Ersson / Lane Democracy

A Comparative Approach
Erscheinungsjahr 2013
ISBN: 978-1-135-13642-0
Verlag: CRC Press
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 320 Seiten

What is democracy? Under what conditions does it thrive? What are the consequences of democracy?

This book aims to answer these questions and more by exploring different varieties of democracies around the world. It starts with definitions of democracy and then divides the concept into three dimensions, which provide a framework for the study of democracy in all its forms. These dimensions form the three main sections of the book:

*constitutional democracy which explores political rights
*participatory democracy which focuses on participation of citizens
*egalitarian democracy which examines outcomes of democracy in terms of equality.

Democracy concludes by surveying the findings of this empirical study and a discussion on the meanings and consequences of democracy in a globalizing world.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Ersson, Svante

Lane, Jan-Erik

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Systeme Demokratie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Figures and Tables Preface Introduction: Tocqueville's Question A Preliminary Definition of 'Democracy' Alternative Models of Democracy (i) Against democracy as unanimity (Buchanan) (ii) Against consociational democracy (Lijphart) (iii) Against elitist democracy (Schumpeter) (iv) Against Madisonian democracy (Tsebelis) (v) Against populist democracy (Rousseau) (vi) Against economic democracy (Lindblom) (vii) In favour of Tocquevillian democracy The Possibility and Impossibility of Democracy Exogenous and Endogenous Democracy Constitutional Democracy The Traditional Requisites of Democracy Democratic Longevity Modernisation Affluence Culture Conclusion Section 1. Methodology 1. Democracy - Ideal or Real? Introduction Definitions of 'Democracy' Democratic Procedures Measuring Democracy Summing up Conditions for and Outcomes of Democracy Indicators Economic and Social Conditions Summing up

Conditions: Development and Democracy Summing up Outcomes: Democracy and Development Economic Growth Quality of Life Gender Equality Environmental Sustainability Summing up Empirical Illustration: Kerala Democracy and Development Conclusion 2. Methodological Positivism (MP): Relevance for democracy analysis Introduction Subjectivism Subjectivist Dogmas In Favour of Objectivism Modelling Democracy: Sorting the variables Conditions for Democracy: Exogeneity or endogeneity? Conclusion Section 2. Exogeneity 3. The Economy Introduction Affluence Economic Rules Which Economic Factors Matter Most? Conclusion 4. Ethnicity Introduction Nation-building and Democracy Ethnic Fragmentation and Democracy Nation-building and Multiculturalism Conclusion 5. Religion Introduction Religion and Politics Weber's Approach The World Religions and Democracy (a) Theoretical deliberations (b) Empirical evidence (c) Summing up Lack of Democracy in the Muslim World Religious Fragmentation Conclusion Section 3. Endogeneity 6. Political Institutions Introduction Political Rules (a) Presidentialism (b) Bicameralism (c) Consociationalism, federalism and election system (d) Legal review and the Ombudsman Social Institutions: Individualism - collectivism Rules, Culture and Democracy Conclusion 7. Democratic Consolidation: The Fate of Eastern Europe and the CIS Countries Introduction Consolidation of Democracy: Exogenous or endogenous factors? Democracy in Eastern Europe since 1990 Democracy, Affluence and Economic Growth Alternative Explanations of Democratic Consolidation What Matters for Democratic Consolidation? Legacy, Social Structure, Religion or Institutions? Economic Development in Eastern Europe Conclusion 8. Impact of Institutional Conditions in Third World Countries Introduction Thick Constitutionalism Latin America: institutional failure? INDIA: institutional success South Africa: institutional engineering (a) Economic, social and cultural factors (b) Institutional factors South East Asia: Why Slow Democratisation? Conclusion Section 4. Outcomes of Democracy 9. Equality Introduction Income Equality Gender Equality Inequalities: Economic and Political Factors Democracy and Big Government The Welfare State - The Welfare Society (a) Limit of Classical Welfare State Analysis (b) The Swiss "Outlier" (c) Performance of the Welfare State and the Welfare Society Conclusion 10. Democracy, Pollution and Corruption Introduction Democracy and the Environment (a) Indicators (b) Country scores (c) Reduced form evidence (d) Structural Model Evidence Corruption and Democracy Democracy, Private Interests and the Public Interest Will Independent Bodies Improve Outcomes? Conclusion Appendix 10.1. Country rankings on environment indices 11: Conclusion: How to enhance democracy? Introduction Three Perspectives upon Democracy The Constitutional Perspective The Behavioural Perspective The Policy Perspective Towards a Theory of Endogenous Democ