The current debt crisis in many OECD countries calls for adequate strategies in budget consolidation. To regain fiscal solvency many governments base their fiscal adjustments at least partly on spending cuts. A common political claim is that spending cuts rely too much on investment thereby undermining future long-term growth perspectives. We study the effect of fiscal adjustments on economic growth, consumption and investment for a panel of 20 OECD countries during the 1970-2008 period. Our results support the idea of expansionary consolidations in the case of sizeable adjustments and through spending cuts. The effect is primarily a result of increased consumption rather than investment. While fiscal adjustments also boost private investment, this tends to be offset by a corresponding reduction in government investment. Fiscal consolidations therefore hardly affect total investment.
Demokratisk handlingrom er det overordnede tema i denne rapporten om demokrati i Norden, der hovedvekten legges på det kommunale selvstyre og på medborgernes politiske og sosiale engasjement. Betydningen av informasjonsteknologien for det demokratiske handlingsrom blir tatt opp spesielt.Siktemålet med rapporten er å sette de nordiske medborgere i sentrum ved å behandle likheter og forskjeller i hvordan demokratiet utøves i de nordiske land og selvstyreområder. Rapporten bygger på og viderefører arbeidet som er utført av de danske og norske maktutredninger, og den svenske demokratiutredning.Fremstillingen hviler på et vell av data, som gir en første samlet oversikt over demokratiets virkemåte i Norden. Det pekes på at det lokale selvstyre, og dermed forholdet mellom nasjonalt og lokalt demokrati, har svært ulik utforming i Norden. Videre vises det at medborgernes engasjement varierer, både mellom land og mellom aldersgrupper og sosialgrupper innen hvert enkelt land.Rapporten avsluttes med en rekke anbefalinger til de nordiske regjeringer. En viktig anbefaling er å utforme en strategi for demokratiet, en demokratipolitikk, som et overordnet ansvar for de politiske organer. En annen er knyttet til å styrke tilfanget av data, for å gjøre det mulig å følge utviklingen i hele Norden.Rapporten er utarbeidet av Nordisk Ministerråds Demokrati- utvalg, som ble nedsatt av de nordiske samarbeidsministre i 2004.
In recent years, political science has observed a decline in the number of existing democracies and the increasing strength of autocratic regimes in the Western world. At the latest since the storming of the Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump on 06.01.2021, the stability of democracy in the United States is also discussed in the broad public. In this paper, we will show to what extent the erosion of support for the democratic system in the U.S. can be seen as a breeding ground for the recent developments in the U.S. ; Die Politikwissenschaft beobachtet in den letzten Jahren einen Rückgang der Anzahl bestehender Demokratien und das zunehmende Erstarken autokratischer Regime auch in der westlichen Welt. Spätestens seit der Erstürmung des Kapitols durch Anhänger von Donald Trump am 06.01.2021 wird auch die Stabilität der Demokratie in den USA in der breiten Öffentlichkeit diskutiert. In diesem Beitrag soll dargestellt werden, inwiefern die Erosion der Unterstützung für das demokratische System in den USA als ein Nährboden für die kürzlichen Entwicklungen in den USA gesehen werden kann.
Rechnungshöfe spielen eine zentrale Rolle in der Demokratie. Im Verbund mit Informations- und Offenlegungspflichten bilden sie das Rückgrat einer transparenten Staatsführung. Um die Aufsichtsrolle wahrzunehmen, ist eine institutionelle Verankerung der Unab hängigkeit notwendig. Neben der formal en- juristischen Festlegung der Unabhängigkeit braucht es von der Regierung unabhängige Wahl - und Amtsenthebungs verfahren. Auch Amtszeitbeschränkungen und Mindestanforderungen an die Fachkompetenz können fruchtbar wirken. Typischerweise nehmen Rechnungshöfe die ex post Kontrolle der Haushaltführung und Wirtschaftlichkeit vor. Weiterentwicklungen der traditionellen Finanzkontrolle zeigen, dass ein erweitertes Mandat zur Durchführung von ex ante Evaluationen des Budgets und von Investitionsprojekten bereits in der Beschlussphase wichtige Information en liefern und zur nachhaltigen Entwicklung der öffentlichen Finanzen beitragen können.
There is a basic tension between the principle of democracy and the rule of law. This becomes obvious whenever the Swiss citizens accept an initiative that is incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. First, we discuss the traditions behind these two principles before we survey the empirical papers about the relation between direct democracy and minority rights in the US as well as in Switzerland. Then we discuss the literature on the relation between direct democracy and death penalty. There, the conflict becomes rather obvious. Solutions, which will always involve compromises between these two principles, necessitate some role of the Supreme Court, at the cost of some, but only minor limitations of direct popular rights.
Persistent disagreement is perhaps one of the defining features of modern liberal democracy. Disagreement, though, is not merely a philosophical nuisance, but a source of friction and conflict. The goal of this work is to inquire, whether we can conceive of a political order that might be judged superior to our current modus vivendi arrangements for settling conflict from a diverse set of normative standards or perspectives. In this essay we develop the concept of Polycentric Democracy. ; Eines der bestimmenden Merkmale moderner Demokratie ist tiefgreifender Dissens in Bezug auf ethische und sozioökonomische Problemstellungen. Dissens ist dabei nicht nur ein philosophisches Ärgernis, sondern Quelle für Spannungen und politischen Konflikt. Ziel dieser Arbeit ist, zu untersuchen, ob eine politische Ordnung vorstellbar ist, die aus Sicht von diversen normativen Perspektiven unserer jetzigen Modus Vivendi Ordnung überlegen ist. Als Antwort auf diese Frage wird das Konzept der Polyzentrischen Demokratie entwickelt.
