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 democratic challenges and potential of localism: insights from deliberative democracy

This article considers the democratic challenges and potential of localism by drawing on insights from the theory and practice of deliberative democracy. On a conceptual level, the ideas embedded in localism and deliberative democracy share much in common, particularly the democratic goal of engaging citizens in decisions that affect them. Despite such commonalities, however, there has been limited conversation between relevant literatures. The article considers four democratic challenges facing localism and offers a response from a systems perspective of deliberative democracy. It argues that, for localism to realise its democratic potential, new participatory spaces are required and the design of these spaces matters. Beyond structured participatory forums, local democracy also needs an active and vibrant public sphere that promotes multiple forms of democratic expression. This requires taking seriously the democratic contributions of local associations and social movements. Finally, the article argues that, to fulfil its democratic potential, localism needs to encourage greater democratic and political connectivity between participatory forums and the broader public sphere.     

Democracy, Social Relations and Ecowelfare

Like Marxists before, greens are trenchant critics of the commodification of human life by consumer capitalism. They have been persistent advocates of less materialistic ways of living but, as such, have been easily dismissed as champions of frugal, small‐scale community living. This essay argues that a society which fostered non‐materialistic ways of living could offer more rather than less to its citizens if it put at the centre of its vision the quality of human and social relations. A relational perspective insists that human capacities—aesthetic, spiritual, practical/intellectual, ethical and convivial—are developed through our relations to others and to nature, including the nature and otherness in ourselves. The primary aim of an ecowelfare society should be to create the conditions for such human capacities to flourish in a balanced way. The essay frst describes four areas of our everyday social relations where qualitative change is necessary if a democratic culture is to flourish. Capitalism privileges the development of the practical/intellectual and, in consequence, our over‐extended technical powers now put the world at risk. Green democracy must be approached in this light. Participation in political discussion and decision making at all levels of society enhances individual and collective ethical and convivial capacities and therefore fosters citizens who have the capacity to respond to social and ecological insecurity. To be convincing, green democracy needs to recognize the actual complexity of society, a complexity that direct, face‐to‐face models of democracy cannot deal with. In opposition to the markets and managerialism of existing governments greens should develop a vision of the extended democratization of all levels and institutions of society, from housing estates and health centres to universities and non‐departmental public bodies like the Arts Council. In doing so it must recognize the differences, tensions and conflicts in all communities irrespective of whether these are generated around place, identity or lifestyle. It must therefore promote the maximum diversity of democratic forms.     

Direct democracy and minority rights: same-sex marriage bans in the U.S

Objectives. A common critique of direct democracy posits that minority rights are endangered by citizen legislative institutions. By allowing citizens to directly create public policy, these institutions avoid the filtering mechanisms of representative democracy that provide a check on the power of the majority. Empirical research, however, has produced conflicting results that leave the question of direct democracy's effect on minority rights open to debate. This article seeks to empirically test this critique using a comparative, dynamic approach.Methods. I examine the diffusion of same-sex marriage bans in the United States using event-history analysis, comparing direct-democracy states to non-direct-democracy states.Results. The results show that direct-democracy states are significantly more likely than other states to adopt same-sex marriage bans.Conclusion. The findings support the majoritarian critique of direct democracy, suggesting that the rights of minority groups are at relatively higher risk under systems with direct democracy.     

寻求民主发展与公民参与的统一——一种参与式民主的进路

寻求民主发展和公民参与的统一是现代民主理论必须面对的一个重大问题。在当代西方精英主义民主理论中,更多强调的是公民参与和民主发展的矛盾和对立。而参与式民主理论从个体、共同体、国家三个层面对民主的内涵进行了重构,突出了公民参与的教育、整合和制约功能。通过在地方事务、社会团体和公共领域中的公民积极参与,从而实现民主发展和公民参与的统一。本文描述了这种参与式民主的进路,为中国民主的发展提供另一个可资借鉴的视域。     

Winning and Competitiveness as Determinants of Political Support*

Objectives. This study examines the impact of competitiveness, winning, and ideological congruence on evaluations of democratic principles, institutions, and performance. We posit that winning matters most. Individuals will hold favorable views toward democracy when it produces the outcomes they desire, independent of other contextual factors associated with elections. Methods. We use cross‐sectional multiple regression models to analyze survey data from Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Results. We find that the psychological effect of being an election winner at the national level greatly boosts evaluations of democracy, as measured with a host of different indicators, while competitiveness and congruence do not systematically affect these evaluations. Conclusions. This study sheds light on what factors boost regime support among the populace by sorting out the relative impact of being in a competitive district, winning (at the local and national level), and having a representative with a similar ideological outlook.     

