Showing papers on "Democracy published in 1993"
Book•
01 Aug 1993TL;DR: The conditions associated with the existence and stability of democratic society have been a leading concern of political philosophy as discussed by the authors, and the problem is attacked from a sociological and behavioral standpoint, by presenting a number of hypotheses concerning some social requisites for democracy, and by discussing some of the data available to test these hypotheses.
Abstract: The conditions associated with the existence and stability of democratic society have been a leading concern of political philosophy. In this paper the problem is attacked from a sociological and behavioral standpoint, by presenting a number of hypotheses concerning some social requisites for democracy, and by discussing some of the data available to test these hypotheses. In its concern with conditions—values, social institutions, historical events—external to the political system itself which sustain different general types of political systems, the paper moves outside the generally recognized province of political sociology. This growing field has dealt largely with the internal analysis of organizations with political goals, or with the determinants of action within various political institutions, such as parties, government agencies, or the electoral process. It has in the main left to the political philosopher the larger concern with the relations of the total political system to society as a whole.
5,525 citations
TL;DR: Theda Skocpol et al. as discussed by the authors show that the United States nearly became a unique maternalist welfare state as the federal government and more than 40 states enacted social spending, labour regulations, and health education programmes to assist American mothers and children.
Abstract: It is generally believed that the United States lagged behind the countries of Western Europe in developing modern social policies. But, as Theda Skocpol shows in this historical analysis, the United States actually pioneered generous social spending for many of its elderly, disabled and dependent citizens. During the late 19th century, competitive party politics in American democracy led to the rapid expansion of benefits for Union Civil War veterans and their families. Some Americans hoped to expand veterans' benefits into pensions for all of the needy elderly and social insurance for workingmen and their families. But such hopes went against the logic of political reform in the Progressive era. Generous social spending faded along with the Civil War generation. Instead, the U.S. nearly became a unique maternalist welfare state as the federal government and more than 40 states enacted social spending, labour regulations, and health education programmes to assist American mothers and children. As Skocpol shows, many of these policies were enacted even before American women were granted the right to vote. Banned from electoral politics, they turned their energies to creating huge, nation-spanning federations of women's clubs, which collaborated with reform-minded professional women to spur legislative action across the country. Blending original historical research with political analysis, Skocpol shows how governmental institutions, electoral rules, political parties and earlier public policies combined to determine both the opportunities and the limits within which social policies were devised and changed by reformers and politically active social groups over the course of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
2,288 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue for the systematic incorporation of political factors that shape the electoral consequences of economic performance, and show that considerations of the ideological image of the government, its electoral base, and the clarity of its political responsibility are essential to understand the effects of economic conditions on voting for or against incumbents.
Abstract: A large literature has demonstrated that such economic factors as growth, inflation, and unemployment affect the popularity of incumbents within many democratic countries. However, cross-national aggregate analyses of "economic voting" show only weak and inconsistent economic effects. We argue for the systematic incorporation of political factors that shape the electoral consequences of economic performance. Multivariate analyses of 102 elections in 19 industrialized democracies are used to estimate the cross-national impact of economic and political factors. The analyses show that considerations of the ideological image of the government, its electoral base, and the clarity of its political responsibility are essential to understanding the effects of economic conditions on voting for or against incumbents.
1,782 citations
Book•
17 Dec 1993
TL;DR: Mouffe argues that liberal democracy misunderstands the problems of ethnic, religious and nationalist conflicts because of its inadequate conception of politics and suggests that the democratic revolution may be jeopardised by a lack of understanding of citizenship, community and pluralism as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: In this work, Mouffe argues that liberal democracy misunderstands the problems of ethnic, religious and nationalist conflicts because of its inadequate conception of politics. He suggests that the democratic revolution may be jeopardised by a lack of understanding of citizenship, community and pluralism. Mouffe examines the work of Schmidt and Rawls and explores feminist theory, in an attempt to place the project of radical and plural democracy on a more adequate foundation than is provided by liberal theory.
