Democratization Through The Looking Glass

In Democratization through the Looking-Glass, Peter Burnell provides a revealing image of how our knowledge and understanding of democratization could be improved by viewing the topic through a more multi- disciplinary lens and from the perspective of more broadly based comparative analyses. Burnell and his contributors encourage readers to both "look and think outside of the box," beyond the limited parameters that usually shape the study of democratization. The goal of Democratization through the Looking-Glass is to pursue a more comprehensive understanding of democratization as a process taking many forms rather than just as a political phenomenon. With a viewpoint from a wider multi-disciplinary stance, and broader global geopolitical knowledge base, the contributors hope to get readers to better recognize and address gaps in the political science literature on the subject of democratization. The contributors seek to do this by specifically: explaining what democratization is while also making sense of the wide variety of experiences undergone by different societies at different times going through this very process; anticipating the wider effects of democratization's consequences for all human conditions at all levels; and critically assessing strategies for extending and deepening democracy by improving its positive qualities and chances of being sustained in societies into which it is introduced. This volume takes readers in the direction of predicting and foretelling the future of democracy and democratization with greater accuracy. In all, Democratization through the Looking-Glass provides a wide-ranging review of themes, issues, and topics concisely written by leading experts in their fields while advancing its case for more inclusive comparative studies covering Europe and North America, as well as developing regions, showing precisely how multi-disciplinary approaches enhance a global vision and understanding of democratization..

Democratization is a major political phenomenon of the current age. Democratization through the looking glass argues that our perspectives on democratization reflect the intellectual origins of the inquiry. How we see and understand it are influenced by w.

Focusing in particular on the past decade, this enlightening volume explores the changing fortunes of democracy in the West, South East Asia and the Third World. It highlights the contrast between the expansion of democracy in quantitative terms, and the problems in maintaining or improving the quality of democracy. It examines such threats to democracy as public apathy, media trivialization, the power of big business and consumerism in the West, powerful states in South East Asia, and poverty and weak government in Africa, as well as the ubiquitous challenges of the global economy and the 'war on terrorism'. The author argues that a continued decline or stalling of democracy is not inevitable, but that it will require considerable human effort to claim or reclaim the political sphere..

This exciting new handbook provides a global overview of the process of democratization, offering chapter by chapter discussion at both the country and regional levels and examining the interaction between the domestic and external factors that affect the progression of countries from authoritarian to democratic rule. Bringing together 29 key experts in the field, the work is designed to contrast the processes and outcomes of democratic reform in a wide range of different societies, evaluating the influence of factors such as religion, economic development, and financial resources. It is structured thematically into four broad sections: Section I provides a regional tour d’horizon of the current state of democratisation and democracy in eight regions around the world Section II examines key structures, processes and outcomes of democratisation and democracy Section III focuses on the relationship between democratisation and international relations through examination of a range of issues and actors including: the third and fourth waves of democracy, political conditionality, the United Nations, the European Union, the African Union and the Organisation of African States Section IV Examines the interaction between democratisation and development with a focus on poverty and inequality, security, human rights, gender, war, and conflict resolution. A comprehensive survey of democratization across the world, this work will be essential reading for scholars and policy-makers alike..

This important text explores the widespread contention that new challenges and obstacles have arisen to democratization, assessing the claim that support for democratization around the world is facing a serious challenge. Bringing together leading international scholars of democratization, including Thomas Carothers, Michael McFaul, Laurence Whitehead, Bassma Kodmani, Nancy Bermeo, Marina Ottaway, Shaun Breslin and,Renske Doorenspleet, this book examines the issues relating to developments within non-democratic states and issues related to the democratic world and its efforts to support the spread of democracy. Featuring in-depth studies on the limits of US democracy promotion, the Middle East, Russia, China and new democracies, the book sheds light on such questions as: Is the wave of democratization now in retreat or should we be careful not to exaggerate the importance of recent setbacks? Do serious, sustainable alternatives to democracy now exist? Is international democracy promotion finished? New Challenges to Democratization brings together a variety of academics and writers from major think-tanks in the United States and Europe, and makes the book ideally suited to a wide international readership. This book will be of particular interest to students and scholars of democratization, comparative politics and international politics..

The book offers new insight into the diversity of democracy promotion. It takes up the puzzle of mixed results for international agencies in external democracy promotion despite the global goal of democracy and the attempt to shape a common policy emphasized in various international agreements. On the background of backlashes and the search for new answers; it analyzes how the UNDP and the EC promoted democracy in Rwanda from 2003 until 2013 with a selective outlook until today. As a result, it outlines how democracy strategies differ. Furthermore, it develops a new concept of variances which can be applied for other international organizations and agencies as well as in other recipient states..

