Establishing Democracies
Title | Establishing Democracies PDF eBook |
Author | Mary Ellen Fischer |
Publisher | Routledge |
Pages | 281 |
Release | 2021-01-07 |
Genre | Political Science |
ISBN | 0429720807 |
Balancing historical and contemporary cases, this comparative text examines the crucial question of what promotes or prevents the successful founding of democratic systems. The country case studies are placed in context by a substantial introduction surveying theories of democracy and democratic transition and by a conclusion assessing the cases and suggesting common patterns in the establishment of successful democracies. }Balancing historical and contemporary cases, this comparative text examines the crucial question of what promotes or prevents the successful founding of democratic systems. Underscoring lessons learned from successful regime change and assessing current efforts to establish democracies whose ultimate fate is yet uncertain, this book will enable students to evaluate the chances of success for societies making the transition from an authoritarian or communist regime. The case studies are placed in context by a substantial introduction surveying theories of democracy and democratic transition and a conclusion comparing the cases and suggesting common patterns in the establishment of successful democracies. Created for upper-level students, this book can be used as a primary text to be supplemented by theoretical readings or as a source of additional case studies. Extensive notes provide a wealth of suggestions for further reading and research.
Constitutional Democracy in Crisis?
Title | Constitutional Democracy in Crisis? PDF eBook |
Author | Mark A. Graber |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Pages | 352 |
Release | 2018-08-23 |
Genre | Law |
ISBN | 0190889004 |
Is the world facing a serious threat to the protection of constitutional democracy? There is a genuine debate about the meaning of the various political events that have, for many scholars and observers, generated a feeling of deep foreboding about our collective futures all over the world. Do these events represent simply the normal ebb and flow of political possibilities, or do they instead portend a more permanent move away from constitutional democracy that had been thought triumphant after the demise of the Soviet Union in 1989? Constitutional Democracy in Crisis? addresses these questions head-on: Are the forces weakening constitutional democracy around the world general or nation-specific? Why have some major democracies seemingly not experienced these problems? How can we as scholars and citizens think clearly about the ideas of "constitutional crisis" or "constitutional degeneration"? What are the impacts of forces such as globalization, immigration, income inequality, populism, nationalism, religious sectarianism? Bringing together leading scholars to engage critically with the crises facing constitutional democracies in the 21st century, these essays diagnose the causes of the present afflictions in regimes, regions, and across the globe, believing at this stage that diagnosis is of central importance - as Abraham Lincoln said in his "House Divided" speech, "If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could then better judge what to do, and how to do it."
The Challenges of Creating Democracies in the Americas
Title | The Challenges of Creating Democracies in the Americas PDF eBook |
Author | Alex Roberto Hybel |
Publisher | Springer |
Pages | 279 |
Release | 2019-07-22 |
Genre | Political Science |
ISBN | 3030212335 |
This book’s leading goal is to explain why some states in the Americas have been markedly more effective than others at forming stable democratic regimes. The six states analyzed are the United States, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Costa Rica, and Guatemala. The study identifies the critical challenges each state encountered at different stages of its state-creation and regime- formation processes, from the colonial period to the present. In its concluding chapter, the study presents a series of time-related hypotheses designed to capture the different evolutionary processes and explain variances in success.
Developing Democracies
Title | Developing Democracies PDF eBook |
Author | Michael Boss |
Publisher | Aarhus Universitetsforlag |
Pages | 222 |
Release | 2013-10-31 |
Genre | Political Science |
ISBN | 8771241175 |
The Middle East captured front pages worldwide for the alleged Arab Spring in 2011. Large segments of the populations of Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, and Syria took to the streets to voice their protest against autocratic regimes and to demand democracy. Violent uprisings followed, but the prospects of liberal democracy are still uncertain and distant. No wonder. Democratization took a couple of centuries in the West. And even today, well-established Western democracies are under pressure from globalization and regionalization, and many claim representative democracy is in need of renewal. This collection of essays focuses on a number of theoretical issues associated with democracy and democratization. Divided into three parts, the first part analyzes how democracy may be understood, explained and measured. The second part deals with issues of democracy, international stability, and development in fragile and developmental states and regions. The third part of the book looks at representative democracy in old democracies and its potential for development.
Open Democracy
Title | Open Democracy PDF eBook |
Author | Hélène Landemore |
Publisher | Princeton University Press |
Pages | 272 |
Release | 2022-03-08 |
Genre | Philosophy |
ISBN | 0691212392 |
To the ancient Greeks, democracy meant gathering in public and debating laws set by a randomly selected assembly of several hundred citizens. To the Icelandic Vikings, democracy meant meeting every summer in a field to discuss issues until consensus was reached. Our contemporary representative democracies are very different. Modern parliaments are gated and guarded, and it seems as if only certain people are welcome. Diagnosing what is wrong with representative government and aiming to recover some of the openness of ancient democracies, Open Democracy presents a new paradigm of democracy. Supporting a fresh nonelectoral understanding of democratic representation, Hélène Landemore demonstrates that placing ordinary citizens, rather than elites, at the heart of democratic power is not only the true meaning of a government of, by, and for the people, but also feasible and, more than ever, urgently needed. -- Cover page 4.
How to Establish a Democracy Or Improve the One You Now Have
Title | How to Establish a Democracy Or Improve the One You Now Have PDF eBook |
Author | Walter E. Boek |
Publisher | |
Pages | 456 |
Release | 1993 |
Genre | Democracy |
ISBN |
Pathways to Freedom
Title | Pathways to Freedom PDF eBook |
Author | Isobel Coleman |
Publisher | Council on Foreign Relations Press |
Pages | 0 |
Release | 2013 |
Genre | Democratization |
ISBN | 9780876095669 |
"Many developing countries have launched transitions from authoritarianism to democracy over the past twenty-five years. While some have succeeded in building relatively strong democracies with shared prosperity, others have stumbled. As a wave of change continues to unfold across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, the policy-relevant insights that can be gleaned from recent transitions are more salient than ever. Through case studies on Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, Poland, South Africa, Thailand, and Ukraine, Pathways to freedom explores the structural factors and policy choices that shaped eight important transitions--some successful, others less so. The case studies focus on six themes: socioeconomic inclusion and exclusion, economic structure and policies, civil society and media, legal system and rule of law, government structure, and education and demography. Additional chapters examine these themes in light of the quantitative evidence on democratization and highlight concrete policy recommendations from across the case studies. With concise historical analysis and forward-looking prescriptions, Pathways to freedom offers an authoritative and accessible look at what countries must do to build durable and prosperous democracies--and what the United States and others can do to help"--Back cover.