19,911 research outputs found
Quality of Scottish democracy
The founders of Scottish devolution intended to create a ânew politicsâ that would be less adversarial than British politics. Some of their aspirations resonate with the basic themes of freedom, equality and democratic control in the quality of democracy literature dating back to the 1970s. Authors of this literature disagree on some aspects of what constitutes democratic quality, so a distinction can be made between minimalist and maximalist democratic conceptualisations. This chapter provides examples of both types of conceptualisation present before and after devolution, noting that more recent developments are pushing Scotland in the highly contested maximalist direction
The gender of representation: On democracy, equality, and parity
The debate regarding the statutory introduction of gender parity in electoral lists has
been led, on the one hand, by those who envisage parity as a way to attain substantive
equality between the genders. The opposition has been led by those who, on the other
hand, reject it as going against the very principle of equality in its formal dimension,
as well as against the autonomy of political parties. Based on the experience of France
and Italy on this matter, this article discusses both sets of arguments and applies them
to the Spanish context. It further defends the need to bypass the theoretical parameters
of equality and affi rmative action in order to place the defense of electoral parity within
the theoretical parameters of the postliberal democratic state. It aims, therefore, at
articulating electoral parity as a conceptual requisite of the democratic state
Substantive Representation of Women (and improving it). What is and should it be about?
More and more countries implement quotas and install womenâs policy agencies as an answer to the under-representation of women and gender related interests in politics and policy. The main argument is that more women MPs and the structural presence of attention for womenâs interests not only contribute to just and democratic politics, but also enhance the quality of democratic decision and policy-making on a substantive level. Women MPs and womenâs policy agencies would foster the inclusion of womenâs interests and gendered perspectives. However, it remains unclear what âsubstantive representation of womenâ and improving it actually mean. This article first deals with the âwhatâ of substantive representation of women in terms of the acts and contents involved: what is it about? Next, it focuses on the improvement of the substantive representation of women: what is better substantive representation and how can it be reached? My answer to this question refers to quantitative improvements (e.g. more support for womenâs interests) and qualitative improvements (e.g. support for more women). âGoodâ substantive representation implies recognizing diversity and ideological conflict regarding womenâs interests and gendered perspectives
The political districting problem: A survey
Computer scientists and social scientists consider the political districting problem from different viewpoints. This paper gives an overview of both strands of the literature on districting in which the connections and the differences between the two approaches are highlighted
Shifting conceptions of social (in)justice in Nepal
The purpose of this paper is to analyse and situate the changing discourses of social (in)justice in the context of political transition and restructuring process that Nepal has gone through since 2006. This paper discusses the origin and development of the discourse and analyses how its meaning has changed over time. As the paper argues, the earlier discourses of social justice in Nepal can be linked to the Hindu and Buddhist notion of dharma and various other ethnic cultural traditions. After Janandolan-I in 1990, the policy and practice of social justice began to be equated with the principle of equality, which was based on the assumptions of sameness. After Janandolan-II in 2006, the public conception of social justice has shifted towards a more vocal emphasis on social equity, inclusiveness, proportionate representation and participatory decision-making. The article provides empirical manifestations of social injustices in Nepal, linking them with various discourses and traditions of justice in the early and modern historical, socio-cultural and political contexts. It is hoped that a thorough understanding of historical shifting of public conceptions of social (in)justice in Nepal will be useful in guiding the countryâs future public policies towards inclusive restructuring and equitable development
No Global Demos, No Global Democracy? A Systematization and Critique
A globalized world, some argue, needs a global democracy. But there is considerable disagreement about whether global democracy is an ideal worth pursuing. One of the main grounds for scepticism is captured by the slogan: âNo global demos, no global democracy.â The fact that a key precondition of democracyâa demosâis absent at the global level, some argue, speaks against the pursuit of global democracy. The paper discusses four interpretations of the skeptical sloganâeach based on a specific account of the notion of âthe demosââand concludes that none of them establishes that the global democratic ideal must be abandoned. In so doing, the paper (i) systematizes different types of objections against global democracy, thus bringing some clarity to an otherwise intricate debate and (ii) offers a robust but qualified defense of the global democratic ideal
New ideas of socialism
This paper discusses attempts to rethink socialism in the light of recent economic, social and political developments such as the rise of neo-liberalism, post-fordism, the demise of state socialism and globalization. It posits four new revisionist models of socialism - individualist socialism, market socialism, citizenship (or radical democratic) socialism and associational socialism. It examines each critically, arguing against the first and second models and in favour of the third and fourth. Associationalism, it is argued, provides a means for achieving the goals of citizenship or radical democratic socialism - a participatory pluralist and communitarian socialism. Associationalism, based on a strong role for associations in civil society and a co-operative polity, is outlined and advocated
Law, environmental policy and Kantian philosophy
Are Kantian philosophy and its principle of respect for persons inadequate to the protection of environmental values? This paper answers this question by elucidating how Kantian ethics can take environmental values seriously. In the period that starts with the Critique of Judgment in 1790 and ends with the Metaphysics of Morals in 1797, the subject would have been approached by Kant in a different manner; although the respect that we may owe to non-human nature is still grounded in our duties to mankind, the basis for such respect stems from natureâs aesthetic properties, and the duty to preserve nature lies in our duties to ourselves. Compared to the âmarket paradigmâ, as it is called by Gillroy (the reference is to a conception of a public policy based on a criterion of economic efficiency or utility), Kantian philosophy can offer a better explanation of the relationship between environmental policy and the theory of justice. Kantian justice defines the âjust stateâ as the one that protects the moral capacities of its âactiveâ citizens, as presented in the first Part of the Metaphysics of Morals. In the Kantian paradigm, the environmental risk becomes a âpublicâ concern. That means it is not subsumed under an individual decision, based on a calculus
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