Suchergebnisse

In recent years the growth of direct democratic procedures in the world has become far more noticeable. Never before such a large number of people could vote for the actual issues since over the past decade. More frequently applied initiative law, general voting with a view to resolving essential problems and using mechanism of cancelation of the elected officials has fundamentally changed the political dynamics. Around the world representative democracy is being transformed and modernized. Thus the topic of the Master's thesis was chosen not randomly but to the more extensive context of the analysis of the referendum institute and aims to approach the experience of the referenda and assessing their prospects in Lithuania, Switzerland and California. The objective has been achieved by analyzing legal doctrine and legislation in terms of Lithuania and the experience of the selected states (Switzerland and California) organizing the referendums as well as their effects on representative democracy. The first part disputes the referendum in detail referring to it as the institute of direct democracy, concept and classification since the researchers' opinion concerning the terminology is different. The second part deals with the practice of referendum law in Lithuania and its assessment is presented. The third part analyzes the institutions of direct democracy in Switzerland and their assessment. The direct democracy in California is assessed in the fourth part while and arguments disapproving sceptics' opinion are presented in the fifth part.

In recent years the growth of direct democratic procedures in the world has become far more noticeable. Never before such a large number of people could vote for the actual issues since over the past decade. More frequently applied initiative law, general voting with a view to resolving essential problems and using mechanism of cancelation of the elected officials has fundamentally changed the political dynamics. Around the world representative democracy is being transformed and modernized. Thus the topic of the Master's thesis was chosen not randomly but to the more extensive context of the analysis of the referendum institute and aims to approach the experience of the referenda and assessing their prospects in Lithuania, Switzerland and California. The objective has been achieved by analyzing legal doctrine and legislation in terms of Lithuania and the experience of the selected states (Switzerland and California) organizing the referendums as well as their effects on representative democracy. The first part disputes the referendum in detail referring to it as the institute of direct democracy, concept and classification since the researchers' opinion concerning the terminology is different. The second part deals with the practice of referendum law in Lithuania and its assessment is presented. The third part analyzes the institutions of direct democracy in Switzerland and their assessment. The direct democracy in California is assessed in the fourth part while and arguments disapproving sceptics' opinion are presented in the fifth part.

Referendum processes in the six post-communist countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine – have been analyzed. Classification of the referenda into categories, such as plebiscites, constitutional referenda, ratification referenda, and that of ratification, of political routine, has been proposed. Separatist referenda organized in the Republic of South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh and Transnistria have not been recognized by international community. In the two cases, Azerbaijan and Belarus, referenda were used for a for constitutional amendments consolidating authoritarian regimes. Formal attribution of them to the simply "constitutional" would be inadequate; they rather should be categorized as sub-type of "Asian" referenda. Renewing traditional "transitional" logic, civilization theoretic approach, concept of "bridging civilization spaces" has been utilized in order to more adequate perception of processes within East European space.

Referendum processes in the six post-communist countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine – have been analyzed. Classification of the referenda into categories, such as plebiscites, constitutional referenda, ratification referenda, and that of ratification, of political routine, has been proposed. Separatist referenda organized in the Republic of South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh and Transnistria have not been recognized by international community. In the two cases, Azerbaijan and Belarus, referenda were used for a for constitutional amendments consolidating authoritarian regimes. Formal attribution of them to the simply "constitutional" would be inadequate; they rather should be categorized as sub-type of "Asian" referenda. Renewing traditional "transitional" logic, civilization theoretic approach, concept of "bridging civilization spaces" has been utilized in order to more adequate perception of processes within East European space.

Referendum processes in the six post-communist countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine – have been analyzed. Classification of the referenda into categories, such as plebiscites, constitutional referenda, ratification referenda, and that of ratification, of political routine, has been proposed. Separatist referenda organized in the Republic of South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh and Transnistria have not been recognized by international community. In the two cases, Azerbaijan and Belarus, referenda were used for a for constitutional amendments consolidating authoritarian regimes. Formal attribution of them to the simply "constitutional" would be inadequate; they rather should be categorized as sub-type of "Asian" referenda. Renewing traditional "transitional" logic, civilization theoretic approach, concept of "bridging civilization spaces" has been utilized in order to more adequate perception of processes within East European space.

