Challenging assumptions of the enlargement literature : the impact of the EU on human and minority rights in Macedonia

This article argues that from the very start of the transition process in Macedonia, a fusion of concerns about security and democratisation locked local nationalist elites and international organisations intoa political dynamic that prioritised security over democratisation. This dynamic resulted in little progress in the implementation of human and minority rights until 2009, despite heavy EU involvement in Macedonia after the internal warfare of 2001. The effects of this informally institutionalised relationship have been overlooked by scholarship on EU enlargement towards Eastern Europe, which has made generalisations based on assumptions relevant to the democratisation of countries in Eastern Europe, but not the Western Balkans

Is democratisation bad for global warming?

Summary: even if democracy and all good things go together the same may not be as true of democratisation. Given the growing number of countries that have attempted democratisation, with varying success, and as the challenge of addressing the causes of climate change becomes increasingly more urgent, it is worth knowing if democratisation makes that challenge more difficult. Similarly it is worth knowing if the political conditions for an effective response to climate instability and its economic and social consequences must impact on the outlook for democratisation. Although contrary to what was once believed, developing countries may not have the dilemma of having to choose between developing the economy and building democracy, the further addition of a requirement to significantly reduce carbon emissions might be just too demanding. The paper offers a framework of analysis as a preliminary to more detailed empirical investigation. It concludes with policy implications for international actors committed to promoting democracy, considering that in developing countries stable authoritarian rule might be better placed than regimes in political transition to mitigate climate change as well as adapt to its effects

Democratisation in the Middle East and North Africa : perspectives from democracy support

This article offers perspectives on the prospects for democratisation in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region in the light of political developments since 2010, with particular reference to international democracy support. An introduction shares certain assumptions about democracy support’s general record before threats and opportunities to democracy support arising from developments in the region are discussed. Next democracy support’s response to those developments is examined, while the fourth section highlights some challenges for democracy support in the region and beyond. Throughout, discussion is contextualised within the larger literature on democratisation. Final remarks lead to the conclusion that developments in the region both present challenges that should be viewed as opportunities, and offer opportunities that will be challenging to address, not just for democracy support in the region and further afield but in terms of the guidance that democratisation studies have to offer

Civil society, Islamism and democratisation: the case of Morocco

The positive role that an active civil society plays in processes of democratisation is often highlighted in the literature. However, when it comes to the Middle East and North Africa, such activism is considered to be detrimental to democratisation because the predominant role is played by Islamist groups. The explanation for this rests with the perceived ‘uncivil’ and undemocratic Islamist ethos of such groups. This paper challenges this assumption and argues that Islamist associations can be a potential force for democratisation for three reasons. First, they are capable of political learning; secondly, they generate secular civil society activism as a response to their activities, increasing the number of actors in the political and social system; and finally, they can cooperate with other civil society groups on a number of issues, given that they are all subject to the same authoritarian constraints. The paper focuses in particular on the case of Morocco and the Islamist group Jamiat al-Adl wal-Ihsan

Divided executives and democratisation

This article examines the effect of a divided executive on democratisation in mixed systems where presidents are directly elected and prime ministers are responsible to the legislature. A divided executive is where the president and prime minister are not from the same party. The importance of a divided executive is hypothesised to vary according to the relative powers of the president and prime minister. In mixed systems where either the president or the prime minister is the dominant actor, then a divided executive will not affect democratisation. However, where both the president and prime minister have significant independent powers, then a divided executive should have a negative impact on democratisation because of the potential for destabilising intraexecutive conflict. Using an ordinal logit model, the results show that mixed systems with a dual executive do not perform significantly worse than mixed systems where there is one dominant actor. This suggests that the standard wisdom about the impact of a divided executive in a mixed system is misplaced

Linkages between Political and Economic Reforms in Post-Communist Countries

This paper analyses the interaction between the political and economic reforms undertaken in post-communist countries since the early 1990s. The empirical investigation uses panel data from 27 transition countries for the period 1991 to 2005. Democratisation has led to market economic reforms, while the extent of economic reforms has not had any discernable effect on political developments. Macroeconomic performance has had little or no effect on political and economic reforms, while wars and civil strife have held back both kinds of reforms. Initial conditions have played an important role regarding the outcome of the transition: large macroeconomic distortions and a low development level have produced less democratisation and fewer market economic reforms. The prospect of EU membership has reinforced democratisation but has slowed economic reforms in the applicant countries.transition, economic reform, political reform