1,693 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine two explanatory models for the relative lack of conflict between democracies: the normative model suggests that democracies do not fight each other because norms of compromise and cooperation prevent their conflicts of interest from escalating into violent clashes, and the structural model asserts that complex political mobilization processes impose institutional constraints on the leaders of two democracies confronting each other to make violent conflict impossible.
Abstract: Democratic states are in general about as conflict- and war-prone as nondemocracies, but democracies have rarely clashed with one another in violent conflict. We first show that democracy, as well as other factors, accounts for the relative lack of conflict. Then we examine two explanatory models. The normative model suggests that democracies do not fight each other because norms of compromise and cooperation prevent their conflicts of interest from escalating into violent clashes. The structural model asserts that complex political mobilization processes impose institutional constraints on the leaders of two democracies confronting each other to make violent conflict unfeasible. Using different data sets of international conflict and a multiplicity of indicators, we find that (1) democracy, in and of itself, has a consistent and robust negative effect on the likelihood of conflict or escalation in a dyad; (2) both the normative and structural models are supported by the data; and (3) support for the normative model is more robust and consistent.
1,215 citations
TL;DR: The main mechanism by which democracy is thought to hinder growth is pressure for immediate consumption, which reduces investment, and only states that are institutionally insulated from such pressures can resist them, and democratic states are not as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Arguments that relate regimes to growth focus on property rights, pressures for immediate consumption, and the autonomy of dictators. While everyone seems to agree that secure property rights foster growth, it is controversial whether democracies or dictatorships better secure these rights. The main mechanism by which democracy is thought to hinder growth is pressure for immediate consumption, which reduces investment. Only states that are institutionally insulated from such pressures can resist them, and democratic states are not. The main argument against dictatorships is that authoritarian rulers have no interest in maximizing total output. These views are summarized in turn.
1,212 citations
01 Jan 1993
TL;DR: Schmitter et al. as mentioned in this paper presented an analysis of the role of the United States Agency for International Development (UID) in the development of the European Union's Lisbon Treaty of Lisbon.
Abstract: Philippe C. Schmitter is professor of political science and director of the Center for European Studies at Stanford University. Terry Lynn Karl is associate professor of political science and director of the Center for Latin American Studies at the same institution. The original, longer version of this essay was written at the request of the United States Agency for International Development, which is not responsible for its content.
1,166 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that for proper understanding of many processes of democratization, current conceptions of the state must be revised, especially with reference to its legal dimension, and several contrasts are drawn between representative, consolidated democracies and the democratic (i.e., polyarchical) forms that are emerging in most newly democratized countries, East and South.
940 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors take imoprtant stepts toward resolving inconsistencies and contradictins in the literature on the determinants of welfare state effort with the use of pooled information.
Abstract: The literature on the determinants of welfare state effort displays many inconsistencies and contradictins. This article takes imoprtant stepts toward resolving these issues with the use of pooled ...
Posted Content•
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used data from U.S. states to investigate whether electoral accountability affects economic policy choices and found that facing a binding term limit affects choices on taxes, expenditures, state minimum wages and mandates on workers' compensation.
Abstract: This paper uses data from U.S. states to investigate whether electoral accountability affects economic policy choices. We set up a model in which the possibility of being re-elected may curtail opportunistic behavior by incumbent governors. We find that facing a binding term limit affects choices on taxes, expenditures, state minimum wages and mandates on workers' compensation. Such effects are found also to vary with the party affiliation of the incumbent. The Democratic party also appears to suffer at the polls following the term of a lame-duck, Democratic incumbent.
TL;DR: This paper argued that the combination of a multiparty system and a presidential system is more favorable for building stable democracies than a parliamentary system, starting from recent analyses that have argued that presidentialism is less favorable than parliamentary systems.
Abstract: Starting from recent analyses that have argued that presidentialism is less favorable for building stable democracy than parliamentary systems, this article argues that the combination of a multipa...
