Search

Begin New Search Topic Democracy

1041. Democratic Oversight of the Security Sector: Turkey and the World

Author:
Volkan Aytar
Publication Date:
03-2006
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Abstract:
The longitudinal political and social “weight” of the Turkish Armed Forces, and the imbalances ensued, are considered among the most important and complex issues in Turkish history. Recently, the need for further harmonization of the Turkish Civilian-Military Relations (CMR) with the democratic standards was underlined at the European Commission’s (EC) successive Annual Progress Reports on Turkey. The issue will no doubt be among the most important issues in Turkey’s EU accession process. One could claim this can best be achieved by a healthy cooperation between the government, parliament and security sector institutions (the armed forces, the police department, the gendarmerie, and others) with the assistance of expert opinion, and by taking into consideration the demands stemming from civil society. Moreover, apart from the issue of harmonization of the Turkish CMR with the EU standards and universal democratic norms, the vitally important problem of implementing a substantive Security Sector and Bureaucracy Reform (SSBR) would certainly be on the top of Turkey’s agenda for years (even decades) to come. SSBR shall cover not only CMR-related issues but also involve the establishment of democratic control and oversight mechanisms on all domestic security institutions by taking a citizen-centered approach. Placed at a context going far beyond the narrow and somewhat misleading confines of a mere CMR issue, the problem needs to be addressed in its diversity and complexity. Since the very concepts of “reform” and “control of the armed forces” still remain controversial in Turkey, TESEV aims to contribute to this (potentially divisive and politicized) process by helping 6 “normalize” the debates on the issue, in a cool-headed, objective and scientific manner. In this context, the fruitful past collaboration between the Geneva-based Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF – the Republic of Turkey is a founding member since November 20th, 2003) and TESEV seems to be becoming even more crucial in helping shape the ongoing process (indeed, the EC’s 2005 Turkey Progress Report lauded TESEV & DCAF’s work). TESEV strives to further the agenda of democratic and civilian oversight of the security sector by taking as its target audience, legislators, media professionals and civil society at large. National and international symposia, presentations at the Special Commissions of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, as well as documentary and critical studies on the Security Sector are among the interlocking project activities and outputs.
Topic:
Security, Armed Forces, Democracy, and Accountability
Political Geography:
Turkey and Middle East

1042. Seeking Kant in the EU’s Relations with Turkey

Author:
Ali Murat Özdemir, Hakan Altinay, Jean-François Leguil-Bayart, Senem Aydın Düzgit, and Şeyla Benhabib
Publication Date:
12-2006
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Abstract:
We believe European Union membership is in the interests of Turkey, the EU, and the global community. We are deeply concerned at the way the European Union is failing to respect the principles of equal treatment in its relations with Turkey. We do not argue that Turkey is ready for EU membership; and we recognise that Turkey has a lot to do, primarily regarding democratic governance, to make itself ready for membership. However, we also believe that increasingly discriminatory practices towards Turkey violate the Enlightenment principles upon which Europe itself is founded and endanger the formation of a Europe governed by Kantian ideals. This perspective necessitates identifying key events that gave rise to this concern during the period after the 1997 Luxembourg Summit. The main aim of this report is to examine the extent to which the EU has adhered to its official statements on fairness and equal treatment and whether or not the assertion that the EU has breached Kantian ideals is valid. The focus of this report will be two-fold. The first focus will be on the 'double standards' evident in the EU's policies towards Turkey, which we will point out by comparing the EU's treatment of Turkey with its treatment of other candidate countries. It is now widely accepted that there is a clear double standard in the way in which the EU deals with candidate-nations and member states, especially in areas such as human rights and the protection of minorities; the report will be on instances in which the EU has not kept key promises with Turkey or 'systematically distorted' communication has been abound in discussions over the issue. We believe that such an endeavour is imperative to see the way in which the EU today is deviating from the Kantian ideal of achieving a Europe without dividing lines, where 'you do as you would be done by.'
Topic:
Treaties and Agreements, Governance, European Union, Democracy, Regional Integration, and Immanuel Kant
Political Geography:
Europe, Turkey, Middle East, and Mediterranean

