Suchergebnisse

The people of Ghana are gearing themselves up for general elections in December 2 008. Election 2 008 would be a historic fifth consecutive national poll since the start of the current constitutional democratic dispensation in 1 992. The transitional presidential election of November 1 992 was highly disputed by the opposition parties leading to their boycott of the subsequent parliamentary poll that December. The acrimony no doubt had arisen from the fact that the outgoing military regime that had metamorphosed into a political party to contest that election was perceived to have rigged elections. It was from such shaky foundation that Ghana's current dispensation has blossomed. The subsequent elections (1996, 2 004, and 2 004) have been more peaceful and generally free and fair. In 2 000, there was a peaceful alternation of power from the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) to the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP). Ghana's electoral successes have made it a paragon of good governance and peaceful coexistence in the West African sub-region which over the last decade and half has been better known for a spiral of violent conflict (Frempong 2006: 157). ; Introduction Issues of democracy and elections Brief historical background The transition election of 1992 Innovations in electoral politics The Electoral Commission The Legislature, Executive and Judiciary Political Parties Civil Society Organizations Voter Education Election Observation/Monitoring Strategies for Peace Traditional Authorities The Media Challenges Conclusion Bibliography

The compilation of articles in this book originated in papers delivered at a two day workshop that took place in San José, Costa Rica, in March 2007 . This workshop is part of the Africa/Asia/Latin America Scholarly Collaborative Program jointly undertaken by APISA-CLACSO-CODESRIA with the generous support of ASDI. This Program is designed to serve as a research forum for the generation of fresh and original comparative insights on the diverse problems and challenges facing the countries of the South. In doing so, it is also hoped that the activities will contribute to the consolidation of cross-regional networking among Southern scholars, foster a scholarly culture of Southern cross-referencing, and contribute to a type of theory-building that is more closely attuned to the shared historical contexts and experiences of the countries and peoples of the South. Participants from all three continents in equal numbers are invited to each activity. Each scholar is exposed to the socio-historical contexts of other regions of the South as an input that will help to broaden their analytical perspectives and improve the overall quality of their scientific engagements. ; Preface 9 Introduction Ciska Raventós 11 Part I Civil society, public space and democratization Democratic innovation in Latin America: a first look at the Democratic Participatory Project Evelina Dagnino, Alberto Olvera and Aldo Panfichi 27 Citizens' participation and associative space Armando Chaguaceda Noriega 47 Part II Protest, contentious collective action and democratization Participation vs. Representation? The Experience of the Neighborhood Assemblies of Buenos Aires, 2001-2003 Inés Pousadela 69 Index A Time of Opportunities: the Piquetero Movement and Democratization in Argentina Gabriela Bukstein 123 Antinomies of Political Society: Implications of Uncivil Development Ajay Gudavarthy and G. Vijay 141 Part III Institutional legal reform: contribution to democratization The "Democratization" of China's Laws and Policies: two steps forward one step back from Reform and Tiananmen to Falun Gong Gillian Hui Lynn Goh 167 Innovations in Electoral Politics in Ghana's Fourth Republic: an Analysis Alexander Frempong 183 On Democratic Consolidation in the South: comments on Alexander Frempong´s Paper Jorge Rovira Mas 205 Part IV Minority rights and democracy Democracy, Minority Rights and Conflict Prevention in Asia Ashok Swain 213