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1021. Armed Forces and Democracy

Author:
Ali L. Karaosmanoğlu
Publication Date:
06-2011
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
BILGESAM (Wise Men Center for Strategic Studies)
Abstract:
After the Cold-War, there have been radical changes in the international system and the international structure has, to a certain extent, come to be relative. However, division of power in the international community and non-centralized legal order still dominate their roles of being the most characteristic features of international relations. Under such an atmosphere, “security” (however much its content has changed) is still the “value” that should be primarily protected by individuals, societies and states and the lack of which is the source of concern. Therefore, communities of today’s world also accept the critical function of the armed forces. Furthermore, it has been much clearer in the post Cold War era that the security of an individual and the society is as important as that of the state’s security. In this era, it has also come to the fore that this security of the individual and the society could not be protected without the maintenance of the rule of law, human rights, freedoms and democracy. Therefore, the security provided by the armed forces does not suffice. Then security provided by the armed forces should be backed by democratic values, human rights freedoms and the rule of law. However, the history has showed that the armed forces, in performing its mission of protection, has from time to time easily violated democratic values, human rights, freedoms and the principle of rule of law. In this sense, for the protection of the democratic values and thus for the maintenance of individual and social security, it seems compulsory for the military forces to adhere to the civil authority within the democratic regime and to be controlled by the civil authority alike. In other words, civil-military relations should be conducted on a democratic ground. The problem in civil-military relations is not particular to Turkey or to the countries whose democracy has not yet developed. It is a general problem that manifests itself in different versions in the liberal democracies of the West. The problem in civil-military relations has been much more apparent, especially in America and England with regards to the Iraq and Afghanistan interventions. It would be of use to mention how the theory of political science refers to the importance and the complexity of this problem. According to Peter D. Feaver,1 one of the pioneering names in this scope, the armed forces totally differs from the other state institutions, highlighting where the problem starts. The armed forces is different, as it can be understood from its name of being “armed.” Its big potential of power cannot be compared to any other institution or even to the civil democratic government. Hence, the civil government’s relations with the armed forces cannot be similar to its relations with any other public institutions, such as its relations with any directorate general. The final word in democratic regimes always belongs to the one who comes to power through elections. However, the armed forces has its own hierarchy, disciplinary rules, rules of promotion and assignment and the discretionary power in this scope. The problem is related to the boundaries of this autonomous field.
Topic:
Development, Armed Forces, Democracy, and Civil-Military Relations
Political Geography:
Turkey and Middle East

1022. Uganda Election Report

Publication Date:
10-2010
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Open Society Foundations
Abstract:
This Open Society Foundations report assesses Uganda's level of preparedness to hold elections in February 2011 and makes recommendations for electoral reform ahead of the elections, if 2011 polls are to be credible. It highlights the disconnect between Uganda's legal framework in theory and that of its implementation in reality, and points to a level playing field in Ugandan politics.
Topic:
Elections, Democracy, Election watch, Domestic Policy, and Polls
Political Geography:
Uganda

1023. Democracy, Markets & Transparency 2009

Author:
Gabriel C. Salvia and Hernán Alberro
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL)
Abstract:
Leaders of development - The analysis of the cases of New Zealand and Denmark, heading the ranking for third consecutive year, indicates that there are powerful theoretical reasons to think that open economies, liberal democratic regimes and transparent public sectors go together.
Topic:
Development, Markets, Democracy, Economy, and Transparency
Political Geography:
Denmark, New Zealand, and Oceania

1024. Mirage or Reality? Asia’s Emerging Human Rights and Democracy Architecture

Author:
Kelley Currie
Publication Date:
12-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Project 2049 Institute
Abstract:
The report examines the history, current status and future trends of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), the Bali Democracy Forum (BDF), and the Asia Pacific Democracy Partnership (APDP). The report also looks at the role that key countries in and around the region are playing in the development of these mechanisms, as well as in shaping the broader context for improved human rights and democratic governance.
Topic:
Human Rights, Governance, Democracy, and ASEAN
Political Geography:
Asia

1025. The Wolesi Jirga in Flux, 2010: Elections and Instability I

Author:
Anna Larson
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
Abstract:
This paper critically analyses the effects of elections in the current context of 2010, with a specific focus on the Wolesi Jirga, its members and new candidates. It is part of a series on elections in 2009-10. It draws on extensive research compiling over 200 interviews conducted with MPs, their constituents and new candidates, both at the centre in Kabul and in two case study provinces of Balkh and Paktia. It also exists as a parallel study to another discussion paper in the series, written on elections and instability with a focus on constituent perspectives at the local level.
Topic:
Elections, Democracy, Local, and Parliamentarism
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and Middle East