共治民主：应对气候变化的民主模式初探

应对气候变化是一个特殊的公共领域。为应对气候变化,民族国家和国际政治都已经悄然发生并将继续发生调适性变化,这就是共治民主的形成。在这一人类活动领域,无论聚合民主还是协商民主,抑或一种局限于二者之中的参与民主概念,都不敷使用。共治民主是利益相关各方共同合作或自主实现公共利益的过程;它是共治定向的而非共识定向的;它是合作的,而非博弈的;它是社会的,而非政治的。     

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.     

论马克思的“社会共和国”理论与真实民主制度--兼论其对中国公民民主参与制度的启示

“社会共和国”是马克思主义者对新型无产阶级人民主权的政体设计,它保留了共和国的政体形式并以阶级内容的无产阶级属性取代并超越了资产阶级民主共和国。马克思为“社会共和国”设计了一系列真实而有效的民主制度：人民普选制、社会主义代议制、议行合一制与民主监督制。这些真实的民主制度为我国当下的公民民主参与实践提供了坚实的理论依据,并将指导着我们进一步完善人民代表大会制度下的公民参与权、基层民主自治制度与民主监督等制度。     

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.     

Determinants of public support for tax and expenditure initiatives: An Oregon and Washington case study

This article examines the determinants of public support for state tax and expenditure initiatives in Washington and Oregon during the 1993 elections. Both states had initiatives on their November ballots dealing with taxes and expenditures—Measure 1 in Oregon, which would have introduced a state sales tax, and two initiatives in Washington (I-601 and I-602) concerning state government revenue and expenditure limitations. Using statewide mail and telephone surveys conducted among voting age residents of Oregon and Washington several weeks prior to the election, this study examines the determinants of public support for each of the initiatives. The determinants of support examined include various sociodemographic factors such as age cohort, gender, education, level of income, and occupational sector (public v. private); the level of informedness concerning each initiative; perceptions of self interest; and various political indicators, including partisan identification, ideology, degree of cynicism concerning state politics, and perceptions of state budget waste. Findings suggest similar patterns of support and opposition among citizens in both states, with perceptions of high state waste and political cynicism strongly associated with support for tax and expenditure limitation in Washington and opposition to the adoption of a sales tax in Oregon.     

论政治监督与民主自由的实现

政治民主和政治自由是人的主体性不断提升的必然要求 ,是人类社会政治发展的重要标志。民主自由的实现有赖于民主的政治体制 ,而民主政治体制的核心制度功能之一就是政治监督 ,民主自由政治的各种制度无不包含着对政治权力进行监督与制衡的机制。因此 ,政治监督是实现政治民主和政治自由的基本途径 ,民主自由的发展必须以健全和完善政治监督制度为基本前提     

Democracy Out of Anarchy: The Prospects for Post‐Civil‐War Democracy*

Objective. This study explores the effects of civil war outcome on post‐civil‐war democratization. We employ an expected utility model to argue that the attributes of the civil war that lead to balanced power relations between the warring parties lead to higher levels of postconflict democracy. Methods. We estimate a series of OLS regression models with change in the level of democracy (from the prewar level to five and ten years after the conflict ended) as the dependent variable. Results. Civil wars that end in negotiated settlements are more likely to experience higher levels of democratization than civil wars that end in military victory by either side. Identity‐based conflicts lead to lower levels of democratization while previous democratic experience seems to decrease post‐civil‐war democratization. We find no support for the argument that high war costs and U.N. peace‐keeping forces produce higher levels of democracy. Conclusions. Civil war may lead to more inclusive polities if it serves to even the balance of power between contending groups in the nation. Power balance is more likely to bring about more democratic polities, especially where power sharing is formalized in a negotiated settlement.     

Who won political elections in Hong Kong over time?

Addressing the question about who won in political elections in Hong Kong can reveal its trajectory of democratic development. Because a democracy requires fair representation in elected members, whose performance and ideological orientation can appeal to rational and ideologically sophisticated citizens, incumbents and partisans tend to be more successful in winning the democratic election. To examine this instance of democratic development, the study compiles a dataset including all candidates (3,811 cases) contesting for elections from 1982 to 2000. It finds the general trend that incumbents and partisans of some major parties were more likely to win the contests. Furthermore, it estimates the relative chance separately for 17 elections during the period and examines the influence of time. As a result, it detects that the favorable effects of incumbency and party affiliation tended to increase with time. These findings imply the steady democratic development in Hong Kong.     