Lithuania's chosen geopolitical orientation is expressed by commonality of certain values based on the membership in NATO and the European Union. Respect for democracy is one of the most fundamental among those values. However, despite the certain pressure to recognise the very value, even some of the essential elements of democracy are being interpreted quite differently. An expressive example may be a determination whether the most important political issues affecting the life of the community should be addressed directly by the citizens themselves, or (sometimes even only) by political elite of the community legitimised by the way of election. Therefore (even if we agree to share the same values), one thing is the prevailing consensus and even pressure regarding (at least) the obligatoriness of "democratic rhetoric", and quite another – the specific contents of the concepts of democracy and democratic practices. The various aspects of democratic theory are not analysed in this study more systematically on the basis of this difference. The attention is rather given to the certain requirements or attributes to the principle of democracy and to democratic regime as they are ascribed in the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania. Thus the study is not pointed at things that are certainly noteworthy in the discourse of democratic theory, but they were not formulated or at least mentioned (maybe just not yet?) in the jurisprudence of Constitutional Court: consensus democracy, economic democracy, inclusive democracy, and even (wow, it turns out after more than two decades of Court work it is possible!) liberal democracy. In this text the author starts to consistently structure and systemise the more or less examined democracy related issues mentioned in the final acts of the Constitutional Court (principal concept of democracy, constitutional democracy, parliamentary democracy, participatory democracy, a pluralistic democracy, direct democracy, representative democracy, etc.). Carefully, sometimes even captiously, he analyses the content assigned to them. The author seeks not only to deliver (describe) the Constitutional Court's jurisprudence on democracy, but also to evaluate its evolution, consistency, logical validity, while in more "suspicious" cases, its relation with the scientific doctrine of democracy. Investigating the recent Constitutional Court's jurisprudence that clearly transforms the sovereignty paradigm formed in the acts adopted two decades ago, considerable attention is paid to the limitation to address some of "the most significant issues concerning the life of the State and the Nation" by referendum.

Lithuania's chosen geopolitical orientation is expressed by commonality of certain values based on the membership in NATO and the European Union. Respect for democracy is one of the most fundamental among those values. However, despite the certain pressure to recognise the very value, even some of the essential elements of democracy are being interpreted quite differently. An expressive example may be a determination whether the most important political issues affecting the life of the community should be addressed directly by the citizens themselves, or (sometimes even only) by political elite of the community legitimised by the way of election. Therefore (even if we agree to share the same values), one thing is the prevailing consensus and even pressure regarding (at least) the obligatoriness of "democratic rhetoric", and quite another – the specific contents of the concepts of democracy and democratic practices. The various aspects of democratic theory are not analysed in this study more systematically on the basis of this difference. The attention is rather given to the certain requirements or attributes to the principle of democracy and to democratic regime as they are ascribed in the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania. Thus the study is not pointed at things that are certainly noteworthy in the discourse of democratic theory, but they were not formulated or at least mentioned (maybe just not yet?) in the jurisprudence of Constitutional Court: consensus democracy, economic democracy, inclusive democracy, and even (wow, it turns out after more than two decades of Court work it is possible!) liberal democracy. In this text the author starts to consistently structure and systemise the more or less examined democracy related issues mentioned in the final acts of the Constitutional Court (principal concept of democracy, constitutional democracy, parliamentary democracy, participatory democracy, a pluralistic democracy, direct democracy, representative democracy, etc.). Carefully, sometimes even captiously, he analyses the content assigned to them. The author seeks not only to deliver (describe) the Constitutional Court's jurisprudence on democracy, but also to evaluate its evolution, consistency, logical validity, while in more "suspicious" cases, its relation with the scientific doctrine of democracy. Investigating the recent Constitutional Court's jurisprudence that clearly transforms the sovereignty paradigm formed in the acts adopted two decades ago, considerable attention is paid to the limitation to address some of "the most significant issues concerning the life of the State and the Nation" by referendum.

The article develops normative assumptions about what the political ideologies, democracy and political parties ought to be and advocates a reconsidered version of liberalism, which is perceived as an alternative to the prevailing modern political ideologies. Assumptions of reconsidered liberalism about the role of ideologies in democracy are generalized in the concept of ideological pluralism. The article also presents a concept of comprehensive democracy as an alternative to representative, direct, deliberative, civic and other modern conceptions of democracies. In this perspective democracy is perceived as a mode of collective decision-making process. Normative criteria for the basic elements of a collective decision making process, i.e.: participants of decision-making processes, decisionmaking procedures, content of decisions and implementation of decisions, are formulated. Assumptions about the alternative role of political parties in democracy are derived from the conception of the comprehensive democracy. It is proposed to assign to political parties functions such as civic education, organizing and moderating public deliberations, monitoring policy implementation.