1026. Afghan Election 2010: Alternative Narratives

Author:
Noah Coburn
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
Abstract:
Released shortly before the 2010 parliamentary election, this brief examined the undiscussed stories surrounding the vote. It argued that while the media focused on fraud and insecurity, there were other significant narratives being missed by the coverage preceding the polls.
Topic:
Corruption, Elections, Democracy, Rigged Elections, and Parliamentarism
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and Middle East

1027. The Wolesi Jirga in 2010: Pre-Election Politics and the Appearance of Opposition

Author:
Mohammad Hassan Wafaey and Anna Larson
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
Abstract:
This brief provides some of the initial findings of AREU’s study on parliamentary functions and dynamics. It summarises initial findings based on data collected from semi-structured interviews with a sample of over 50 MPs comprising different backgrounds, provinces, genders, ethnicities, political relationships, and ideologies. In addition, the views of constituents in three provinces, collected for a complementary study, have been drawn upon here to triangulate the information given by MPs.
Topic:
Democracy, Domestic Politics, Community, and Parliamentarism
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and Middle East

1028. The Future of Bilateral Aid in Africa: Size, Flow, Conditionalities and Relative Importance in Countries Budget

Author:
Kristina Svensson
Publication Date:
04-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)
Abstract:
The publication addresses the growing frustration with lack of aid effectiveness that has set in motion a slow but visible transformation of the way in which development cooperation is being pursued, as embodied in the Millennium Declaration, the Paris Declaration of 2005 on Aid Effectiveness, and the International Health Partnership. Donors' programs are increasingly result- based, with greater emphasis on national to achieve its goal of assisting newly ownership and leadership, real donor harmonization and alignment with the development strategies of partner governments. There is also increased focus within the donor community on the interactions between economic and democratic development. As a result, development actors have become more enlightened about the importance of accountable, representative and transparent government institutions. At the same time, organizations that promote democracy have learned that a government's failure to deliver visible results can undermine democratic reforms
Topic:
Development, Bilateral Relations, Foreign Aid, Reform, and Democracy
Political Geography:
Africa

1029. Reporte sobre Democracia y Autonomías en Bolivia en el periodo de Evo Morales

Author:
Diego Ayo Saucedo
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University (ISID)
Abstract:
La realidad Bolivia ha tenido cambios enormes en la última década. En una apretada síntesis se puede definir los siguientes periodos. De 1985 a 2000, fase de establecimiento y consolidación del modelo de democracia representativa de mercado con rasgos multiculturales. De 2000 a 2005, fase de declive y derrumbe del “modelo.” De 2005 a 2010, fase de transición a un modelo descolonizador, autonómico, productivo y solidario. De 2010 en adelante, fase de implementación del nuevo modelo.
Topic:
Development, Democracy, Autonomy, and Evo Morales
Political Geography:
South America and Bolivia

1030. Criminal Justice Performance from a Human Rights Perspective: Assessing the Transformation of the Criminal Justice System in Moldova

Publication Date:
11-2009
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Open Society Foundations
Abstract:
The aim of this report is to assess the extent of transformation of criminal justice in Moldova almost two decades after independence, and to uncover to what extent the Moldovan criminal justice system still exhibits the characteristics of a repressive state. Criminal Justice Performance from a Human Rights Perspective seeks to determine to what extent the objectives of the criminal justice system are understood and embraced by the criminal justice officials, and to what extent democratic and human rights protections are complied with in practice. The report seeks to understand public attitudes in relation to the criminal justice system and what this means for further reform of the criminal justice system. It also makes recommendations towards the further transformation of the Moldovan criminal justice system.
Topic:
Human Rights, Democracy, Criminal Justice, and Legal Sector
Political Geography:
Moldova