WHO'S NOT PAYING THEIR FAIR SHARE: PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS OF THE AUSTRALIAN TAX SYSTEM

Data from the Community Hopes, Fears and Actions Survey are used to examine how pervasive the view is that the more privileged in society are failing to pay their fair share of tax, to understand the beliefs that underpin such perceptions, and the reforms that are needed to open dialogue with the Australian public about the issue. Support is found for five hypotheses. Economic self‐interest provides a partial explanation for perceptions of vertical inequity, but more important are disillusionment with the Australian democracy and perceptions of insufficient procedural justice from the tax office. Values about how Australian society should develop also play a part. Those looking for a more equal, caring and compassionate Australia perceive there to be a high level of vertical inequity. Such perceptions are not shared by those aspiring to an Australia that pursues competitive advantage either economically or politically. Tax authorities are brokers for social order and harmony in democracies. They can not determine the policies that are supposed to deliver these goals, nor the rules by which individuals are expected to contribute to the government coffers. But they carry responsibility for making it all happen — collecting taxes and providing government with revenue. As such, their integrity is pivotal to smooth democratic functioning. Integrity for a tax authority involves having purposeful and sound goals, appropriate and ethical procedures for pursuing such goals, and processes allowing reflection and evolution of their operation in response to the democratic will (Braithwaite 2003). This paper is a contribution to the process of reflection on how the tax system is working for its citizens. Its purpose is to investigate the extent to which the Australian community believes that their tax authority is pursuing one of its goals, collecting revenue, in a sound and purposeful way. Three questions are addressed: (a) Are different social groups in our society paying their fair share of tax? (b) What are the experiences and aspirations lying behind public perceptions that some groups do not pay their fair share? and (c) Do perceptions of fairness shape the direction in which Australians want to see tax reform progress?     

追求公共善：当代西方对公民责任的研究

公民责任是指公民履行与其公民身份相适应的、符合社会公共善的义务以及对行为后果的承担。当代西方公民责任研究的兴起有历史和现实两方面的原因。历史地看,西方公民理论家无论主张积极的还是消极的公民资格都承认良好的公民素质对于民主制度的建立、稳定和发展是必不可少的,因此都对公民责任持肯定态度。现实原因则既是政治话语自然递进的结果、是民主实践发展的需要也是对过度强调的权利的修正。当代西方对公民责任的研究主要从四方面展开:其一,公民责任是公民维护民主政治的义务;其二,公民责任被视为公民美德的体现;其三,公民的核心责任是政治参与;培养公民责任具有多种途径等等。     

俄罗斯的10年轮回

从叶利钦当选俄罗斯总统到现在，10年间俄罗斯经历了一个轮回由高度集中到极端民主，再由极端民主走回权威体制。俄罗斯的10年轮回说明，数年的民主化改革并没能从根本上改变俄罗斯，俄罗斯的经济土壤上结不出西方议会民主的政治果实。虽然看起来俄罗斯似乎回到了它原来的出发点，实际上却上升到一个高的层次。     

Trends in the development of a European social union

Abstract The European Union's policy of economic concentration and de regulation en tails a creeping loss of sovereignty over social policy for the member States, which are also subject to the common monetary policy: the budgetary discipline they are expected to maintain calls for a constant reduction in social expenditure and the radical privatization of public areas of the economy. The question is whether, by harmonizing its various national fiscal, social and economic policies to a greater or lesser extent, the European Un ion can regain the freedom of action which individual States have lost. Given increasing in terregional competition, member States find them selves also competing in respect of their social systems. The idea of a European social union, dismissed in the past as a pipe dream, is increasingly be coming a necessity for the success of the integration process in the future. The European Union will remain an alien concept for its citizens until it succeeds in developing a specific base for emancipatory democracy. This will only be possible when social justice and a high level of social security benefits are guaranteed for all citizens. The European constitution is an other step in this direction but is not enough by it self; it can only set democratic processes in motion. The creation of a genuine social un ion calls for further initiatives from social security actors, among others.     

Legislating morality outside of the legislature: Direct democracy,voter participation and morality politics

Twenty-four states currently use some form of the initiative and referendum in an effort to give Americans the opportunity to make laws directly and vote on proposals given to them by their state legislatures. In one area in particular, morality policy, voters have historically used the ballot box to craft important and often controversial legislation. These have included items concerning gambling, alcohol, abortion, narcotics, obscenity and religion. This research examines two important aspects of the direct democracy issue: does the initiative and referendum increase voter participation in the states giving this option to voters and what is the impact on participation levels when morality issues are considered? For the first question a unique data set is developed to test voter turnout on ballot issues using the state as the unit of analysis. Results of this ordinary-least-squares analysis suggest direct democracy does increase voter turnout rates. In the second part of the analysis, however, several state ballots from 1972 to 2006 are analyzed suggesting that voter interest is strongest when they face morality issues. Hence, ‘legislating morality’ takes on a new meaning here since we commonly associate the phrase only with legislative institutions. As shown, over time citizens have been legislating morality directly in their own unique way. Theoretically, while advocates of direct democracy contend the process increases voter participation, it is argued here that the participation is often skewed toward certain morality issues and not toward issues as a whole. The data support this contention and raise normative questions concerning voters and their propensity to ‘legislate morality’.     

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.