Book•
01 Jan 1993
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the promise of democracy and the individual's right to be alone in the pursuit of it, and discuss the role of women in political thought and their role in this process.
Abstract: Acknowledgements. Introduction. 1. Fraternity. 2. So Whata s Wrong with the Individual?. 3. Universal Pretensions in Political Thought. 4. Citizenship and Feminist Theory. 5. Democracy and Difference. 6. Must Feminists Give up on Liberal Democracy?. 7. The Promise of Democracy. 8. Pluralism, Solidarity and Change. Index.
TL;DR: The authors argued that there is a substantial body of economic advice, roughly summarized in the "Washington consensus," that deserves to be endorsed across the political spectrum, but such endorsement would still leave a series of major economic issues, most notably the tradeoff between efficiency and equity, to be determined by the outcome of the political process.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the role of religious leaders in the political life of modern nations, even while acknowledging some religious nationalists' proclivity to violence and disregard of Western notions of human rights.
Abstract: Will the religious confrontations with secular authorities around the world lead to a new Cold War? Mark Juergensmeyer paints a provocative picture of the new religious revolutionaries altering the political landscape in the Middle East, Asia and Eastern Europe. Impassioned Muslim leaders in Egypt, Palestine and Algeria, political rabbis in Israel, militant Sikhs in India, and triumphant Catholic clergy in Eastern Europe are all players in Juergensmeyer's study of the explosive growth of religious movements that decisively reject Western ideas of secular nationalism. Juergensmeyer revises notions of religious revolutions. Instead of viewing religious nationalists as wild-eyed, anti-American fanatics, he reveals them as modern activists pursuing a legitimate form of politics. He explores the positive role religion can play in the political life of modern nations, even while acknowledging some religious nationalists' proclivity to violence and disregard of Western notions of human rights. Finally, he situates the growth of religious nationalism in the context of the political malaise of the modern West. Noting that the synthesis of traditional religion and secular nationalism yields a religious version of the modern nation-state, Juergensmeyer claims that such a political entity could conceivably embrace democratic values and human rights.
Posted Content•
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the challenge posed by two types of non-classical categories: family resemblances and radial categories, and discuss solutions to these problems, using examples of how scholars have adapted their categories in comparative research on democracy and authoritarianism.
Abstract: When scholars extend their models and hypotheses to encompass additional cases, they commonly need to adapt their analytic categories to fit the new contexts. Giovanni Sartori's work on conceptual "traveling" and conceptual "stretching" provides helpful guidance in addressing this fundamental task of comparative analysis. Yet Sartori's framework draws upon what may be called classical categorization, which views the relation among categories in terms of a taxonomic hierarchy, with each category having clear boundaries and defining properties shared by all members. We examine the challenge to this framework presented by two types of nonclassical categories: family resemblances and radial categories. With such categories, the overly strict application of a classical framework can lead to abandoning to category prematurely or to modifying it inappropriately. We discuss solutions to these problems, using examples of how scholars have adapted their categories in comparative research on democracy and authoritarianism.
Book•
02 Dec 1993
TL;DR: In this article, a changed conjuncture of collective action and democratic reform is discussed, and an Associational Ethics and Logics of Collective Action is proposed to deal with collective action.
Abstract: Acknowledgements. 1. A Changed Conjuncture. 2. Associative Principles and Democratic Reform. 3. Associational Ethics and Logics of Collective Action. 4. Associative Democracy and Economic Governance. 5. Current Realities and Economic Reform. 6. Thick Welfare, Thin Collectivism. 7. An Associational and Confederal Welfare State. Reference. Suggestions for Further Reading. Index.
TL;DR: The authors used coded data on 227 communal groups throughout the world to assess a general model of how and why they mobilize to defend and promote their collective interests, and found that cultural identity, inequalities, and historical loss of autonomy all contribute substantially to their grievances.
