Suchergebnisse

Is the referendum phenomenon a manifestation of direct democracy & hence rooted in ancient democracy, or is it the result of political conflict within the democracy of today? Are referendums in democracies the first step down the slippery slope to a plebiscitary hell, or are they the humus that can foster a wide-ranging diversification of experience while staying within the bounds of modern-day, representative democracies? The author takes the stance that the referendum phenomenon stems from modern-day, representative democracies & does not necessarily jeopardize their stability or legitimacy. As a perfect example of popular sovereignty in action, are referendums to be perceived as more favorable toward society's democratic component rather than its liberal one? The author holds that referendum voting enables both liberal & democratic issues to be faced. He discusses Sartori's analysis according to which the referendum is a manifestation of ancient democracy incompatible with the requirements of modern-day democracy, especially concerning matters of a liberal nature. In the area of referendum experiences, the author critiques Sartori's analysis & argues in favor of the compatibility between liberal democracies & referendums. 3 Tables, 58 References. Adapted from the source document.

Research in comparative politics has shown a renewed interest in the relation between political parties and the state. However, we know comparatively little about patronage -- defined as the power of political parties to distribute public sector posts -- as a key dimension of the linkage between political parties and the state. This article, based on comparative empirical evidence on patterns of patronage in 15 European democracies, has two central goals. First, it seeks to empirically evaluate commonalities and differences among European democracies with respect to patronage and its pervasiveness, logic and mechanics. Second, it considers the new light that the empirical analysis sheds on the contemporary explanations of patronage. The empirical analysis suggests that it is the interaction of administrative legacy effects with patterns of party system consolidation and crisis that accounts for the differences in contemporary patronage practices. Adapted from the source document.

The article discusses the recent debate on the democratic peace hypothesis & its likely consequences on today's international system. After an analysis of causal relationships explaining the link between democracy & peace, the article argues that empirical evidence supports the hypothesis. The separate peace among democracies does not concern relationships between democracies & nondemocracies, which could even be exacerbated by ideological disputes. The question of the enlargement of democracy then becomes paramount, & leads to a choice between indirect promotion & forced export. Although in recent years there has been a significant increase of democratization, both these choices present strong limits. Tables, References. Adapted from the source document.

In recent years, claims for autonomy & self-government have conditioned the politics of the so-called multinational democracies. In such democracies, national minorities have obtained one form or another of self-government thanks to various kinds of federal frameworks. Such important political processes have significantly contributed toward the renewed interest in federalism. In particular, a number of scholars have pointed out the need to formulate a specific variety of federalism to meet the needs of national minorities: asymmetric federalism. Thus, unlike scholars such as Carl Friedrich, Daniel Elazar, & Kenneth Wheare, who thought that traditional, symmetrical federal institutions could be used to manage nationalist claims thanks to their intrinsic capability of dealing with unity & diversity, many contemporary political scientists (eg, Alfred Stepan, Alain Gagnon, Ferran Requeio, Michael Burgess, & others) have analyzed the relationship between nationalism & federalism through the concept of asymmetric federalism. Focusing on the different dimensions of the concept & analyzing such a literature -- its results, suggestions, & limits, constitute the aim of this paper. 2 Tables, 45 References. Adapted from the source document.

A review essay on books by (1) R. Dalton & M. Wattenberg (Eds), Parties without Partisans. Political Change in Advanced Industrial Democracies (Oxford: Oxford U Press, 2000); (2) R. Gunther, J. Linz, & J. R. Montero (Eds), Political Parties. Old Concepts, New Challenges (Oxford: Oxford U Press, 2002); (3) L. Diamond & R. Gunther, Parties and Democracy (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins U Press, 2001); (4) P. Mair, W. Muller, & F. Plasser (Eds), Political Parties and Electoral Change (Oxford: Oxford U Presss, 2004); & (5) R. Dalton, Democratic Challenges. Democratic Choices (Oxford: Oxford U Press, 2004).

The review article analyzes some of the most recent developments in political communication with particular concern for those processes involving the notions and the practices of citizenship in contemporary democracies. Some of the contributions taken into consideration can be regarded as seminal books supporting the view that popular media, infotainment and new media are all new channels of political information and, notwithstanding their oversimplification, may be useful to extend citizens' political knowledge. The review aims also at offering some insights on specific features of political communication in Italy through the analysis of contributions dealing with the processes of personalization and popularization of politics as well as with the increasing role of internet in Italian politics. Adapted from the source document.

This focus article discusses the recent book by Robert D. Putnam and D.E. Campbell, which has recently won the 2011 Woodrow Wilson Award of the American Political Science Association. Framing this piece of research in the context of the extremely rich and influential work developed by Robert D. Putnam for about fifty years, Sergio Fabbrini illustrates the main findings of American Grace with reference to the recent developments and the assets of the US democracy. Luca Ozzano draws attention to the consequences determined by the relationship between religion and political participation on the foreign policy developments and, more generally, on the complex world of international relations. The third review, by Giuliano Amato, develops a broader reflection on the effect of religions on the current difficulties of our democracies, in America and in Europe, focusing on the notion of post-secular society. Finally, a quick but dense response by Robert D. Putnam highlights the main points from these threefold review, individuating some new possible questions and puzzles for future researches. Adapted from the source document.

We use EVS-WVS data to test our hypothesis about the contextual dependence of cohesion in Europe. In particular, we apply Bayesian Networks to describe the emergence of Social Cohesion in different welfare models. The creation of different networks for each Welfare model aims at demonstrating that a different way to manage Social Policies creates different paths of Social Cohesion. Political participations, civil engagement and positive social ties are fundamental dimensions, producing Social Capital, while social cohesion requires further dimensions too, as the presence of structural dynamics (equity, granted public services) and the increase in satisfaction. The mechanisms detected are similar enough from different areas, with interesting specificities for Mediterranean, Social-Democratic and Post-communist models.

The article discusses recent challenges and opportunities for democracy. Stressing that the scientific discourse on this topic has to critically consider the various meanings of the concept of democracy, some main narratives on the status of democracy are reviewed, looking at the elements of crisis of representative democracies, but also at the growing importance of democratic qualities promoted in participatory and deliberative conceptions of democracy. Original empirical research on conceptions and practices of democracy in social movements as pre-figurative arenas provides illustrations of the tensions and potentials within the, variously understood, conceptions of democracy. Moreover, some explanations of the different conceptions of democracy are discussed. The author concludes that, if the historical evolution of democracy privileged some specific qualities (related in particular to electoral accountability), the recent difficulties of representative institutions require a reflection on different qualities that, as participation and deliberation, are acquiring new relevance. Adapted from the source document.