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THE DEMOCRATIC POTENTIAL OF ICT SUCH AS INTERNET IS OFTEN LINKED WITH ACCESS TO INFORMATION, TRANSPARENCY, AND OPEN DISCUSSION, ALL OF WHICH ARE NECESSARY CONDITIONS FOR DEMOCRACY. THERE IS A CONCEPT OF DEMOCRACY THAT IGNORES PROCESSES OF POLITICAL MANAGEMENT AND SOCIETAL LOGICS THAT ARE NOT DEMOCRATIC. DEMOCRACY AND ICT MUST BE CONSIDERED AT THE SAME TIME. TO DO THIS, THE ARTICLE IDENTIFIES FOUR FLAWS OF LIBERAL DEMOCRACY AND SUGGESTS TWO WAYS OF USING ICT.

It is often argued that national referendums on European Union (EU) matters can be a cure for the democratic deficit of the EU and its policies. But what can we learn from a country like Switzerland about how and when direct democracy works? Our main conclusion is that referendums in the EU usually lack the necessary institutional and administrative links between direct and representative decision-making to have legitimacy-enhancing effects.

Despite all the efforts after twenty years, Albania is still considered a transitional government or hybrid regime (Freedom House, 2013). Direct participation of citizens in decision making through referendums is a tool to raise the level of public awareness and encourage critical debate of local community concerns among different actors of the society. Local referendums have the advantage to increase critical mass debate about the concern question raised. However, it is often argued that referendums are problematic because they weaken representative democracy. The notion of referendum implies the coexistence of representative institutions such as local councils and the procedures for the intervention of direct participation of the citizens. Seeing the fact that our representatives are far from representing citizens interests and also the fact of the citizens' apathy, this paper argues that local referendums help to develop local democracy, promoting direct participation and human rights values.

Despite all the efforts after twenty years, Albania is still considered a transitional government or hybrid regime (Freedom House, 2013). Direct participation of citizens in decision making through referendums is a tool to raise the level of public awareness and encourage critical debate of local community concerns among different actors of the society. Local referendums have the advantage to increase critical mass debate about the concern question raised. However, it is often argued that referendums are problematic because they weaken representative democracy. The notion of referendum implies the coexistence of representative institutions such as local councils and the procedures for the intervention of direct participation of the citizens. Seeing the fact that our representatives are far from representing citizens interests and also the fact of the citizens' apathy, this paper argues that local referendums help to develop local democracy, promoting direct participation and human rights values.Read Complete Article at ijSciences: V3201411602

Cover -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- Acknowledgments -- 1. Introduction -- 2. The Problem of Political Attachments in the American Founding -- 3. Utility, Union, and the Attachment of Self-Interest -- 4. Forging Attachments through Historical Narrative -- 5. Parties, Participation, and the Natural Attachments of Direct Democracy -- 6. Conclusion -- Notes -- Index -- Back Cover.

Frontmatter -- CONTENTS -- Tables -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. The Galveston Plan -- 2. The Texas Idea -- 3. The Des Moines Plan -- 4. The Diffusion of a Progressive Idea -- 5. Direct Democracy, At-Large Election, and the Short Ballot -- 6. Structural Weaknesses and Unmet Goals -- 7. A Transition Role -- Conclusion -- Appendix -- Notes -- Selected Bibliography -- Index

This book examines the translation of minority language ballots and voter accommodation in state and local elections. It includes a focus on the translation of direct democracy measures as well as the cause and effect differences in the translated ballots, and offers insight into how jurisdictions interact with federally mandated language assistance.

THE AUTHOR ARGUES THAT THE FEDERALISTS BELIEVED THAT THE PURPOSE OF REPRESENTATION WAS TO IMPROVE UPON DIRECT DEMOCRACY BY REFINING THE INTERESTS AND OPINIONS OF THE PEOPLE. THE VIEWS OF TWO ANTI-FEDERALISTS, MELANCTON SMITH AND RICHARD LEE HENRY, ARE ANALYZED ALONG WITH THE FEDERALIST VIEWS OF HAMILTON AND MADISON, ON REPRESENTATION.

Although public support for political authorities, institutions, and even regimes is affected by the delivery of positive economic outcomes, we know that judgments on authorities are also made on the basis of several other aspects that fall into the general theme of "procedural fairness." So far, most of the literature examining satisfaction with democracy has, from this point of view, focused on the direct effects of both economic and procedural fairness indicators or evaluations. This study takes as its starting point a large number of studies in social psychology showing that procedural fairness moderates the effects of outcome favorability in the explanation of citizens' reactions to authorities. It expands those findings to the macro-political level, using representative samples of European populations in twenty-nine countries. It reveals that the general depiction of satisfaction with the way democracies work in practice as a fundamentally "performance-driven attitude" needs to qualified: economic evaluations matter, but they do not matter in the same way in all contexts and for all people, with procedural fairness playing a relevant moderating role in this respect.

Indonesia as a democratic country has entered the era of the millennium in the implementation of general elections simultaneously, it is necessary to utilize computer technology using the Electronic-Voting (E-Voting) method. Several regions in Indonesia have used the E-Voting method as a means of democracy which is applied at the hamlet and village head election levels. Village Head election policy with E-Voting as a new means of democracy through a touch of the monitor screen and E-Verification through voters' E-KTP. For example: Pemalang Regency (Ujunggede Village), Jembrana Regency in Bali (Mendoyo Dangin Tukad Village). Elections through e-voting must be designed as best as possible to realize the principles of direct elections, namely direct, general, free, secret (overflow) and honest and fair (fair) in direct elections. Electronic voting systems (e-voting) must be taken seriously and ensure transparency, certainty, security, accountability, and accuracy. In addition to technology readiness, of course, it must be supported by the readiness of the community in implementing this e-voting system in the future. The government's unpreparedness and lack of socialization of e-voting can also be a factor triggering failure in implementing this system.

Ghana & Nigeria are in the midst of government-initiated democratization programs. Here, the different settings, reasons, strategies, procedures, & implementation of democratization efforts in these two countries are compared. While Nigeria's comprehensive approach to democratic planning has enabled elite continuity, it has neither assured regime stability nor enhanced state capacities. In contrast, Ghana's plan for democratic transformation, pursued in a piecemeal fashion, has resulted in regime stability & some state consolidation, but not in democratization. In both countries, there is little doubt that the unintended consequences of each approach may prove more significant than the direct results of successful policy implementation. Thus, even if the specific design for democracy may fail, the democratic project in these West African states may nevertheless be progressing. 106 References. HA

This article is part of the special cluster titled Political Parties and Direct Democracy in Eastern Europe, guest-edited by Sergiu Gherghina. The instrumental use of referendums by political parties has already been acknowledged in earlier studies showing how parties in government used direct democracy tools to promote their policies and to gain legitimacy, while parties in opposition sought to augment their image in the eyes of the public. However, opposition parties may have another potential reason to promote referendums on top of their quest for a better public image: The topic of the referendum could be a legacy of their own government. This article reveals how this mechanism works by focusing on the first referendum at the national level in post-communist Bulgaria in 2013. It shows how the Bulgarian Socialist Party, in opposition at the time of the referendum, pursued a policy initiated when it was in office. We use primary data to investigate the extent to which the rhetoric of the party during the referendum campaign served as the basis for subsequent electoral campaigns.