Abstract: Political protest and rebellion by communal groups has become a major impetus to domestic and international political change. This study uses new coded data on 227 communal groups throughout the world to assess a general model of how and why they mobilize to defend and promote their collective interests. Statistical analysis shows that cultural identity, inequalities, and historical loss of autonomy all contribute substantially to their grievances. Political mobilization, grievances, and the international diffusion and contagion of communal conflict jointly explain the extent of political action in the 1980s. Democracy, state power, and institutional change help determine whether conflict takes the form of protest or rebellion.
Book•
01 Jan 1993
TL;DR: The Rebirth of Urban Democracy as discussed by the authors examines cities that have created systems of neighborhood government and incorporated citizens in public policymaking and finds that neighborhood based participation is the key to revitalizing American democracy.
Abstract: In an era when government seems remote and difficult to approach, participatory democracy may seem a hopelessly romantic notion. Yet nothing is more crucial to the future of American democracy than to develop some way of spurring greater citizen participation. In this important book, Jeffrey Berry, Ken Portney, and Ken Thompson examine cities that have created systems of neighborhood government and incorporated citizens in public policymaking. Through careful research and analysis, the authors find that neighborhood based participation is the key to revitalizing American democracy. The Rebirth of Urban Democracy provides a thorough examination of five cities with strong citizen participation programs--Birmingham, Dayton, Portland, St. Paul, and San Antonio. In each city, the authors explore whether neighborhood associations encourage more people to participate; whether these associations are able to promote policy responsiveness on the art of local governments; and whether participation in these associations increases the capacity of people to take part in government. Finally, the authors outline the steps that can be taken to increase political participation in urban America. Berry, Portney, and Thomson show that citizens in participatory programs are able to get their issues on the public agenda and develop a stronger sense of community, greater trust in government officials, and more confidence in the political system. From a rigorous evaluation of surveys and interviews with thousands of citizens and policymakers, the authors also find that central governments in these cities are highly responsive to their neighborhoods and that less conflict exists among citizens and policymakers. The authors assert that these programs can provide a blueprint for major reform in cities across the country. They outline the components for successful participation programs and offer recommendations for those who want to get involved. They demonstrate that participation systems can influence citizens to become more knowledgeable, more productive, and more confident in government; and can provide more governments with a mechanism for being more responsive in setting priorities and formulating polices that closely approximate the true preferences of the people.
Book•
01 Jan 1993
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine 11 democratic states, relating what has happened to theories of representation and gender politics, and trace developments in party systems as political parties have implemented new systems of candidate selection, new means of policymaking, the reform of internal structures and the establishment of new structures.
Abstract: Book synopsis: How have the political parties of the liberal democratic states responded to women's demands for political representation? To answer this question, the authors examine 11 democratic states, relating what has happened to theories of representation and gender politics. They trace developments in party systems as political parties have implemented new systems of candidate selection, new means of policymaking, the reform of internal structures and the establishment of new structures. The interaction between gender and party politics is shown to be of direct importance to the understanding of the political status of women.
This is the only source of its kind on this important topic and makes a valuable contribution to the literature on political parties and women's studies for researchers and students.
TL;DR: The relationship between power and subjectivity in a democracy, about the lines between subjectivity and subjection, democracy and despotism, and the ability of the democratic citizen to generate a politically able self depends upon technologies of subjectivity which link personal goals and desires to social order and stability, which link power an subjectivity as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: This paper is about the relationship between power and subjectivity in a democracy, about the lines between subjectivity and subjection, democracy and despotism. The ability of the democratic citizen to generate a politically able self depends upon technologies of subjectivity which link personal goals and desires to social order and stability, which link power an subjectivity. I begin with the contemporary self-esteem movement spearheaded by feminist Gloria Steinem and California legislator John Vasconcellos to show that programs which attempt to enhance the subjectivity of women and the poor-strategies of empowerment, self-help, and democratic participation - are also practical techniques for the subjection of individuals. I go on to outline a history of the present ‘state of esteem’ beginning with the work of Alexis de Tocqueville. I locate the emergence of democratic self-governance in the advent of the social as a sphere of governability and expertise.
