Economic Crisis, Civil Society, and Democratization PDF Download

Author: Julius Omozuanvbo Ihonvbere
Publisher: Africa World Press
ISBN: 9780865435018
Category : Democracy
Languages : en
Pages : 356

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Book Description
The transition from an authoritarian to an egalitarian form of government is a major paradigm shift for any society. When the forces of opposition remain major players, however, the transition is bound to be tumultuous. In this, the first major book on post-UNIP Zambia, the author chronicles the transition to democracy in Zambia and in doing so sheds light on the challenges for democratisation in post-Cold War Africa.

Author: Lorenzo Fioramonti
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351571788
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 131

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Book Description
After an apparent temporary relief, the financial crisis is back full steam. Thedouble dip has turned into a full-blown meltdown of financial markets, public budgets and, by and large, democratic accountability. This global crisis is a fundamental wake-up call: a signal that our conventional political economy and, perhaps, the very foundations of our societies need a serious rethink. Currently, the spotlight is on the role of political elites and economic agents (especially the investors included in the vague notion ofmarkets ) and their strategies to stabilize or destabilize countries, from North America to the Eurozone. Regrettably, the actual and potential role of civil society is hardly mentioned in public debate. Yet, it is exactly within civil society that important responses to the crisis may emerge. It is within civil society that an alternative paradigm and a fundamental rethinking of conventional wisdom may be fostered. Citizens vs. Markets is the first book to unpack the transformative role of civil society in a sector in which it has traditionally been less proactive, in order to reflect on possible forms of social transformation that are not merely remedial but also constructive in nature. This is the most important struggle of our times.This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of Civil Society.

Author: Philip Oxhorn
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 0271048948
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
"Devoting particular emphasis to Bolivia, Chile, and Mexico, proposes a theory of civil society to explain the economic and political challenges for continuing democratization in Latin America"--Provided by publisher.

Author: Freedom House
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1538112035
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 1040

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Book Description
Freedom in the World is the standard-setting comparative assessment of global political rights and civil liberties. The methodology of this survey is derived in large measure from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and these standards are applied to all countries and territories.

Author: Leonardo Morlino
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191521205
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 406

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Book Description
The second half of the twentieth century has witnessed several waves of democratization in Europe, the Americas, and in other regions of the world, such as South East Asia. Although for the most part these democratic regimes are no longer haunted by the prospect of a return to authoritarianism, severe economic and social problems have posed serious challenges, creating a situation where change is often achieved through alternating periods of consolidation and crisis. Drawing on a systematic, empirical analysis of four key Southern European countries, Portugal, Spain, Greece, and Italy, Morlino identifies several key aspects of democratic consolidation: consensus and legitimation, party system and party organization, and the ways in which organized and non-organized interests are related to parties and the institutions of state. The resulting models of consolidation are analysed and the mechanisms and patterns of their unfolding crises identified, taking care to disentangle the pragmatic reactions against the regime, often related to corruption, from more ideological ones grounded in differences in values. Finally, the author addresses the question of the `quality' of democracy, examining how this is related to the outcome of processes of consolidation and crisis. This insightful study offers the first extensive, comparative analysis of consolidation and crisis in these countries, and features a wealth of up-to-date information on party organizations, interest associations, the media, and public opinion. Although clearly focusing on Southern Europe, the author's findings are extremely relevant for understanding the politics of several other regions, including Eastern Europe, Latin America, and South East Asia.

Author: F. Quadir
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 0230523757
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 252

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Book Description
This edited volume brings together a number of well-known scholars and activists from various parts of the world to present critical perspectives on recent and long term trends in the economic, socio-cultural and political life of the people of Asia and examines the policies and constraints faced by the nation-states of the region. It contributes to and enriches the current debates on globalization, the prospects for democracy, and sustainable human development. The book offers an incisive assessment of the role of civil society in creating a democratic political culture in Asia.