1031. Almanac Turkey 2006-2008: Security Sector and Democratic Oversight

Author:
Ahmet İnsel and Onur Bayramoğlu
Publication Date:
07-2009
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Abstract:
Today it is vitally important that citizens examine the security sector with an aim towards democratization. In order to make such an examination more than just an useless exercise, it must be informed by objective data. Therefore, studies like the Almanac are an indispensable part of examining, debating and researching alternatives to the policies that public and private security actors impose on society, the instruments related to these policies and the solutions that these policies are aimed at. This second Almanac covers the three-year period from the beginning of 2006, when the first study was concluded, to the end of 2008. It also gives some information regarding the first half of 2009. In addition to examining the developments which occurred in the Introduction Ali Bayramo¤lu, Ahmet ‹nsel 2 Turkish security sector during this time, the Almanac also focuses on the discussions surrounding the position of security actors in political and social life. It attempts to summarize the historical background that triggered these developments and thus to elucidate both the continuities and the various divergences from historical patterns and trends in Turkish security sector policy. The most crucial debates in the history of the Republic regarding the political and social position of the security forces in Turkey took place between 2006 and 2008. The debates which followed the discovery of diaries belonging to retired admiral, Özden Örnek, gained new significance with the discovery in 2007 of weapons and ammunition that some retired and active-duty officers had hidden in their houses or buried. A clandestine network of relations between retired and active-duty military officers, police officers and civilians is at the center of the legal proceedings that have become known as the Ergenekon case, which remains on-going. The plans for a coup evidenced by other diaries and documents that came to light after the Özden Örnek diaries and during the Ergenekon investigation, as well as preparation for actions aimed at creating a general sense of insecurity in society, have demonstrated with amazing clarity just how important it is that security sector actors in Turkey be under the supervision of civilian political powers and, most importantly, the parliament.
Topic:
Security, Reform, Democracy, and Oversight
Political Geography:
Turkey and Middle East

1032. Security Sector Policy Report 1: The Security Sector in Turkey: Questions, Problems and Solutions

Author:
Hale Akay
Publication Date:
12-2009
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Abstract:
Security has been and is a problematic and contentious area in the Turkish political system due both to the structural, functional and organizational significance of the security sector within this system and to the autonomous and leading role that the security sector plays. This report discusses the various problems within the Turkish security sector by focusing on the armed forces and includes an analysis of the scholarship created by TESEV’s “Security Sector and Democratic Governance” Almanacs. It may be asserted that Turkey’s civil-military relations and the corresponding institutional structures possess three interrelated qualities: 1) An administrative and legislative structure that is constructed through historical continuity; deepened with every military intervention; institutionalized around a broad and ambiguous national security concept; and on several occasions, concealed behind a veil of secrecy. 2) A form of tutelage where the military sphere expands and the political sphere contracts; where the relationship between authority and responsibility is reversed; and where the military acts as the regulator, not the regulated. 3) An autonomous, institutionally isolated, and over-centralized organizational structure within the military. The analysis in this report primarily highlights these three qualities as well as the security-centered organizational structure in Turkey, and yields the following conclusions: Although significant progress towards civilianization has been recorded since the beginning of the reform process in the 2000s, particularly in the National Security Council (NSC), the definition of national security, on which the NSC and the Secretariat General of the NSC frameworks are based, remains unchanged. Prompted by a national security concept within which the bounds of internal and external security threats are still vague, NSC continues to operate as a center of power where official policies addressing a vast policy universe are made. Despite civilianization of the Secretariat General of the NSC (SGNSC), news stories on some personnel appointments indicate that the military retains its strong hold over internal security matters. At the same time, traditionally ambiguous concepts, like national security, and conventional practices, such as psychological operations, are passed down to new domestic security institutions by their ancestors. The informal mechanisms employed by the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) to exercise political influence, coupled with the allegations, currently addressed through judicial processes, against the TAF of planning direct military inventions and social engineering schemes, show that the tradition of military guardianship is intact. While some new regulations were introduced to the military’s organizational structure, the practices of concentrating decision-making power in, and of granting autonomy to, the center of the organizational hierarchy is still dominant. The militarization of the field of internal security resumes because secret by-laws and practices that lack legal justification or basis continue to prevail; and the confusion among security sector institutions regarding their corresponding authorities and responsibilities ensues. The changes that need to be implemented to resolve the above issues are grouped into three categories: 1) Regulations involving the redefinition of national security and the abolishment of the military’s role as the regime’s guardian; 2) proposals to change the autonomous organizational structure of the military; and 3) civilian capacity building measures that particularly include increasing the parliament’s powers to oversee the security sector.
Topic:
Security, Politics, Democracy, and Institutions
Political Geography:
Turkey, Middle East, and Mediterranean

