Download or read book Democracy and Political Ignorance written by Ilya Somin and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 2013-10-02 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the biggest problems with modern democracy is that most of the public is usually ignorant of politics and government. Often, many people understand that their votes are unlikely to change the outcome of an election and don't see the point in learning much about politics. This may be rational, but it creates a nation of people with little political knowledge and little ability to objectively evaluate what they do know. In Democracy and Political Ignorance, Ilya Somin mines the depths of ignorance in America and reveals the extent to which it is a major problem for democracy. Somin weighs various options for solving this problem, arguing that political ignorance is best mitigated and its effects lessened by decentralizing and limiting government. Somin provocatively argues that people make better decisions when they choose what to purchase in the market or which state or local government to live under, than when they vote at the ballot box, because they have stronger incentives to acquire relevant information and to use it wisely.

Download or read book Democracy Governance and Economic Performance written by Yi Feng and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A theoretical and empirical examination of why political institutions and organizations matter in economic growth.

Download or read book Democratic Governance written by Séverine Bellina and published by Hurst & Company. This book was released on 2009 with total page 562 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Governance' has become a key word in the lexicon of international relations over the last twenty years. It is used, loosely, and invariably in a liberal idiom, by scholars, activists, civil society organizations, politicians and the voluntary sector. In many respects it has attained the status of a fetish, yet 'governance' remains a notion that has multiple definitions, a concept in-the-making. Notwithstanding the imprecision with which the term is employed, it has become an inescapable paradigm for the politics of development. The contributors to this book, drawn from among some of the world's best area studies specialists, from North and South, offer a diverse global critique of 'governance' as deployed in several key areas: institutions and state actors; the rule of law, democracy and human rights; decentralization and state power; development and, last but not least, international cooperation and the role of the World Bank, the IMF and NGOs. The geographical spread of the volume ranges from Africa to Latin America, from Asia to the Middle East. Their objectives include: a reassessment of 'governance' in its many manifestations; an attempt to free the term from its often unhelpful linkage to the state, and thereby apply it to other organizations and actors; a re-evaluation of the Western-dominated use of the term politically and an attempt to broaden its application beyond issues such as transparency and the fight against corruption; and a search for innovative applications of the term, driven by a consensus that transcends current economic and political inequalities.

Download or read book Democracy Politics Governance written by A. Surya Prakash and published by Prabhat Prakashan. This book was released on 2021-11-29 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a collection of articles published by the author over a period of time. Much of his writing reflects the social, political and economic issues that have emerged over the years and impacted India’s politics and governance. Given his special interest in the working of the constitution, and the march of democracy since independence, the book contains chapters which specifically deal with constitutional issues, the working of parliament, the system of justice, the executive and the media. The author feels that negating the facts of history has been a major pastime of the Nehruvian and Marxist schools and that the distortions introduced by these schools need to be challenged and corrected in the current phase of national politics. This is reflected in his articles which deal with the running secular versus pseudo-secular debate as also the political battles being fought on what is ‘national’ and what is ‘anti-national’. In any case, whatever the issue and however intense the debate, he is firmly of the view that it must all happen within the parameters of the constitution.

Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of the Quality of Government written by Andreas Bågenholm and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021-07-20 with total page 881 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent research demonstrates that the quality of public institutions is crucial for a number of important environmental, social, economic, and political outcomes, and thereby human well-being. The Quality of Government (QoG) approach directs attention to issues such as impartiality in the exercise of public power, professionalism in public service delivery, effective measures against corruption, and meritocracy instead of patronage and nepotism. This Handbook offers a comprehensive, state-of-the-art overview of this rapidly expanding research field and also identifies viable avenues for future research. The initial chapters focus on theoretical approaches and debates, and the central question of how QoG can be measured. A second set of chapters examines the wealth of empirical research on how QoG relates to democratization, social trust and cohesion, ethnic diversity, happiness and human wellbeing, democratic accountability, economic growth and inequality, political legitimacy, environmental sustainability, gender equality, and the outbreak of civil conflicts. The remaining chapters turn to the perennial issue of which contextual factors and policy approaches—national, local, and international—have proven successful (and not so successful) for increasing QoG. The Quality of Government approach both challenges and complements important strands of inquiry in the social sciences. For research about democratization, QoG adds the importance of taking state capacity into account. For economics, the QoG approach shows that in order to produce economic prosperity, markets need to be embedded in institutions with a certain set of qualities. For development studies, QoG emphasizes that issues relating to corruption are integral to understanding development writ large.