Author: Kenneth C. Shadlen
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 0271032480
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
When countries become more democratic, new opportunities arise for individuals and groups to participate in politics and influence the making of policy. But democratization does not ensure better representation for everyone, and indeed some sectors of society are ill-equipped to take advantage of these new opportunities. Small industry in Mexico, Kenneth Shadlen shows, is an excellent example of a sector whose representation decreased during democratization. Shadlen’s analysis focuses on the basic characteristics of small firms that complicate the process of securing representation in both authoritarian and democratic environments. He then shows how increased pluralism and electoral competition served to exacerbate the political problems facing the sector during the course of democratization in Mexico. These characteristics created problems for small firms both in acting collectively through interest associations and civil society organizations and in wielding power within political parties. The changes that democratization effected in the structure of corporatism put small industry at a significant disadvantage in the policy-making arena even while there was general agreement on the crucial importance of this sector in the new neoliberal economy, especially for generating employment. The final chapter extends the analysis by making comparisons with the experience of small industry representation in Argentina and Brazil. Shadlen uses extensive interviews and archival research to provide new evidence and insights on the difficult challenges of interest aggregation and representation for small industry. He conducted interviews with a wide range of owners and managers of small firms, state and party officials, and leaders of business associations and civil society organizations. He also did research at the National Archives in Mexico City and in the archives of the most important business organizations for small industry in the post-World War II period.

Author: Nancy G. Bermeo
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691214131
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 282

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Book Description
For generations, influential thinkers--often citing the tragic polarization that took place during Germany's Great Depression--have suspected that people's loyalty to democratic institutions erodes under pressure and that citizens gravitate toward antidemocratic extremes in times of political and economic crisis. But do people really defect from democracy when times get tough? Do ordinary people play a leading role in the collapse of popular government? Based on extensive research, this book overturns the common wisdom. It shows that the German experience was exceptional, that people's affinity for particular political positions are surprisingly stable, and that what is often labeled polarization is the result not of vote switching but of such factors as expansion of the franchise, elite defections, and the mobilization of new voters. Democratic collapses are caused less by changes in popular preferences than by the actions of political elites who polarize themselves and mistake the actions of a few for the preferences of the many. These conclusions are drawn from the study of twenty cases, including every democracy that collapsed in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution in interwar Europe, every South American democracy that fell to the Right after the Cuban Revolution, and three democracies that avoided breakdown despite serious economic and political challenges. Unique in its historical and regional scope, this book offers unsettling but important lessons about civil society and regime change--and about the paths to democratic consolidation today.

Author: Keith Hart
Publisher: Berghahn Books
ISBN: 1782388451
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 278

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Book Description
Political constitutions alone do not guarantee democracy; a degree of economic equality is also essential. Yet contemporary economies, dominated as they are by global finance and political rent-seekers, often block the realization of democracy. The comparative essays and case studies of this volume examine the contradictory relationship between the economy and democracy and highlight the struggles and visions needed to make things more equitable. They explore how our collective aspirations for greater democracy might be informed by serious empirical research on the human economy today. If we want a better world, we must act on existing social realities.

Author: John Restakis
Publisher: New Society Publishers
ISBN: 1550927361
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
The liberal state is dead, long live the partner state Across the world, the liberal nation state is on its knees. Rising inequality, deep political polarization, and the pervasive power of corporations are tearing apart the social contract and threatening to crush democracy. Civilizing the State traces the history and development of the liberal state and its changing role from the enabler of capitalism to protector of citizen welfare, to its hollowing out and capture by corporate and elite interests rendering it unfit to address the compounding crises of inequality, injustice, ecological collapse, and loss of legitimacy. Author John Restakis explores citizen-powered alternatives and experiments in co-operation, deep democracy, solidarity economics, and commoning from Spain, India, the global peasant movement, and the emerging stateless democracy of Rojava rising from the wreckage of the Syrian civil war. The final section views the current crisis as an opportunity to reimagine the state not as handmaid to predatory elites but as a partner state that promotes equity, economic democracy, co-operation, and human thriving, driven by deep democracy and a fully sovereign civil society. Incisive, penetrating, and inspirational, this is essential reading for all engaged citizens with a stake in co-creating a better future for all.