Suchergebnisse

Diversity has been blamed for poor public goods provision in a number of different contexts. It is associated with reduced spending on services, meager rates of tax collection, and poor policies. I argue in this article, however, that in semidemocratic or authoritarian countries, where political parties are weak, diversity can be an important source of electoral competition, leading to better services. In diverse communities where multiple identity groups are politically mobilized, candidates are forced to seek the support of voters outside of their group, who are more likely to vote based on qualifications than on group affiliation, resulting in better public officials who provide superior services. Moreover, I find internal group fragmentation to be important in understanding the impact of heterogeneity on public goods provision: Candidates in areas where only one identity group is politically mobilized but where that group is politically fragmented will also seek votes from other groups within the community similar to candidates in locations with "multigroup" mobilization, leading to improved public goods provision. These arguments are confirmed through the analysis of tribal mobilization and public goods across Jordan's municipalities.

Résumé Les auteurs de cet article s'appuient sur des enquêtes menées récemment en Jordanie, dans les territoires palestiniens et en Algérie, pour examiner les relations entre six orientations normatives et comportementales mises en évidence dans la littérature consacrée aux transitions vers la démocratie: l'attachement à l'égalité entre les sexes, la tolérance, la confiance entre les individus, la participation à la vie civique, l'intérêt pour la politique et la connaissance de la politique. L'analyse factorielle montre que ces orientations forment deux grappes conceptuelles distinctes et indépendantes: la dimension du « pluralisme », qui comprend l'attachement à l'égalité entre les sexes et la tolérance; et la dimension de l'« engagement », qui comprend la confiance entre les individus, la participation à la vie civique, l'intérêt pour la politique et la connaissance de la politique. La dichotomisation et la juxtaposition de ces deux dimensions définissent quatre types d'orientation de la culture politique des citoyens ordinaires: (1) l'orientation démocratique (niveau élevé de pluralisme et d'engagement); (2) l'indifférence (niveau élevé de pluralisme, faible niveau d'engagement); (3) l'activisme (faible niveau de pluralisme, niveau élevé d'engagement); (4) le parochialisme (faible niveau de pluralisme et d'engagement). Après avoir présenté cette typologie qui permet de cartographier les normes et les types de comportement importants pour la démocratie, les auteurs l'utilisent pour comparer la répartition des citoyens jordaniens, palestiniens et algériens et essaient d'expliquer les différences constatées entre les citoyens des trois pays.

Using recent survey data from Jordan, the Palestinian Territories and Algeria, the authors examine the interrelationship among six normative and behavioural orientations emphasised in the literature on democratic transitions: support for gender equality, tolerance, interpersonal trust, civic participation, political interest and political knowledge. Factor analysis indicates that these orientations form two distinct and independent conceptual clusters, one involving gender equality and tolerance, described as a pluralism dimension; and the other involving interpersonal trust, civic participation, political interest and political knowledge, described as an involvement dimension. The dichotomisation and juxtaposition of these two independent dimensions creates a four‐category typology of the political culture orientations of ordinary citizens: democratic – high on both dimensions; indifferent – high on the pluralism dimension and low on the involvement dimensions; activist – low on the pluralism dimension and high on the involvement dimensions; and parochial – low on both dimensions. In addition to offering this typology as a way to map norms and behaviour patterns that are important for democracy, the study compares the distribution of Jordanian, Palestinian and Algerian citizens across the four categories of political orientation and offers insights about the reasons for differences among the three countries.

Using recent survey data from Jordan, the Palestinian Territories and Algeria, the authors examine the interrelationship among six normative and behavioural orientations emphasised in the literature on democratic transitions: support for gender equality, tolerance, interpersonal trust, civic participation, political interest and political knowledge. Factor analysis indicates that these orientations form two distinct and independent conceptual clusters, one involving gender equality and tolerance, described as a pluralism dimension; and the other involving interpersonal trust, civic participation, political interest and political knowledge, described as an involvement dimension. The dichotomisation and juxtaposition of these two independent dimensions creates a four-category typology of the political culture orientations of ordinary citizens: democratic -- high on both dimensions; indifferent -- high on the pluralism dimension and low on the involvement dimensions; activist -- low on the pluralism dimension and high on the involvement dimensions; and parochial -- low on both dimensions. In addition to offering this typology as a way to map norms and behaviour patterns that are important for democracy, the study compares the distribution of Jordanian, Palestinian and Algerian citizens across the four categories of political orientation and offers insights about the reasons for differences among the three countries. Adapted from the source document.

The Arab world stands out as a region for its limited progress toward democracy. At the same time, eight national surveys in six Arab countries between 2000 and 2004 show that 90 percent or more of those interviewed would like to see a democratic political system in their country. This does not necessarily imply support for secular democracy, however. Roughly half of the respondents who support democracy also believe that Islam should play an important role in political affairs. It remains to be seen whether popular support for democracy, coupled with recent, albeit limited political openings in some Arab countries, will lead to sustained democratic transitions.