress form of representative democracy and shapes the institutionalization of consultative democracy. That is, in the process of democratic decision-making, a circular system consisting of “political consultation—legislative consultation—social consultation” is created to guide development of the actual system.     

社会组织化:构筑国家与社会良性关系的关键

构筑国家与社会的良性关系是现代社会民主发展的基本要求,也是构建社会主义和谐社会的内在要求。对发展中国家而言,构筑国家与社会的良性关系,问题往往不在于国家力量的不足,而在于社会自主力量的有限。规范组织和发展社会力量,提高社会组织化程度,增强社会自主性,提高社会自治能力,是我国构筑国家与社会良性关系、实现社会和谐的关键。     

发扬社会主义民主促进党群关系和谐

把建设政治文明作为社会主义现代化建设的重要目标,表明党中央对民主政治建设的高度重视,必将进一步加快社会主义民主政治建设的进程,为新时期密切党群关系提供了有利条件.人民民主意识的增强为进一步促进党群关系的和谐创造了有利条件,政治体制改革的深化为促进党群关系和谐提供了制度保障,党的领导方式和执政方式的转变为促进党群关系的和谐提供了有利时机.要进一步增强党员和群众社会主义民主意识,进一步完善社会主义民主制度,进一步增加干部选拔任用过程中的民主含量,形成党和人民相互支持、相互信任、相互依赖的和谐的党群关系.     

Why do richer democracies survive?—The non-effect of unconventional political participation

Since Seymour Lipset's (1959) seminal article on the social prerequisites of democracy, many scholars have found a strong empirical correlation between increases in per capita income and democracy. Given this strong connection however, an important gap in the literature remains—what are the pathways linking wealth and democracy? This paper attempts to establish the validity of one of the possible paths by testing the three-fold relationship between per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP), unconventional political participation and democratic consolidation. Despite finding a strong positive correlation between per capita GDP and the consolidation of democracy, this research reveals that unconventional political participation is not mediating this effect.     

Mediated Political Communication in Australia: leading issues,new evidence

New 2007 survey data on political communication is used to study the relation between commercial and ABC/SBS television consumption and Australian political and civic culture. The first section outlines the demographic characteristics of viewers who rely, respectively, for their news and current affairs, on commercial as compared with public service television. This is followed by a profile of popular views on the concentration of media ownership in Australia. The paper then shows that levels of trust in other people are higher for those who rely on public service television. Similarly, knowledge about basic constitutional facts is shown to be positively related to a preference for public service television news consumption. The same holds for civic engagement. The conclusions imply that Australians generally favour stronger public interest regulation of commercial television broadcasting. The conclusion explains that media regulation in Australia generally lags behind public preferences for a more explicitly democratic regulatory regime.     

Spinning the Rural Agenda: The Countryside Alliance, Fox Hunting and Social Policy

This paper investigates the ways in which the UK hunting lobby has historically sought to widen its appeal by wrapping the hunting debate up in broader countryside issues in an attempt to present it as an integral part of rural life. It is based upon a detailed analysis of the re‐branding of the hunting lobby and the subsequent framing of the Countryside Alliance's Liberty and Livelihood March in the British newspaper press in September 2002. This illustrates how the hunting lobby has fed upon and promoted the perception of a growing urban–rural divide in the UK. The analysis suggests that there is a long history of symbiotic relationships between campaigning organizations promoting a ‘countryside agenda’ and the politically partisan UK press. Gaining extensive newspaper access, however, does not guarantee that a protest group is successful in its aims. This case study suggests that it is important to consider the less visible processes of news production within their historical context, and in relation to the broader policy‐making arena, to adequately assess whether there has been a fundamental shift in the relationship between protest movements and the press in recent years.     

Thick populism: democracy-enhancing popular participation

ABSTRACT

This article posits that some forms of popular participation offer important resources for democratic renewal. It develops a conceptual distinction between thin and thick varieties of populism. Thin populist movements mobilize popular support to replace elite leaders by undermining or corroding the deliberative and inclusionary principles of representative government. In contrast, thick populist movements seek to modify or alter the practices and conventions of representative government by offering democracy-enhancing and trust-building organizational forms and political practices. This distinction between thin and thick populism helps identify a swath of normative and practical common-ground occupied by populists and deliberative democratic reformers and innovators, who have also held deeply critical views of representative democracy. The article discusses four contemporary examples of democratic innovation (broadly understood) to illustrate how thick populism can take root in organizations, institutions, campaigns, and in the efforts of everyday citizens. Consideration is given to the lessons that contemporary forms of thick populism offer for advocates of participatory and deliberative democratic innovation.     

The Demographic Future of Russia and Processes of Migration

The author analyzes the evolution of the concept of sovereignty from feudal times through early modernity to the present day. She examines the problematic relationship between the ideas of sovereignty, democracy, and pluralism, and discusses the decline and possible disappearance of sovereignty in the context of globalization.     

The role of Spain and the Spanish in the creation of Europe's transnational democratic political culture, 1840–70

During the mid-nineteenth century European radicals developed contacts, relationships and networks. They organized activities and plans and propagated discourses and projects that transcended national borders. This article explores this transnational dimension of European democracy by analysing the case of Spain from around 1840, when the first Spanish self-proclaimed democrats began to organize, to the 1870s, when a certain national withdrawal took place among European democratic activists. It examines the journeys and contacts made by Spanish democrats as well as the extensive coverage of leading European activists that was published in Spanish newspapers, and considers how these connections were perceived by Spanish democratic activists. It is argued that contacts and networks contributed to configure a European democratic transnational political culture characterized by interrelations, exchanges and processes of cross-fertilization, through which the feeling of belonging to a national democratic community co-existed with a strong link to a wider European democratic family. The speeches, manifestos and projects of activists of various origins affected and greatly influenced each other, as well as shaping their socio-political views and strategic options.