The article develops normative assumptions about what the political ideologies, democracy and political parties ought to be and advocates a reconsidered version of liberalism, which is perceived as an alternative to the prevailing modern political ideologies. Assumptions of reconsidered liberalism about the role of ideologies in democracy are generalized in the concept of ideological pluralism. The article also presents a concept of comprehensive democracy as an alternative to representative, direct, deliberative, civic and other modern conceptions of democracies. In this perspective democracy is perceived as a mode of collective decision-making process. Normative criteria for the basic elements of a collective decision making process, i.e.: participants of decision-making processes, decisionmaking procedures, content of decisions and implementation of decisions, are formulated. Assumptions about the alternative role of political parties in democracy are derived from the conception of the comprehensive democracy. It is proposed to assign to political parties functions such as civic education, organizing and moderating public deliberations, monitoring policy implementation.

The ideas and practice of later-day democracy are the result of two great transformations. These transformations determined the essential changes of political life. The first began in ancient Greece and Rome, the second - when the idea of democracy has moved from little city-state to the national state in a broad sense. Democracies fall into two basic categories: direct and representative. In a direct democracy all citizens without the intermediary of elected or appointed officials can participate in making-public decisions. Such a system is clearly only practical with relatively small numbers of people. Most contemporary communities have grown too large for all the residents to gather in a single location and vote directly on issues that affect their lives. Today the most common form of democracy is representative democracy, in which citizens elect officials to make political decisions, formulate laws and administer programs for the public good. But according to the professor at Yale University, R. A. Dahl, last mentioned form also has some disadvantages and therefore it is not relevant for the modern societies. As an alternative the professor proposed the term polyarchy to describe the form of government. However polyarchy and its procedures by itself may be insufficient for achieving full democracy and face with some problems such as massive political participation, inevitable domination of small groups and endeavor at public good. Therefore R. A. Dahl proposed some factors that in his opinion would be able to secure the stability of democratic process. These factors include the control of compulsion, the modern dynamic pluralistic society, political culture and some others.

Political systems doesn't limit government enforcement mode. Adoption of political regime implies its implementation into legitimacy. Definition of political regime and its enforcement is a very important issue for every single state. The analysis of regime implied into legitimacy of particular state helps us understand political process and political ruling. The actuality of this theme mostly relies on the analysis of states' political regime and its development through historical, political and national changes. Object of this work is political regimes, and its aim - to analyse political regimes that exists in world. Main tasks given – to analyse and systematically present main state governing forms, fully analyse concept of political regimes, to present its' differentiations and forms, also – to provide two empirical research: to analyse the impact of development of political regime in Lithuania, analysing its Constitutions in XX century and to analyse three various political regimes – ones existing in USA, Belarus and North Korea. States might be divided into republics and monarchies. Republics – presidential (representative) or direct democracy. Analysing republics by constitutional approach it may be also divided into parliamentary or presidential governing forms. Though mixed forms also exists. States, relying on theoretical approach and governing form may be also distinguished: unitary, federation and confederation. The governing regime depends on constitutional background that sets state's government. Political regime – methods of governing. They may be distinguished: normative, economical political, cultural, social or mixed. But mostly these regimes are distinguished into democratic or nondemocratic. Nondemocratic are also distinguished into authoritarian and totalitarian. Development of political regime mostly depends on the states' historical development, traditions, values, geopolitics or political leader. After analysing Lithuanian XX c. Constitutions, we conclude, that political regime developed from democratic to authoritarian, and nowadays – it's again democracy, that was established in the 1922 years' Constitution (with exceptions also in 1928), changed to authoritarian governing in 1938 and restored after Independency (1992). Three different foreign political regimes let us to conclude, that USA is a presenter of fundamental constitutionalism, Belarus is a state, that though has constitution but its' regime is authoritarian, and North Korea has totalitarian political regime. Master thesis consists of introduction, four parts, conclusions, list of used literature and summaries, in Lithuanian and English.