1043. La lucha por el futuro: El veneno del populismo y la cura de la democracia

Author:
Robert F. Noriega
Publication Date:
12-2006
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
Mientras que la atención del mundo está centrada en la lucha contra Irak y el ascenso de China, se está librando una batalla por el alma de las Américas más cerca de nuestro país. En términos simplistas, esta confrontación podría describirse como una lucha de poder entre la visión del presidente de Estados Unidos, George W. Bush, y la visión de quien se autoproclamó su némesis, el presidente venezolano Hugo Chávez. Igualmente engañosas son las caracterizaciones que describen esta situación como un enfrentamiento entre la izquierda y la derecha, los ricos y los pobres, el norte y el sur. Pero ésta no es una batalla entre dos líderes poderosos o entre las ideologías de la izquierda y la derecha. La lucha que se está librando en el hemisferio occidental concierne a la democracia en sí: ¿puede satisfacer a un público impaciente? Por un lado, están los líderes de la izquierda y la derecha que consideran que las instituciones democráticas y el Estado de Derecho son indispensables para la prosperidad y la libertad.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Democracy, Populism, and Hugo Chavez
Political Geography:
Latin America and Venezuela

1044. Derechos Humanos y Gobernabilidad Democrática. Oportunidades para la Cooperación Canadiense en el Perú

Author:
Carmela Chávez Irigoyen
Publication Date:
01-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University (ISID)
Abstract:
Recientemente, Canadá ha anunciado que el Perú se encuentra entre los 20 países en los cuales va a enfocar su ayuda al desarrollo. Se contará con mayores recursos financieros y humanos y se continuará trabajando para un mayor enfoque programático y geográfico orientándolo a lograr una mayor efectividad de la ayuda en respuesta a los principios de la Declaración de París. Así mismo ACDI ha priorizado un enfoque de derechos humanos en el campo de la governanza del sector de industrias extractivas y continuar con los programas de mejoramiento de la calidad en la educación formal, con énfasis en educación intercultural. Así mismo, continuará siendo un importante donante para el fortalecimiento de la Defensoría del Pueblo.
Topic:
Development, Human Rights, Governance, and Democracy
Political Geography:
South America and Peru

1045. Covering Oil: A Reporter's Guide to Energy and Development

Publication Date:
04-2005
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Open Society Foundations
Abstract:
In most resource-rich countries, natural wealth does not translate into prosperity for the majority of inhabitants, but instead leads to environmental and economic devastation, and hampers democratic reform. Only an informed public can hold leaders to account. Yet local reporting often overlooks the legal, economic, and environmental implications of resource extraction. Covering Oil: A Reporter's Guide to Energy and Development, a collaborative work of the Open Society Foundation's Revenue Watch program and the Initiative for Policy Dialogue, aims to encourage rigorous reporting on these issues by providing practical information about the petroleum industry and the impact of resource wealth on a producing country. The guidebook comes out of a series of workshops for journalists in the oil-exporting countries of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Nigeria, during which participants expressed a need for more information to help them understand the issues surrounding resource exploitation. In response to these consultations, Covering Oil outlines the fundamentals of petroleum contracts, provides a glossary of relevant economic theory, and presents case studies of major public policy issues. Covering Oil is the second in a series of Revenue Watch guidebooks targeting various audiences involved in the promotion of transparency and democratic accountability. The first, Follow the Money: A Guide to Monitoring Budgets and Oil and Gas Revenues, was aimed at nongovernmental organizations.
Topic:
Energy Policy, Oil, Natural Resources, Democracy, Journalism, and Fossil Fuels
Political Geography:
Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Nigeria

