...Analysis of Democracy in Brazil and Chile Hagopian vents her frustration towards the democratization of Latin American countries by describing it as “flawed both because it does not take account of differences across the region and because it is overly static” (pg.125). The clarity in transitioning into a democracy in Latin American countries has not been defined uniformly that there are clear differences amongst the effectiveness of democracy in specific countries. Hagopian specifically uses Chile and Brazil as her examples of “the dimensions of Democratic quality.” She uses these two countries as a comparison to distinguish the characteristics of a “good” democracy, which would include both the participation and satisfaction of the citizens of the country. Amongst most of the Latin American countries, Chile and Brazil has become amongst the strongest democratic countries and can become a lot stronger with improvements. However, both countries vary in strengths between different dimensions of quality that defines a “good” democracy. These variances are analyzed by Hagopian to determine the degree of effectiveness by considering accountability, participation and responsiveness between governance and individuals as a reciprocal relationship. Recommendable changes are necessary for both Chile and Brazil to continuously prosper politically, civilly and together economically. Although both Chile and Brazil are developing predominant democratic reputations, their contrasts in democratic...
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...Chapter 6 The media, government accountability, and citizen engagement Katrin Voltmer The past two decades or so have seen an unprecedented spread of democracy around the globe. With the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 and the end of the Cold War, the ‘third wave’ of democratization, which started in the early seventies, now encompasses countries in Asia and Africa.1 And even in states whose governments continue to resist a more open and participatory form of governance, such as North Korea, Burma or Zimbabwe, the idea of democracy is a powerful force that inspires people to take on a more active role in public life. However, many of the newly emerging democracies seem to fall short of some, often many, of the basic standards that define democratic rule, with irregular voting procedures, corruption, inefficiency and autocratic styles of government being but a few of the maladies. In addition, as many of the newly emerging democracies belong to the developing world, inequality and poverty remain severe obstacles to full self‐determination of the people. The experiences of the past decades have shown that democracy is not a one‐way road and that a viable democracy requires more than the implementation of the key institutions of government. Rather, an accountable and efficient government is embedded in a complex web of interdependent conditions that ...
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...Journal of Politics and Law Vol. 2, No. 3 Accountability from the Perspective of Malaysian Governance Ahmad Faiz Yaakob Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies Universiti Teknologi MARA Terengganu, 23000 Dungun, Terengganu Tel: 60-12-222-7659 E-mail: faiziiu@yahoo.com Nadhrah A. Kadir Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies Universiti Teknologi MARA Terengganu, 23000 Dungun, Terengganu Tel: 60-12-250-4302 E-mail: nadhr292@tganu.uitm.edu.my Kamaruzaman Jusoff (Corresponding author) TropAIR, Faculty of Forestry, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia Tel: 60-3-8946-7176 E-mail: kjusoff@yahoo.com Abstract Generally, accountability is often associated with a concept of answerability, responsibility, blameworthiness, liability etc. Commonly, the concept of accountability from the perspective of governance is the means to control the public administration in democratic countries. The classification of public accountability is normally seen in terms of external and internal mechanisms. Hence, this paper shall discuss both mechanisms with special reference to Malaysia. The discussion also focuses on the limitation of each mechanism which rendered some problems to the concept of accountability in Malaysia. Keywords: Accountability, Governance, Public administration, 1. Introduction Accountability is often associated with such concepts as answerability, responsibility, blameworthiness, liability and ...
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...ROLE OF MEDIA IN PROMOTING GOOD GOVERNANCE Media are the storage and transmission channel or tool used to store and deliver information or data. Media are (mostly) non state actors who define themselves apart from the state and from all other societal actors (what Edmund Burke described as a “fourth estate”, distinct from government, church and electorate). While this notion of free and independent media acting on behalf of the citizen against both state and other interests is a widespread ideal, the reality of most media worldwide is complex, rapidly changing and extraordinarily diverse. Media can consist of everything from national newspapers to student magazines, global broadcasters to community radio, websites and blogs to social networks and virtual communities, citizen journalists to government mouthpieces. This briefing focuses principally on media – and to a lesser extent on linked information and technologies - at a national level within developing countries. The term media refers to several different forms of communication required to educate and make a socially aware nation. The communication forms can be radio, television, cinema, magazines, newspapers, and/or Internet-based web sites. These forms often play a varied and vital role in our society. GOVERNANCE Recently the terms "governance" and "good governance" are being increasingly used in development literature. Bad governance is being increasingly regarded as one of the root causes of all evil within our...