Download or read book Governance com written by Elaine C. Kamarck and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2004-05-26 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Brookings Institution Press and Visions of Governance for the 21st Century publication Advances in information technology are transforming democratic governance. Power over information has become decentralized, fostering new types of community and different roles for government. This volume—developed by the Visions of Governance in the 21st Century program at the Kennedy School of Government—explores the ways in which the information revolution is changing our institutions of governance. Contributors examine the impact of technology on our basic institutions and processes of governance, including representation, community, politics, bureaucracy, and sovereignty. Their essays illuminate many of the promises and challenges of twenty-first century government. The contributors (all from Harvard unless otherwise indicated) include Joseph S. Nye Jr., Arthur Isak Applbaum, Dennis Thompson, William A. Galston (University of Maryland), L. Jean Camp, Pippa Norris, Anna Greenberg, Elaine Ciulla Kamarck, David C. King, Jane Fountain, Jerry Mechling, and Robert O. Keohane (Duke University).

Download or read book Democratic Governance and International Law written by Gregory H. Fox and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2000-05-11 with total page 604 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: PART V CRITICAL APPROACHES.

Download or read book Governance and Democracy in the Asia Pacific written by Stephen McCarthy and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-03-17 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the theoretical and empirical relationship between democracy and governance in the Asia-Pacific region. Examining a variety of country cases and themes addressing the theoretical tension between governance and democracy, it illuminates how this impacts political and civil societies across the region. Analysing the character, structure and current trajectories of polities in the Asia-Pacific, democratic or otherwise, this book demonstrates that the role of civil society, political society and governance has significantly differed in practice from what has been commonly assumed within the international community. The book includes both theoretical investigations tracing the modern development of the concepts of governance, development and democratization as well as regional and country-specific observations of major issues, presenting comprehensive country-level studies of China, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Fiji and the Solomon Islands. Presenting fascinating insight into non-democratic governance, civil society and the rule of law in illiberal contexts, Governance and Democracy in the Asia-Pacific will prove to be of great use to students and scholars of Asian politics and society, as well as international and comparative politics.

Download or read book Governance and Democracy written by Arthur Benz and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2006-04-18 with total page 343 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For the first time, this new collection brings together country specialists, researchers on the European Union, and leading international relations scholars to tackle a crucial question: how compatible are today’s new patterns of ‘policy networks’ and ‘multi-level’ governance with democratic standards? This important question is attracting attention both in political science and in political practices. In political science, the question is mainly dealt with in separated sub-disciplines, which focus on different levels of politics. So far, no serious exchange has actually taken place between authors working on these different levels. The editors of this book – both specialists of network and multi-level governance – show that although the issue is raised differently in the institutional settings of the national state, the European Union, or transnational governance, excellent insights can be gained by comparison across these settings. This major new contribution includes cutting edge work from junior scholars alongside chapters by leading specialists of governance such as Guy Peters, Jon Pierre, Philippe C. Schmitter and Thomas Risse. It also contains a collection of new case studies, theoretical conceptualisations and normative proposals for solutions dealing with the issue of democratic deficits, which all give the reader a better understanding of the most crucial problems and perspectives of democracy in different patterns of "governance" beyond conventional ‘government’ approaches. This is a valuable book for policy analysts, students of the European Union and international relations, and all students in social and political science.

Download or read book A Centripetal Theory of Democratic Governance written by John Gerring and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2008-06-08 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book outlines the importance of political institutions in achieving good governance within a democratic polity.

Download or read book Wiki Government written by Beth Simone Noveck and published by Brookings Institution Press. This book was released on 2009-08-01 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Collaborative democracy—government with the people—is a new vision of governance in the digital age. Wiki Government explains how to translate the vision into reality. Beth Simone Noveck draws on her experience in creating Peer-to-Patent, the federal government's first social networking initiative, to show how technology can connect the expertise of the many to the power of the few. In the process, she reveals what it takes to innovate in government. Launched in 2007, Peer-to-Patent connects patent examiners to volunteer scientists and technologists via the web. These dedicated but overtaxed officials decide which of the million-plus patent applications currently in the pipeline to approve. Their decisions help determine which start-up pioneers a new industry and which disappears without a trace. Patent examiners have traditionally worked in secret, cut off from essential information and racing against the clock to rule on lengthy, technical claims. Peer-to-Patent broke this mold by creating online networks of self-selecting citizen experts and channeling their knowledge and enthusiasm into forms that patent examiners can easily use. Peer-to-Patent shows how policymakers can improve decisionmaking by harnessing networks to public institutions. By encouraging, coordinating, and structuring citizen participation, technology can make government both more open and more effective at solving today's complex social and economic problems. Wiki Government describes how this model can be applied in a wide variety of settings and offers a fundamental rethinking of effective governance and democratic legitimacy for the twenty-first century.