1046. The Democracy Makers: Human Rights and the Politics of Global Order

Author:
Nicolas Guilhot
Publication Date:
04-2005
Content Type:
Book
Institution:
Columbia University Press
Abstract:
Has the international movement for democracy and human rights gone from being a weapon against power to part of the arsenal of power itself? Nicolas Guilhot explores this question in his penetrating look at how the U.S. government, the World Bank, political scientists, NGOs, think tanks, and various international organizations have appropriated the movement for democracy and human rights to export neoliberal policies throughout the world. His work charts the various symbolic, ideological, and political meanings that have developed around human rights and democracy movements. Guilhot suggests that these shifting meanings reflect the transformation of a progressive, emancipatory movement into an industry dominated by “experts” ensconced in positions of power. Guilhot’s story begins in the 1950s when U.S. foreign policy experts promoted human rights and democracy as part of a “democratic international” to fight the spread of communism. Later, the unlikely convergence of anti-Stalinist leftists and the nascent neoconservative movement found a place in the Reagan administration. These “State Department Socialists,” as they were known, created policies and organizations that provided financial and technical expertise to democratic movements and also supported authoritarian, anti-communist regimes, particularly in Latin America. Guilhot traces the intellectual and social trajectories of key academics, policymakers, and institutions, including Seymour M. Lipset, Jeane Kirkpatrick, the “Chicago Boys,” influenced by Milton Friedman, the National Endowment for Democracy, and the Ford Foundation. He examines the ways in which various individuals, or “double agents,” were able to occupy pivotal positions at the junction of academe, national, and international institutions, and activist movements. He also pays particular attention to the role of the social sciences in transforming the old anti-communist crusades into respectable international organizations that promoted progressive and democratic ideals, but did not threaten the strategic and economic goals of Western governments and businesses. Guilhot’s purpose is not to disqualify democracy promotion as a conspiratorial activity. Rather he offers new perspectives on the roles of various transnational human rights institutions and the policies they promote. Ultimately, his work proposes a new model for understanding the international politics of legitimate democratic order and the relation between popular resistance to globalization and the “Washington Consensus.”
Topic:
International Relations, Globalization, Human Rights, and Democracy
Political Geography:
Global Focus
Publication Identifier:
9780231504195
Publication Identifier Type:
ISBN

1047. The Istanbul Symposium: Empowering Women in Public Life and Democratic Development in the BMENA Region

Author:
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Publication Date:
11-2005
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Abstract:
"One of the issues the Democracy Assistance Dialogue will concentrate on is the empowerment of women in public life. As agreed on in Rome Ministerial meeting of DAD on 25 November 2004 "Democratic development requires inclusion of women as an active and essential component of society. To stimulate active participation of women in democratic practices is also a fundamental priority. The Dialogue shall support efforts aimed at promoting women's participation in political life and active contribution to democratic projects and programs. Indeed, a substantial gender gap exists in the BMENA region. Like in many other countries, women are the most disadvantaged segment of society simply because they are women. Gender inequality in the region is compounded by high levels of illiteracy among women, In many countries women still cannot enjoy their political rights sufficiently and their chances of social and political participation are completely blocked. Gender related discrimination is a major impediment to democratic reform in the region. If women constitute half of their respective societies, then, along with men, they should partake in decision-making pertaining to their common future.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Women, Democracy, Inequality, and Discrimination
Political Geography:
Turkey and Middle East

1048. Discussions and Recommendations on the Future of the Halki Seminary

Author:
Elçin Açar and Behice Özlem Gökakın
Publication Date:
12-2005
Content Type:
Book
Institution:
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Abstract:
Turkey has long discussed the “issue” of the Greek Patriarchate and the Halki Seminary. Such issues arise more frequently with globalization and Turkey’s EU candidacy. Recommendations on how to solve these issues have very often taken place in the media. Our approach is that in principle, this matter ought not to be recognized as a problem in democratic countries. We emphasize that non-Muslims have the right to educate/ train clergymen in accordance with the Treaty of Lausanne, which established the constituent agreement for Turkey, and also multilateral agreements/treaties signed thereafter which set out concepts such as minority rights, human rights, freedoms and democracies. We aim to provide recommendations based on some of the arguments in favor of a solution.
Topic:
Human Rights, Religion, Minorities, Democracy, Freedom, and Armenians
Political Geography:
Turkey, Middle East, and Mediterranean