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...Master Thesis 2006/7 Jacques Gamboni 1 ACCOUNTABILITY OF NGO Accountability for an NGO – like for any institution or even any individual – is a matter of governance, defined as “a mode of governing that is distinct from the hierarchical control model characterizing the interventionist state. Governance is the type of regulation typical of the cooperative State, where State and non-state actors participate in mixed public private partnership networks1”or “the formation of cooperative relationships between government, profit-making firms, and non-profit private organizations to fulfil a policy function.2” Of course governance is more than just a way to manage the interrelations within a public private partnership arrangement. We shall detail this by reference to a catalogue of the different types of accountability mechanisms identified by Erik B. Bluemel (BLUEMEL, 20073). The references cited here are taken from the mentioned article. People find into the Civil Society a playground to express their frustrations towards their national or local government that ordinary democracy fails to resolve. Therefore they feel the right to obtain a higher degree of accountability from the organisation they join or support. Regrettably, they are seldom satisfied. Accountability mechanisms are usually designed to constrain power, whatever its form. In the Communication Society, it has become one of the essential means for all interconnected actors to exert mutual control. It is an essential...
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...To What Extent do Pressure Groups Undermine Democracy A pressure group in a group that doesn’t hold candidates for election into parliament but still aim to influence legislation passed by government that takes their aims and objectives into consideration. It can be argued that Pressure groups are undemocratic due to the leaders and all members being unelected. However pressure groups have higher and ever increasing participation levels than political parties, meaning that membership to a pressure group may be the contemporary method of being involved in politics. It can be argued that Pressure Groups are a positive thing for democracy because of the extent to which they inform the public on important issues through their campaigning for members or signatures, having the public more informed and knowledgeable on issues such as climate change or immigration is beneficial due to the fact that they will understand parties policies better and be more confident in who they vote for. On the other hand Pressure Groups can be criticised due to them only informing the public of their biased, one-sided opinion which could be viewed as misinformation. Cause/promotional groups that are involved in issues such as climate change or wildlife preservation can be viewed as democratic because their objective aren’t solely for the benefit of its own members but also the wider community. Though this is democratic, some pressure groups such as financial groups would be better funded and have...
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...Harvard Law School Jean Monnet Chair Professor J.H.H. Weiler Harvard Jean Monnet Working Paper 1/01 Päivi Leino The European Central Bank and Legitimacy Is the ECB a Modification of or an Exception to the Principle of Democracy? Harvard Law School Cambridge, MA 02138 All rights reserved. No part of this paper may be reproduced in any form Without permission of the author. © Päivi Leino 2000 Harvard Law School Cambridge, MA 02138 USA The European Central Bank and Legitimacy Is the ECB a Modification of or an Exception to the Principle of Democracy? Päivi Leino, Åbo Akademi University( M.Pol.Sc. (international law), Åbo Akademi University, Finland; LL.M. candidate, London School of Economics and Political Science. This paper was concluded on August 8, 2000 and subsequent changes have not been considered. The author would like to thank Professor Markku Suksi and Lic.Pol.Sc. Kurt Långkvist for their comments and encouragement. The author has exclusive responsibility for all views, errors and omissions. Comments are invited to Paivi.Leino@abo.fi.) 1. The Sovereign of Monetary Policy The creation of a single market and the continuing concentration and integration at the European level have created phenomena that can neither be governed by nationally based policies nor left to the working of unregulated markets.( Hirst, Paul and Thompson, Grahame (1996), p. 156.) According to the European Court of Justice...