Download or read book Democratic Governance written by Mark Bevir and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2010-04-26 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Democratic Governance examines the changing nature of the modern state and reveals the dangers these changes pose to democracy. Mark Bevir shows how new ideas about governance have gradually displaced old-style notions of government in Britain and around the world. Policymakers cling to outdated concepts of representative government while at the same time placing ever more faith in expertise, markets, and networks. Democracy exhibits blurred lines of accountability and declining legitimacy. Bevir explores how new theories of governance undermined traditional government in the twentieth century. Politicians responded by erecting great bureaucracies, increasingly relying on policy expertise and abstract notions of citizenship and, more recently, on networks of quasi-governmental and private organizations to deliver services using market-oriented techniques. Today, the state is an unwieldy edifice of nineteenth-century government buttressed by a sprawling substructure devoted to the very different idea of governance--and democracy has suffered. In Democratic Governance, Bevir takes a comprehensive look at governance and the history and thinking behind it. He provides in-depth case studies of constitutional reform, judicial reform, joined-up government, and police reform. He argues that the best hope for democratic renewal lies in more interpretive styles of expertise, dialogic forms of policymaking, and more diverse avenues for public participation.

Download or read book Party Governance and Party Democracy written by Wolfgang C. Müller and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-05-15 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ​​Given the centrality of political parties in modern democracies, most research on these systems either directly address their internal functioning and activities or question their critical role. Political science has moved from describing institutions to the thorough analysis of behavior within these institutions and the interactions between them. The inevitable consequences of the maturing and institutionalization of the discipline of political science in many countries include the forming of sub-fields and specialized research communities. At the same time the number of democracies has vastly increased since the 1980s and although not each attempt at democratization was eventually successful, more heterogeneous systems with some form of party competition exist than ever before. As a consequence, the literature addressing the large issues of party democracy spreads over many research fields and has become difficult to master for individual students of party democracy and party governance. The present volume sets out to review the behavior and larger role of political parties in modern democracies. In so doing the book takes its departure from the idea that the main contribution of political parties to the working of democracy is their role as vehicles of political competition in systems of government. Consequently the focus is not merely in the internal functioning of political parties, but rather their behavior the electoral, legislative, and governmental arenas. Thus several chapters address how political parties perform within the existing institutional frameworks. One more chapter looks at the role of political parties in building and adapting these institutions. Finally, two chapters explicitly address the party contributions to democracy in established and new democracies, respectively.​​

Download or read book Democracy and Good Governance written by Anthony Vincent Utazi and published by . This book was released on 2019-01-13 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Democracy is all about masses participation in public functions. Private Citizens' participation in politics and public functions, it is argued that it is the surest security against the tyranny of the state over the individual. But participation in politics and public function by private citizens is not enough to guarantee security against the tyranny of the state over individuals unless an individual can through his personal participation effectively check and control the government, especially the effects of government's policies on him. But how can his personal participation be effective if he does not understand his rights and responsibilities as a citizen, the principles, processes and requirements of democracy as well as the nature and purpose of a political state? Today, following the wave of democratization sweeping across the globe, democracy has become the most coveted form of government. Unfortunately, most states that joined the band wagon of democratization are not enjoying the so-called dividends of democracy. This, many scholars have blamed on lack of proper understanding of the basic principles, processes and requirements of democracy. Political education is one instrument that enhances a people's capacity for effective and meaningful participation in government and public functions. The aim of this book is to enhance our understanding of contending issues in democracy. The book discusses such issues as: meaning, principles and conditions for the working of democracy, who counts as the people in a democracy, the possibility of effective representation, majority rule and minority rights, the meaning and principles of good governance and the relation between democracy and good governance. The book argues that in as much as democracy could promote good governance, it is not a guarantee nor synonymous with good governance.

Download or read book Patterns of Democracy written by Arend Lijphart and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2012-01-01 with total page 457 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examining 36 democracies from 1945 to 2010, this text arrives at conclusions about what type of democracy works best. It demonstrates that consensual systems stimulate economic growth, control inflation and unemployment, and limit budget deficits.

Download or read book DAC Guidelines and Reference Series Accountability and Democratic Governance Orientations and Principles for Development written by OECD and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2014-09-15 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is growing recognition of the need for new approaches to the ways in which donors support accountability, but no broad agreement on what changed practice looks like. This publication aims to provide more clarity on the emerging practice.

Download or read book Democracy Law and Governance written by Professor Jacques Lenoble and published by Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.. This book was released on 2013-02-28 with total page 452 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Democracy, Law and Governance details the transformation of the modes of governance of contemporary developed democracies and aims to define the conditions required for promoting public interest in their public policy. Firstly, the volume illustrates why a sound theoretical approach to the concept of law results in opening up the theory of law to the debate on governance in the social sciences. Secondly, it reconstructs the underpinnings of recent debate on governance, focusing on the pragmatist turn that has marked efforts to overcome the inadequacies of both the economic and the deliberative approaches. In fulfilling this second goal, it examines the advances yielded by the pragmatist turn as well as its limitations, and concludes by proposing a theoretical approach for dealing with them. This illuminating book applies recent research in both theory of law and theory of governance to deepen the analytic impact of the recent pragmatist revival.