Semi-presidentialism and democratisation in Poland

Polish semi-presidentialism evolved from a pacted transition between the leadership of the communist regime and the Solidarity opposition movement. The mechanics of semi-presidentialism, as well as its effect on democratisation, depend upon the constitution, the party system and the personality of the president. Poland has had three semi-presidential constitutions, a variety of relationships between president and government as well as government and parliament, and two very different presidents. In the early years, the absence of the conditions for stable semi-presidentialism had a negative effect on democratisation. Later on, conditions were more supportive, and semi-presidentialism began to play a more positive role. Before the introduction of semi-presidentialism in November 1990, Polish elites had already established a firm consensus on democracy, which was buttressed by consensus on the economic system and international relations. Therefore, the conflicting legitimacies generated by semi-presidentialism delayed but did not prevent, or seriously threaten, democratic consolidation in Poland

Democratising AI: Multiple Meanings, Goals, and Methods

Numerous parties are calling for the democratisation of AI, but the phrase is used to refer to a variety of goals, the pursuit of which sometimes conflict. This paper identifies four kinds of AI democratisation that are commonly discussed: (1) the democratisation of AI use, (2) the democratisation of AI development, (3) the democratisation of AI profits, and (4) the democratisation of AI governance. Numerous goals and methods of achieving each form of democratisation are discussed. The main takeaway from this paper is that AI democratisation is a multifarious and sometimes conflicting concept that should not be conflated with improving AI accessibility. If we want to move beyond ambiguous commitments to democratising AI, to productive discussions of concrete policies and trade-offs, then we need to recognise the principal role of the democratisation of AI governance in navigating tradeoffs and risks across decisions around use, development, and profits.Comment: Changed second author affiliation; added citation to section 5.2; edit to author contribution statemen

Elites and institutions : literature review

Exploring elites and their relations to institutions can assist understanding the day-to-day realities of politics in Africa (Chabal and Daloz 1999, Amundsen 2001, Lindberg 2003). This review is a scoping exercise in what has been written on the subject in recent years. The main task of the review is to summarise current understandings of how elites work with and through political institutions in Africa. There is a huge literature in this subject area. We have tried to pick out a) that which is most pertinent and non-repetitive, and b) that which raises as many questions as it provides answers. On the whole we have focused on literature published in the last five to ten years and we have inclined towards the literature on Anglophone Africa. The review is presented as follows: Section 1 is an introduction to Africa’s recent political landscape and it introduces some of the major issues that appear in the literature. Section 2 provides some working definitions of elites, institutions and democratisation as three of the recurring themes in the review. Section 3 reviews literature broadly on democratisation in Africa and specifically on elections and elites. Section 4 examines how political parties have evolved over the last 15 years. Section 5 reviews the three branches of government and Section 6 briefly examines decentralisation and its relation to elites and politics. The remaining sections of the review move outside the more formal political structures to examine the media (Section 7), civil society (Section 8), women’s movements (Section 9), Trades unions (Section 10) and business associations (Section 11). The final Section 12 pulls out a number of gaps in the research that we have identified in the course of the review. Section 13 contains a complete bibliography of citations used in the review. It is crucial to remember that Africa’s experiences of democratisation are no more than 15 years old, and many scholars have cautioned that it is still very early to draw any definite conclusions (Amundsen 2001; Randall and Svasand 2002). Inhaltsverzeichnis: 1. Africa’s political landscape 3 * Diversity of ‘Africa’ 4 * Elections do not mean democracy 4 * Presidentialism 4 * Ethnicity 5 * Personal rule and patronage 5 2. Definitions 6 * Elites 6 * Political institutions 7 * Democratisation 8 3. Democratisation and elites 8 * Elections 9 * Elites and elections 13 4. Political parties 16 5. Branches of government 17 * The executive 17 * The legislature 18 * The Judiciary 20 6. Decentralisation 20 7. Media 21 * Radio 25 * Television 25 * Newspapers 25 * Internet 26 8. Civil society 26 9. Women’s movements 29 10. Trade unions 32 11. Business associations 34 12. Gaps in the research 36 13. Bibliography 3

Dominant ethnicity: from minority to majority

This article argues that the world is in the midst of a long-term transition from dominant minority to dominant majority ethnicity. Whereas minority domination was common in premodern societies, modernity (with its accent on democracy and popular sovereignty) has engendered a shift to dominant majority ethnicity. The article begins with conceptual clarifications. The second section provides a broad overview of the general patterns of ethnic dominance that derive from the logic of modern nationalism and democratisation. The third section discusses remnants of dominant minorities in the modern era and suggests that their survival hinges on peculiar historical and social circumstances coupled with resistance to democratisation. The fourth section shifts the focus to dominant majorities in the modern era and their relationship to national identities. The article ends with a discussion of the fortunes of dominant ethnicity in the West