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...analyse the Australian Government’s proposed reforms for protecting and promoting human rights for the more vulnerable groups in Australia. A bill of rights alone will not protect the rights of the people. But nor will a majoritarian democracy. Contemporary democracy stands for more than just the primitive notion of according full power to the popular majorities of Parliament by the vote. It requires the recognition of Parliamentary sovereignty, and furthermore it calls for the preservation of the principles of rule of law, judicial independence and more importantly the rights of all individuals. Although the Government’s recently launched National Human Rights Framework promises a selection of human rights protection mechanisms, in light of its failure to provide a bill of rights that many Australians want, it is an inadequate attempt at promoting and protecting the more vulnerable groups. Even though the Framework claims that it reserves the function of statutory interpretation for the courts, in reality it empowers the Parliament with the capacity to “guide”[1] the courts into enacting legislation. The Government’s downplay of judicial influence cannot be ignored and this points to a discussion of whether Australia needs a bill of rights. The role of the courts also need to be evaluated with respect to the other branches of government, the legislature and the Executive, in an effort to attain a healthy balance between judicial independence and Parliamentary sovereignty for the...
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...Name Instructor Course Date Machiavelli and Mill’s democracy During the 16th century, Europe was governed by a monarchy. This was a king who ruled his territory solely and enjoyed the support from a group of nobles. Niccolo Machiavelli authored the book “The Prince” on the basis of the European feudal system, in which, he taught basic rules surrounding governance for a leader based on his understanding. According to Machiavelli, it is better for a leader (prince) to be feared by his subjects rather than loved. In addition, a leader should strive to clinch on power at all costs since they possess the power to do everything in the interest and benefit of the state (Held, 201). Various democratic principles are evident in the office of the President, congressmen, and the common citizens of the United States. Nevertheless, the constitution bars leaders from exhibiting the characteristics of Machiavelli’s prince via laying down a system of power checks and balances. Numerous concepts put forward by Machiavelli can presently be practiced by the President because he remains as the most senior leader of the nation. Moreover, Machiavelli’s most outstanding aspect of democracy is that a capable leader should do all he can in his capacity to remain in power. Evidently, numerous presidents in many nations share this wish and express their willingness to go to severe measures to retain their offices. Politicians; for instance are willing to spend huge amounts of dollars at each campaign...
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...Corruption and the watchdog role of the news media Sheila Coronel The notion of the press as watchdog is more than 200 years old. Yet the idea of vigilant media monitoring government and exposing its excesses has gained new traction in many parts of the world. Globalization, the fall of authoritarian and socialist regimes, and the deregulation of the media worldwide have fuelled a renewed interest in ––as well as a surge in efforts by various groups to support–– “watchdogging” by the media. Since the late 17th Century, classical liberal theorists had argued that publicity and openness provide the best protection from the excesses of power. The idea of the press as Fourth Estate, as an institution that exists primarily as a check on those in public office, was based on the premise that powerful states had to be prevented from overstepping their bounds. The press working independently of government, even as its freedoms were guaranteed by the state, was supposed to help ensure that this was so. The 1980s and 1990s saw the revival of this centuries‐old notion and its application especially to “transition societies” then emerging from the ruins of socialist and authoritarian regimes. It had resonance among citizens facing pervasive corruption, weak rule of law, and predatory or incompetent governments unable to deliver basic services. Today even in countries where democracy is a fairly ...
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...Contribution of RTI Act 2005 in last 8 years of Indian Democracy PRIT DAYAL dayal.priti5@gmail.com Contribution of RTI Act 2005 in last 8 years of Indian Democracy In today’s era of power of knowledge, acquisition of knowledge, new information and its application hold the key of intense impact on overall productivity gains. Almost every society has made endeavors for democratizing knowledge resources by way of putting in place the mechanisms for free flow of information and ideas so that people can access them without asking for it. People are thus empowered to make proper choices for participation in development process. Every individual or section of society requires wide range of information to be able to effectively function in the knowledge and technology driven economy. Until 2005, an ordinary citizen has no access to information held by public authority. Under the Official Secret Act, 1923, the entire development process has thus been shrouded in secrecy. It was not easy to seek information which affected the citizens, and in lack of such knowledge it was not possible for a common man to participate in meaningful debate on political and economic options available to him. The freedom of speech and expression is guaranteed under the constitution of India. Even then the citizens had no legal right to know about the details of public policies which disables them to scrutinize and rectify the deficiencies in policy planning and the execution program. Thus the...