1049. Complications of American Democracy: Elections Are Not Enough

Author:
Demetrios James Caraley
Publication Date:
09-2005
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Political Science Quarterly
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
DEMETRIOS JAMES CARALEY discusses the major features critical to the working of our democratic institutions: free elections, separation of powers with checks and balances, and government limited by constitutional guarantees. He looks at some evidence that suggests our democracy may be shifting to an “elective despotism” of the majority—something that Jefferson declared “was not the government we fought for.”
Topic:
Elections, Democracy, and Institutions
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

1050. Why the Bush Doctrine Cannot Be Sustained

Author:
Robert Jervis
Publication Date:
09-2005
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Political Science Quarterly
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
ROBERT JERVIS argues that despite some successes, the Bush Doctrine cannot be sustained because it has many internal contradictions, requires more sustained domestic support than is possible, makes excessive demands on intelligence, places too much faith in democracy, and is overly ambitious. It will, however, be difficult to construct a replacement foreign policy.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Intelligence, Democracy, and George W. Bush
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

1051. What Political Institutions Does Large-Scale Democracy Require?

Author:
Robert A. Dahl
Publication Date:
07-2005
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Political Science Quarterly
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
ROBERT A. DAHL examines the political institutions necessary for a democratic country. He argues that a large-scale democracy requires the following political institutions: elected officials; free, fair, and frequent elections; freedom of expression; alternative sources of information; associational autonomy; and inclusive citizenship.
Topic:
Elections, Democracy, Citizenship, Freedom of Expression, and Institutions
Political Geography:
Global Focus and United States of America

1052. Democratic Transitions

Author:
David Epstein, Robert Bates, Jack A. Goldstone, Kristian Søby Kristensen, and Sharyn O'Halloran
Publication Date:
01-2004
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:
Recent studies of democratization, most importantly Przeworski, Alvarez, Cheibub, Limongi, 2000 (PACL), question the modernization hypothesis that richer countries are more likely to be democratic. PACL claim instead that transitions to democracy are unpredictable, but once there, countries can remain democratic with higher levels of GDP per capita. We retest this hypothesis using an expanded data set and a three-way, rather than two-way, categorization of regimes: autocracies, partial democracies, and full democracies. We find that the modernization theory does hold up well, contrary to PACL’s findings: greater levels of prosperity do predict when countries are likely to leave autocracy and stay fully democratic. Partial democracies, on the other hand, emerge as the most volatile and least predictable category of regimes. We also find considerable support for Acemoglu and Robinson’s (2002) theories on inequality and transitions. Our analysis highlights the need to better understand the workings of partial, or unconsolidated, democracies, as these are also the countries most likely to enter external wars or fall prey to internal failure.
Topic:
Democratization, Governance, Democracy, Economy, Economic Growth, and Institutions
Political Geography:
Africa