1033. The Eastern Partnership and Estonia: Policy Recommendations

Author:
Merle Maigre and Kaarel Kaas
Publication Date:
11-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Centre for Defence and Security - ICDS
Abstract:
ICDS researchers Kaarel Kaas and Merle Maigre have completed a Policy Brief with recommendations and suggestions for Estonia’s engagement with the EU’s Eastern Partnership. The European Union’s Eastern Partnership establishes a new political instrument for the promotion of democracy and economic reforms in the EU’s eastern neighbourhood. Since the war in Georgia in August 2008 and the gas crisis in the winter of 2008/2009, it has become clear that the developments in Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus and the South Caucasus have a direct impact on the security of the EU and Estonia, as well. It is, therefore, in the interests of Estonia to provide maximum support for our eastern partners in their reform efforts and convergence with the EU.
Topic:
Reform, European Union, Partnerships, and Democracy
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Ukraine, Moldova, Estonia, South Caucasus, and Belarus

1034. Patronage, Posturing, Duty, Demographics: Why Afghans Voted in 2009

Author:
Noah Coburn and Anna Larson
Publication Date:
08-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
Abstract:
What explains the levels of both participation and enthusiasm during the 2009 elections in Kabul Province? Although some voters were motivated by a sense of national duty, and a desire to take part in the democratic process, the majority voted for a variety of other, overlapping reasons. This paper argues that to understand voting attitudes in Kabul Province it is necessary to also look at social pressure, material incentives, a desire to demonstrate community strength, and a desire to “back the winning horse.”
Topic:
Elections, Democracy, Voting, Participation, and Community
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and Middle East

1035. Turkey's Strategy in the Changing World

Author:
Atilla Sandikli
Publication Date:
12-2009
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
BILGESAM (Wise Men Center for Strategic Studies)
Abstract:
At the last quarter of 20th century, Cold War ended and technological advances in general with significant progresses in communication in particular have generated the phenomenon of globalization. The developments in financial markets and in real economy not only spread through geographical boundaries of nation states but also influence economic, technologic, and socio-cultural spheres decisively. National and international spaces as well as local and global domains are increasingly intertwined. Further beyond the interdependencies among states there are emerging new fields of cooperation and of common interests between societies. Democratic values and awareness on human rights are becoming universally shared norms as their applications expand conspicuously. Pluralist democratic regimes that respect human rights and that achieve a just income distribution provide better welfare systems for their publics. These regimes, in the long term, contribute stability and peace at domestic, regional and international levels. Accordingly, geopolitical weight of the states maintaining such regimes increases.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Regional Cooperation, Science and Technology, European Union, Democracy, and Strategic Planning
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Turkey, Middle East, and United States of America

1036. Pakistan's Governance Imperative

Author:
Paula A. Newberg
Publication Date:
05-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
MIT Center for International Studies
Abstract:
After the kind of year that no country ever wants, with its government in crisis, repression replacing even the most remote notion of good government, political assassination, and terror stand- ing in the wings, Pakistan elected a new parliament in February. Led initially by a coalition of three parties previously deemed out- casts by President Pervez Musharraf, its cabinet of familiar political faces quickly agreed in principle, and at least in public, on a compel- ling and daunting political agenda. It reversed some emergency rul- ings, negotiated a hasty truce with insurgents living in the conten- tious tribal agency of Waziristan—and then broke down on divisive issues left to them by Musharraf. Domestic politics and foreign policy alike are now fair game for ambitious politicians long removed from power. This isn’t the first time that civilians have inherited the detritus of a mili- tary-led state, and past success has been elusive at best. Prime Minister Yousef Raza Gillani therefore faces not only the problems created by Musharraf ’s national security state, but also the accumulation of decades of mangled constitutions, mixed civil-military law, weakened state institutions and fragmented political parties. Today’s refreshing, if cautious good will nonetheless reflects a political order that was fragile and complex before Musharraf ’s 1999 coup d’etat, and remains so now. The recent blur of pronouncements, plans and policies reflects this history as it touches on Pakistan’s perennially sensitive topics: jumbled electoral rules, imbalances between provincial powers and central government authority, political corruptions long deemed acceptable, and a testy relationship between parliament and the president. Parliament is understandably keen to replace the opacity of Musharraf ’s tenure with a transparency that matches Pakistan’s avid, 21st century media, and in so doing, cement the coalition’s public image.
Topic:
Governance, Democracy, Leadership, and Political Crisis
Political Geography:
Pakistan and Middle East