TL;DR: A study of the period 1870-1920 illustrates that American political culture is better understood as the often conflictual and contradictory product of multiple political traditions, than as the expression of hegemonic liberal or democratic political traditions.
Abstract: Analysts of American politics since Tocqueville have seen the nation as a paradigmatic “liberal democratic” society, shaped most by the comparatively free and equal conditions and the Enlightenment ideals said to have prevailed at its founding. These accounts must be severely revised to recognize the inegalitarian ideologies and institutions of ascriptive hierarchy that defined the political status of racial and ethnic minorities and women through most of U.S. history. A study of the period 1870–1920 illustrates that American political culture is better understood as the often conflictual and contradictory product of multiple political traditions, than as the expression of hegemonic liberal or democratic political traditions.
TL;DR: In this paper, a working definition of liberal democracy was proposed and a theory of "method factors" in subjective measures of liberal democracies was presented. But the results suggest that the current practice of treating unadjusted democracy indicators as error free can be misleading.
Abstract: This paper examines the definition and measurement of liberal democracy. Specifically, my purposes are (1) to propose a working definition of liberal democracy; (2) to outline a theory of "method factors" in subjective measures of liberal democracy; (3) to provide the first estimates of the proportion of variance due to systematic error, validity, and random error in commonly used measures; (4) to replicate these results across several years; and (5) to estimate the degree of liberal democracy in more than 150 countries. All but one measure contain systematic error, and in some cases the bias component is large. Furthermore, a new liberal democracy index has a .96 squared correlation with the liberal democracy latent variable and has negligible correlations with the method factors that are present in the individual indicators. The results suggest that the current practice of treating unadjusted democracy indicators as error free can be misleading.
TL;DR: In this article, Governance, democracy, and development in the Third World: Governance and democracy in the third world, 1993, Vol. 14, No. 3, pp. 605-624.
Abstract: (1993). Governance, democracy and development in the Third World. Third World Quarterly: Vol. 14, No. 3, pp. 605-624.
Book•
01 Feb 1993
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the global resurgence of democracy and examine its future prospects, dealing mainly with conceptual, historical, institutional and policy issues relevant to a range of countries.
Abstract: These essays explore the global resurgence of democracy and examine its future prospects, dealing mainly with conceptual, historical, institutional and policy issues relevant to a range of countries. Topics include the tasks of democratic opposition and the case for proportional representation.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors tried to determine whether parties of the left, when in government, spend more than those of the right in 15 liberal democracies over a period of 28 years, from 1960 to 1987.
Abstract: The paper attempts to determine whether parties of the left, when in government, spend more than parties of the right. It first reviews the theoretical literature and concludes that parties are likely to make a difference, but only a modest one. It then reviews previous empirical studies, which come out with conflicting results. It finally proposes a study that covers 15 liberal democracies over a period of 28 years, from 1960 to 1987, and combines longitudinal, cross-sectional, and pooled designs. The analysis shows that parties of the left do spend a little more than parties of the right. The difference, however, emerges only for majority governments whose party composition remains unchanged over a number of years, an indication that it takes time for parties to affect total spending. A quarter of a century ago, Dye (1966) concluded that policy variations in the United States ought to be attributed essentially to economic factors, political variables proving to be largely uninfluential. This was a most disturbing result for the political science discipline, whose relevance, it would seem, depends on the substantive importance of the phenomena it examines. Ten years later, Wilenski's (1975) study of the welfare state came to similar conclusions: the root cause of the level of welfare expenditure in a country is economic growth, and the mechanism that translates economic change into public policy is demographic rather than political. Enlightened political scientists knew it could not be so, and a counterattack was mounted. The case was made that politics matters, and refined analyses vindicated the revisionist view (Castles and McKinlay 1979; Castles 1982). This paper is about the most cherished of all political variables, the parties. Political scientists typically view parties as fulfilling an essential role in democracy (Epstein 1983). A strong party system is considered as a necessary condition for an adequate representation of interests and opinions (Birch 1971). Our objective is to determine whether it matters