1053. A New Challenge for Kosovo’s Emerging Democracy. November 2004.

Author:
Adrian Zeqiri
Publication Date:
11-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
Abstract:
On 23 October 2004, elections for the central institutions of Kosovo were held for the second time. According to CoE and OSCE observers, the elections were held in a free and fair environment and there were no irregularities in the process. Shortly after the publication of the election results, LDK (the largest party) and AAK, (a party stemming from former KLA structures) announced their decision to form a coalition government. This decision points to a number of new factors that may shape future political developments in Kosovo, set against a backdrop of urgent Standards implementation and future status negotiations. The NATO-led intervention in 1999 established the territory as a UN protectorate, under charge of the international community in all major spheres of life. Since then Kosovo has seen a gradual empowerment of local institutions over a period of four elections, both municipal and central. The 2004 central elections were organized largely by local institutions, reflecting the ability of Kosovo actors to successfully adopt responsibility for the running of the territory. Unlike the previous broad-based coalition government emerging from the 2001 elections, the recent agreement between LDK and AAK sees parties taking up positions of power and opposition within the new assembly. This constellation presents a new challenge for the fragile political environment of Kosovo. The international community may now be faced with a more confrontational political landscape and the more politicized Albanian politicians will be tested to function within this new arrangement. This report serves to analyse the election results and their implications for the formation of a Kosovo assembly. It will further discuss the impact of these developments in the current and upcoming intensive political period in Kosovo.
Topic:
Development, Minorities, Elections, and Democracy
Political Geography:
Europe and Kosovo

1054. Presidential Selection: Electoral Fallacies

Author:
Jack N. Rakove
Publication Date:
03-2004
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Political Science Quarterly
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
JACK N. RAKOVE examines the conventional arguments made on behalf of preserving the state-based system of presidential elections and concludes that the familiar defenses of the electoral college are fallacious. If one person-one vote is the fundamental norm of modern democracy, there is no persuasive rationale that can legitimate the leveraging effect of the “senatorial bump” on the voting weights of differently sized states.
Topic:
Elections, Democracy, Presidential Elections, and Electoral College
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

1055. Latin Democracy and Its (Increasing) Discontents

Author:
Mark Falcoff
Publication Date:
09-2001
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
Though summer is still with us in the northern hemisphere, Latin America languishes deep in the winter of its discontent. Ten years after the international scene was transformed by the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the cold war, many Latin Americans have become disillusioned with their role in the new world order. The principal problem is that in spite of vigorous, in some cases drastic, market reforms, most of the region’s economies are in the doldrums. More to the point, in spite of a significant return of foreign investment to the area in the early 1990s, the number of Latin Americans living in poverty has increased. Public services have deteriorated or in some cases even disappeared. And crime is rampant everywhere, even in cities such as Buenos Aires, where until ten years ago inhabitants boasted-with reason-that their streets were safer at 3 a.m. than those of New York or Los Angeles in daytime.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, Democracy, and Investment
Political Geography:
South America and Latin America

1056. Nicaragua on the Brink–of What?

Author:
Mark Falcoff
Publication Date:
10-2001
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
On November 4, Nicaraguans will go to the polls to select a president, vice president, and all sixty-six members of their unicameral congress–an event that on its own merits would hardly deserve much attention on the part of foreign observers. But the drama unfolding in that tiny country is characteristic of many small (and not so small) Latin American countries today: the inability of democracy alone to address effectively some of the fundamental problems of society. Nicaragua also provides some interesting insight into the peculiar pathologies that afflict postrevolutionary states, and as such may provide some light on what we can expect in post-Castro Cuba and even, eventually, in post—Chávez Venezuela.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, and Democracy
Political Geography:
Cuba, Latin America, and Nicaragua

1057. Party Discipline in the Brazilian Constitutional Congress

Author:
Scott Mainwaring and Aníbal Pérez-Liñán
Publication Date:
03-1997
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
This paper analyzes party discipline in the Brazilian constitutional congress of 1987-88, focusing on roll call votes in 1988. Because of the large number (1,021) of roll call votes during the constitutional congress and the availability of an excellent data base, the Brazilian constitutional congress offers an opportunity for one of the most detailed studies that has been conducted of party discipline in a Third World legislature. We begin with a discussion of how we have calculated discipline scores, given some distinctive features of the Brazilian party system and the constitutional congress. We show that the biggest Brazilian parties of this period were comparatively undisciplined, and we also show that the leftist parties were a powerful exception to this general tendency. We demonstrate that legislators who switched parties during the constitutional congress were more likely than others to be undisciplined before switching and that their discipline increased markedly after their move to new parties. Finally, we attempt to explain why discipline was low in all but the leftist parties.
Topic:
Democratization, Governance, Democracy, Constitution, and Political Parties
Political Geography:
Brazil and South America