This book brings together a distinguished panel of leading and emerging scholars in the field, and provides a critical assessment of the current role of trade unions in society..

The countries of the former Eastern Bloc and Soviet Union have exhibited remarkable diversity in their post-communist regime paths. Whereas some states have become demonstrably more democratic and have moved in the space of fifteen years from the periphery to the centre of European politics, in others the political and economic climates seem hardly to be better, and their societies no more free, than in the final years of the Cold War. Assessing progress towards democracy in the former Eastern Bloc - or the lack of it - requires a qualitative examination of post-communist polities. This collection of articles brings together a number of perspectives, both macro and micro-analytical, on the 'quality' of democracy in post-communist Europe. This volume was previously published as a special issue of the Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics..

The European Union's "democratic deficit" and ways that might be found to resolve it are hot issues in both academic debate and practical politics. Democratizing the European Union offers a fresh approach to this subject by bringing together a diverse range of authors who have been actively involved either in analyzing the activities of the European Union or participating in them.The contributors go beyond a primarily institutional approach by highlighting issues having to do with values, participation, and exclusion. Collectively this volume also transcends the limitations of abstract theory. Embracing a range of perspectives, and including discussions of major contemporary challenges, such as enlargement and economic and monetary union, this book contains a detailed analysis of the response of New Labour to the democratization debate. The contributions include: Sue Cohen, "Social Solidarity in the Delors Period"; Sverker Gustavsson, "Reconciling Suprastatism and Accountability: A View from Sweden"; Stefano Fella, "A Europe of the Peoples? New Labour and Democratizing the EU"; John Lambert and Catherine Hoskyns, "How Democratic is the European Parliament?"; Valerio Lintner, "Controlling Monetary Union"; Mary Kaldor, "Eastern Enlargement and Democracy"; Richard Kuper, "Democratization: A Constitutionalizing Process"; and Catherine Hoskyns, "Democratizing the EU: Evidence and Argument."Democratizing the European Union is essential reading for all those with an interest in the EU and broader questions of democracy. It is also particularly useful for students of European Studies and practitioners involved in EU policymaking and lobbying..

"Mainstreaming Gender, Democratizing the State" reflects the commitment of the United Nations to promote mechanisms that aim to achieve equality between women and men. It identifies institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women including national machineries as one of twelve critical areas of concern. National machineries are the primary institutional mechanism entrusted with the implementation of the strategic objectives contained in the goals for equity set by the United Nations. The mandate of these national institutions has evolved from promoting women-specific projects to ensuring that equality concerns are integrated into all government legislation, policy, programs, and budgetary processes. National machineries face serious constraints in fulfilling their mandate including; inadequate financial and human resources, relatively powerless locations within government structures, and insufficient linkage with civil societies. This volume illustrates that the ability of UN-member states to subscribe to the agenda of equality between women and men has been significantly enhanced by the creation of these national-level institutions. National machineries for the advancement of women were initially conceived at the World Conference on the International Women's Year held in Mexico City in 1975 and since then have been considered systematically by world conferences on women in Copenhagen (1980), Nairobi (1985), and Beijing (1995), as well as the sessions of the Commission on the Status of Women. The twenty-third special session of the General Assembly in Beijing reiterated the significant role that national machineries play in promoting equality between women and men, gender mainstreaming, and monitoring of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action as well as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. There has been a long-standing need for a volume to bring together discussions on theory and practice as well as comparative analysis and in-depth case studies of national machineries; this book responds to that need..

This textbook deals with central political themes and issues in the developing world, including globalization, inequality, identity, religion, the military, democracy, the environment and policy development..

Promoting democracy has long been a priority of Western foreign policy. In practice, however, international attempts to expand representative forms of government have been inconsistent and are often perceived in the West to have been failures. The states.

The Thousand and One Nights was reborn into an alien environment in 1704, its signs being received in a radically different way from their original meanings. Works of literature change as people and cultures who read them change. This study explores the Nights with reference to this view of literature..

This book, with theoretical and practical analyses of comparative political systems of Eastern countries (Asia and Africa), their political process and political cultures, describes and analyses the influence of political culture on political process in the Eastern world. It gives readers an opportunity to make a comparative appraisal of maturity of civil society in these countries as well as their specifics in political interactions and internal political competition seen through the eyes of a group of distinguished Russian researchers. The book concentrates also on specifics of political-economic and political modernization in the East, and assesses the prospects of an emergence of a Western as well as a non-Western democracy in the framework of Eastern political transformations. It also explains why the one-dimensional spread of democracy — completely negating or neglecting regional political-cultural specifics — may lead to war among civilizations instead of the formation of a more just and fair system of democratic governance..

.

Political writings of a journalist..

.