1037. Iraq’s Political Factions: The Last Chance to Build a Governing Coalition?

Author:
Barry R. Posen
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
MIT Center for International Studies
Abstract:
President Bush is renewing his efforts to create an Iraq that can govern, sustain, and defend itself, and is throwing more resources at the project. The first priority must be governance, however, as administration and defense cannot happen without a functioning government. And government cannot function without a legitimate, broad-based, political consensus. Such a consensus has eluded Iraqis since March 2003, and the President’s new strategy includes no political program to create such a consensus. Instead, he counts on creating a coalition of existing “moderates,” which do not exist, as the intense violence within Iraq clearly demonstrates. Thus, the President’s troop increases, economic assistance, and intensified train- ing will likely prove futile.
Topic:
Imperialism, Democracy, State Building, and Iraq War
Political Geography:
United States, Iraq, Middle East, and North America

1038. Turkey: Misperceptions and the Healing Touch of Democracy

Author:
Doğu Ergil
Publication Date:
05-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
MIT Center for International Studies
Abstract:
Mass demonstrations in late April brought out hundreds of thousands of people in Ankara and perhaps a million people one week later in Istanbul, an awesome scene on both occasions. Demonstrations of lesser scale are underway in smaller cities like Canakkale and Manisa—a trend to continue until early elections scheduled for July 22. The demonstrations were comprised of mainly women and middle-class urban people who chanted their allegiance to secularism and a modern way of life, which they believed to be endangered by the religious leanings of the incumbent government. But is this a legitimate fear? The same government, led by the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi or AKP), has been in place since its electoral victory in 2002 and no substan- tial alteration took place in the basic tenets of the regime. Now, with the prospect of the election of the first Turkish president from this party, anxieties are high. The fear that such a danger is imminent has to be sociologically accounted for.
Topic:
Social Movement, Democracy, Protests, and Oppression
Political Geography:
Europe, Turkey, and Asia

1039. Coming to Terms with Forced Migration: Post-Displacement Restitution of Citizenship Rights in Turkey

Author:
A. Tamer Aker, Ayşe Betül Çelik, Deniz Yükseker, Dilek Kurban, and Turgay Inalan
Publication Date:
08-2007
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Abstract:
The large number of civil wars in the world in which ethnic groups are involved has given rise to a growing body of literature about how to rebuild nations so that they do not lapse back into violence. Among these is the well-researched new book by the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (“TESEV”), Coming to Terms with Forced Migration: Post-Displacement Restitution of Citizenship Rights in Turkey. Its five co-authors, Dilek Kurban (TESEV), Deniz Yükseker (Koç University), Ayşe Betül Çelik (Sabancı University), Turgay Ünalan (Hacettepe University) and A. Tamer Aker (Kocaeli University) dig deeply into the causes of conflict and displacement in Turkey, seeking to go beyond official versions and to unearth what really occurred in their country and how best to move forward to resolve the political, economic and social divisions. Each of the authors brings a different discipline to the book, together examining displacement from a broad perspective, encompassing the sociological, political, psychological, demographic and legal. Reinforcing their two years of academic research is rigorous field work in the provinces of Diyarbakır, Batman, Istanbul and Hakkâri where they interview municipal leaders, civil society and the people who were forcibly displaced. Among their major findings is one especially important for the government and the international community to register: that internal displacement in Turkey is not just a security problem confined to a limited number of hamlets in the southeast but a widespread and large-scale phenomenon with impact on “the whole nation.” After all, some one million men, women and children were forcibly uprooted from rural areas in the east and southeast of the country as a result of the armed struggle from 1984 to 1999 between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan - “PKK”) and the Turkish military. Large numbers fled to urban areas all over the country where they have long experienced poverty, poor housing, joblessness, loss of land and property, limited access to physical and mental health care services, and limited educational opportunities for their children. Acknowledging the plight of the displaced in both rural and urban areas and developing effective policies and programs to help them reintegrate is therefore critical not only for the lives of the displaced but also for the coherence and stability of the country as a whole.
Topic:
Human Rights, Migration, Minorities, Democracy, Citizenship, and Displacement
Political Geography:
Turkey, Middle East, and Mediterranean

1040. Violence and Insecurity: The Challenge in the Global South

Author:
Diane E. Davis
Publication Date:
11-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
MIT Center for International Studies
Abstract:
It does not seem that long ago that optimism flowered about prospects for Democracy and sustained economic development on a worldwide scale. But hopes for the future have dimmed over the last several years, as problems of violence, crime, and insecurity have emerged with a vengeance in many parts of the global south. Forget big ideas about democracy; forget the aspirations for a globally competitive development strategy. Growing numbers of citizens in the global south are turning to demands for basic needs and human rights, as reflected in the accelerating desire for security and a life without violent conflict.
Topic:
Development, Human Rights, Democracy, and Conflict
Political Geography:
Global South