Political systems doesn't limit government enforcement mode. Adoption of political regime implies its implementation into legitimacy. Definition of political regime and its enforcement is a very important issue for every single state. The analysis of regime implied into legitimacy of particular state helps us understand political process and political ruling. The actuality of this theme mostly relies on the analysis of states' political regime and its development through historical, political and national changes. Object of this work is political regimes, and its aim - to analyse political regimes that exists in world. Main tasks given – to analyse and systematically present main state governing forms, fully analyse concept of political regimes, to present its' differentiations and forms, also – to provide two empirical research: to analyse the impact of development of political regime in Lithuania, analysing its Constitutions in XX century and to analyse three various political regimes – ones existing in USA, Belarus and North Korea. States might be divided into republics and monarchies. Republics – presidential (representative) or direct democracy. Analysing republics by constitutional approach it may be also divided into parliamentary or presidential governing forms. Though mixed forms also exists. States, relying on theoretical approach and governing form may be also distinguished: unitary, federation and confederation. The governing regime depends on constitutional background that sets state's government. Political regime – methods of governing. They may be distinguished: normative, economical political, cultural, social or mixed. But mostly these regimes are distinguished into democratic or nondemocratic. Nondemocratic are also distinguished into authoritarian and totalitarian. Development of political regime mostly depends on the states' historical development, traditions, values, geopolitics or political leader. After analysing Lithuanian XX c. Constitutions, we conclude, that political regime developed from democratic to authoritarian, and nowadays – it's again democracy, that was established in the 1922 years' Constitution (with exceptions also in 1928), changed to authoritarian governing in 1938 and restored after Independency (1992). Three different foreign political regimes let us to conclude, that USA is a presenter of fundamental constitutionalism, Belarus is a state, that though has constitution but its' regime is authoritarian, and North Korea has totalitarian political regime. Master thesis consists of introduction, four parts, conclusions, list of used literature and summaries, in Lithuanian and English.

The growth of the scale of absenteeism leads to the fact that part of the democracies are ruled, and an even larger number of democracies are approaching the form of rule, when the ruling minority – the representatives – are democratically (?) elected by the minority of the society. In the transformation of the contemporary democracy, the principal issue is not the return of informed and knowledgeable voters, susceptible to inevitable absenteeism, to the political elections, controlled by the "big consensus" of the political parties, business and media, but rather the diversification of the delegation of powers to deal with public problems which would allow the democratic majority to form and become recognized not merely by way of political elections. That can be called postdemocracy, and still better, a bifurcation point when one never knows which direction the process may turn. With the growing scale of absenteeism, the political science models the transfer of the accents of political participation and the majority of the society, necessary for democracy, from the stage of politics to the stage of policy. That is the case of the permanent quest for the harmony of the representative and direct democracies. By means of contemporary information and communication technologies, it is necessary to learn to qualitatively establish the preferences of solution of specific public problems of those citizens who participate in public life in other ways and more independently than in political elections, i.e., of the neo-majority. As much as we are unable to cope with the issue, as much de-democratisation is possible. Democratic minority tends to degenerate sooner or later.

The growth of the scale of absenteeism leads to the fact that part of the democracies are ruled, and an even larger number of democracies are approaching the form of rule, when the ruling minority – the representatives – are democratically (?) elected by the minority of the society. In the transformation of the contemporary democracy, the principal issue is not the return of informed and knowledgeable voters, susceptible to inevitable absenteeism, to the political elections, controlled by the "big consensus" of the political parties, business and media, but rather the diversification of the delegation of powers to deal with public problems which would allow the democratic majority to form and become recognized not merely by way of political elections. That can be called postdemocracy, and still better, a bifurcation point when one never knows which direction the process may turn. With the growing scale of absenteeism, the political science models the transfer of the accents of political participation and the majority of the society, necessary for democracy, from the stage of politics to the stage of policy. That is the case of the permanent quest for the harmony of the representative and direct democracies. By means of contemporary information and communication technologies, it is necessary to learn to qualitatively establish the preferences of solution of specific public problems of those citizens who participate in public life in other ways and more independently than in political elections, i.e., of the neo-majority. As much as we are unable to cope with the issue, as much de-democratisation is possible. Democratic minority tends to degenerate sooner or later.

The growth of the scale of absenteeism leads to the fact that part of the democracies are ruled, and an even larger number of democracies are approaching the form of rule, when the ruling minority – the representatives – are democratically (?) elected by the minority of the society. In the transformation of the contemporary democracy, the principal issue is not the return of informed and knowledgeable voters, susceptible to inevitable absenteeism, to the political elections, controlled by the "big consensus" of the political parties, business and media, but rather the diversification of the delegation of powers to deal with public problems which would allow the democratic majority to form and become recognized not merely by way of political elections. That can be called postdemocracy, and still better, a bifurcation point when one never knows which direction the process may turn. With the growing scale of absenteeism, the political science models the transfer of the accents of political participation and the majority of the society, necessary for democracy, from the stage of politics to the stage of policy. That is the case of the permanent quest for the harmony of the representative and direct democracies. By means of contemporary information and communication technologies, it is necessary to learn to qualitatively establish the preferences of solution of specific public problems of those citizens who participate in public life in other ways and more independently than in political elections, i.e., of the neo-majority. As much as we are unable to cope with the issue, as much de-democratisation is possible. Democratic minority tends to degenerate sooner or later.