Does the Christian faith have a particular affinity for democracy?In the form of twelve theses, and against the wider background of the relationship between church and state, the author discusses the question whether the Christian faith has a special affinity for democracy. He argues that a basic affinity does indeed exist, and illustrates the implications for the state's understanding of its own responsibility and the conduct of its affairs
This country report analyzes the narrow success (50.3% Yes) of the Mass-Immigration- Initiative that will, if properly implemented, violate the bilateral treaties between Switzerland and the European Union and, thereby, perhaps trigger the end of this form of cooperation. The report also goes into the current discussion about the reform of direct democratic instruments, e.g., by raising the signature threshold for public initiatives. During the report year there was a remarkable"partial" invalidation of an initiative. In the long history of modern Switzerland, i.e., since the inception of the federal state in 1848, there have been only four invalidations of public initiatives and never before has the parliament decided for a part of an initiative to be struck out of the voting process.
Die Rede von der "Demokratie als Lebensform" ist nicht so klar, wie sie unmittelbar erscheint. Demokratie ist eine Staatsform. Inwiefern kann man sie dann auch als Lebensform bezeichnen? Der Ausdruck scheint auf das ganze Leben von Menschen auszugreifen und insofern nicht nur eine Staatsform zu betreffen. Im Sinne von Wittgensteins Rede von der Lebensform bzw. den Lebensformen (vgl. Grosshans 2013, 183-9) wäre Demokratie als Lebensform dann als ein bestimmter kultureller Lebenszusammenhang zu verstehen, mit dem eine ganze Reihe von allgemeinen Lebenseinstellungen verbunden ist. Kennzeichen moderner – im Sinne heutiger – Demokratien ist nun jedoch die Pluralität der gesellschaftlichen Systeme (im Sinne Luhmannscher Soziologie) in den Staaten, in denen wir unser Leben führen. Die politische Philosophie hat sich zudem ausgiebig in den vergangenen Jahrzehnten der Frage gewidmet, wie die weltanschauliche, kulturelle und religiöse Pluralität der Staatsbürgerinnen und Staatsbürger in Demokratien im öffentlichen Raum, in dem der allgemeine Volkswille diskursiv politisch bestimmt wird, präsent sein soll. Vor diesem Hintergrund werden in dem Aufsatz einige Aspekte zum Verhältnis des Christentums zur Demokratie präsentiert werden. Zuerst werden einige Probleme dargestellt, die sich mit einem formalen Verständnis von Demokratie stellen. Dann werden grundsätzliche Probleme diskutiert, die traditionelle Konstellationen des Christentums zur Demokratie mit sich bringen. Daran schliessen sich auf dem Hintergrund protestantischer Theologie Überlegungen zu einer konstruktiven Beziehung des Christentums zum politischen Recht an, die dann gegen gegenwärtig präsente Formen von religiöser Politik gewendet werden. Abschliessend wird, wiederum aus Sicht der protestantischen Theologie, die Relevanz der Menschenrechte für Demokratie und Rechtsstaatlichkeit diskutiert. ; Talking of "democracy as a way of life" is not as clear-cut as it immediately appears. Democracy is a form of a state. To what extent can it then also be called a form of ...
Whether democracy or capitalism should have normative priority depends on the philosophi- cal point of view but also how both are defined. The more rele vant perspective is, however, the positive one. Formally, politics dominate, bu t the economy often dominates de facto be- cause political decisions against interests of powerful economic players might cause high so- cietal costs. Since the downfall of the Iron Wall capitalism spread out much more than democ- racy. Future development might strongly depend on the development of the new authoritarian market economies: Can high growth continue wh ile political rights are largely suppressed, or do they have to concede more and more to democratic rights in order to ensure further eco- nomic growth? One would like to see the latter one, but this is by no means sure.
This paper discusses a theme touched upon in Robert Innis's article on cultural psychology and philosophy, namely how we, within cultural psychology, seem to be undecided about how best to provide value on a societal level. It is discussed how psychology has provided us with several valuable tools for examining and understanding our own existence, despite the fact that it is also a field that has seemed to be in one crisis after another since its inception. It is argued that cultural psychology is an intellectual technology that allows us to peek under the hood of society, which I argue is of utmost importance in today's society, where democratic ideals seem to be failing. Corporations, industries, and privileged individuals exercise increased control over political processes, having created obscure systems by which they operate. It is concluded that cultural psychology needs to find its role as a scientific discipline that contributes to making transparent the political, social, and interpersonal relations that define how our lives are shaped, if we want a discipline the provides value beyond the scientific realm. ; This paper discusses a theme touched upon in Robert Innis's article on cultural psych- ology and philosophy, namely how we, within cultural psychology, seem to be undecided about how best to provide value on a societal level. It is discussed how psychology has provided us with several valuable tools for examining and understanding our own exist- ence, despite the fact that it is also a field that has seemed to be in one crisis after another since its inception. It is argued that cultural psychology is an intellectual tech- nology that allows us to peek under the hood of society, which is of utmost importance in today's society, where democratic ideals are under severe pressure. Corporations, industries, and privileged individuals exercise increased control over political processes, having created obscure systems by which they operate. It is concluded that cultural psychology needs to find its role ...