1058. Is the Third Wave of Democratization Over? The Imperative of Consolidation

Author:
Larry Diamond
Publication Date:
03-1997
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
In Kellogg Institute Working Paper no. 236 I charted the progress of what Huntington has called the 'third wave' of global democratic expansion, from 1974 to the present, distinguishing among the various types of democracy that have resulted. If I am right in my analysis, democracy, and especially liberal democracy, will not expand in the coming years. It could recede into a reverse wave. It could just keep persisting, becoming less liberal and more artificial in the process. Or it could stabilize and sink firm roots in countries where it is now present-and even liberal-but not secure. If the historical pattern is to be defied and a third reverse wave avoided, the overriding imperative in the coming years is to consolidate those democracies that have come into being during the 'third wave.' In this paper I examine various conceptual approaches to consolidation and identify a number of challenges faced by new and insecure democracies. The paper concludes with a discussion of future prospects for democracy worldwide.
Topic:
Democratization, Globalization, Democracy, and Consolidation
Political Geography:
Global Focus

1059. Indigenous Politics and Democracy: Contesting Citizenship in Latin America

Author:
Deborah J. Yashar
Publication Date:
07-1997
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Ethnic cleavages have rarely given rise to political organizing and sustained political conflict in Latin America. Over the past two decades, however, Latin America has witnessed a wave of rural organizing and movement building that mobilizes Indians as Indians to advance and defend self-proclaimed indigenous rights. This paper addresses why indigenous identity has become a more salient basis of political organizing and source of political claims in Latin America over the past two decades. After analyzing alternative theoretical approaches, the paper proposes a historically grounded comparative analysis that situates indigenous identity and movement formation in relation to the process of state building and the changing terms of citizenship. Drawing on social movement theory, the author suggests the conditions under which identity and organization have merged to generate indigenous movements in the region.
Topic:
Politics, Race, Democracy, Citizenship, Ethnicity, Indigenous, and Identity
Political Geography:
South America, Central America, and Caribbean

1060. The Bulgarian Military Education at a Crossroads

Author:
Todor Tagarev
Publication Date:
10-1996
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Institute for Security and International Studies (ISIS)
Abstract:
The Bulgarian system of military education is the most important source of officers for the Armed Forces. More than ninety percents of the Bulgarian officers are graduates of one of the three service academies. Furthermore, the graduation of the "G.S. Rakovski" Military College of the General Staff is a prerequisite for an appointment at commanding positions above battalion level, and the completion of the newly established strategic course at the "Rakovski" college - a requirement for command positions above brigade level. Therefore, we examine the quality of military education as a factor determining the future of the Armed Forces. Since the 1960s, the service academies provide higher education to their graduates. Shaped after the Soviet style, the five-year long education at the academies is highly specialized with a strong emphasis on engineering sciences. This specialization reflects the compartmentalization of the Armed Forces, and continues during the officer education at the "Rakovski" military college. Although such education might have been rationalized in the years of the Cold War, in the author's opinion, it does not meet security, technological, and organizational demands of the post-Cold War era. The current requirements to military education are shaped by the new world political order, economic, technological, and legal factors, and the development of Bulgarian democratic institutions. Some of these are general for military educators worldwide, while others are specific for the present situation in Bulgaria. Of a particular importance is the role of the military education for the development of democratic civil-military relations in Bulgaria. The most important single factor demanding change, however, is the Information Revolution and the corresponding Revolution in Military Affairs. More than ever, military must be educated to anticipate change, cope with ambiguity, question traditional boundaries, and lead organizational transformation. To be effective, Bulgarian military needs a rapid transformation. The Bulgarian system of military education and the people responsible for it have the unique opportunity to lead in this transformation. They will either lead it or military colleges and academies will become anachronisms.
Topic:
Education, Military Affairs, Democracy, and Information Technology
Political Geography:
Europe and Bulgaria