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...Direction: Leaders and the public have a broad and long-term perspective on good governance and human development, along with a sense of what is needed for such development. * Performance: Institutions and processes try to serve all stakeholders and institutions produce results that meet needs while making the best use of resources. * Accountability: Decision makers in government, the private sector and civil society organizations are accountable to the public. * Fairness: All men and women have opportunities to improve and maintain their well-being and legal framework should be fair and enforced impartially, particularly the laws on human rights. Bangladesh constitution provides most of the essential elements for good governance though the country is yet to fully develop right policies, environment, institutions, capacity and practice of good governance. Despite return to parliamentary democracy following a mass movement for democracy in 1990, and subsequent free and fair elections under neutral caretaker governments, establishment of democratic norms and practices has not been smooth in the country. Lack of adequate accountability and...
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...have made the UK more democratic, this easy will be going through a few of these reforms and explain how they have effected the UK. The word democracy means a system of government in which all the people are involved in making decisions that effect the country/state, it can further be defined as a government for the people, by the people, of the people, the people of the state can have their say through electoral votes, referendums lobbying or protests. Democracy has many aspects such as decentralisation, accountability, participation, open government and rights protection; decentralisation means the process of distributing or dispersing power away from the central government, an example of this can be seen in the Devolution Act of 1997. Accountability is the act of the government being liable for everything they do; this relates back to the rule of law which states that anybody can be taken to court if they have broken the law including the law makers themselves. Holding the government accountable means that anybody of the public can take the government to court if they have broken the law or if someone feels like an Act has been broken. Open government definitely helps democracy as it means that citizens have the right to access documents and proceedings of the government to allow for effective public oversight. This helps democracy as it allows the public to have access to important information which would help in their understanding of house their country/state is run. ...
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...Corruption and the watchdog role of the news media Sheila Coronel The notion of the press as watchdog is more than 200 years old. Yet the idea of vigilant media monitoring government and exposing its excesses has gained new traction in many parts of the world. Globalization, the fall of authoritarian and socialist regimes, and the deregulation of the media worldwide have fuelled a renewed interest in ––as well as a surge in efforts by various groups to support–– “watchdogging” by the media. Since the late 17th Century, classical liberal theorists had argued that publicity and openness provide the best protection from the excesses of power. The idea of the press as Fourth Estate, as an institution that exists primarily as a check on those in public office, was based on the premise that powerful states had to be prevented from overstepping their bounds. The press working independently of government, even as its freedoms were guaranteed by the state, was supposed to help ensure that this was so. The 1980s and 1990s saw the revival of this centuries‐old notion and its application especially to “transition societies” then emerging from the ruins of socialist and authoritarian regimes. It had resonance among citizens facing pervasive corruption, weak rule of law, and predatory or incompetent governments unable to deliver basic services. Today even in countries where democracy is a fairly ...
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...history, democracies have been the exception rather than the norm. In the present day world, about 60 percent of the world's nations are democracies. Other nations have rulers assigned by heredity or have used the military to take leadership by force or rule by wealth or charisma. There are however, fundamental benefits of a democracy. The main benefit of democracy is that every adult person regardless of race, religious belief or gender has the same political rights as each other. People living in a democratic society are protected from oppression by laws and limits on governmental power. Democratic governments put laws into place to protect their citizens and to ensure a safe and fair society. The people who lead a democratic country have to obey the same laws as everyone else. Democracy is a form of government in which all eligible citizens participate equally—either directly or indirectly through elected representatives—in the proposal, development, and creation of laws. It encompasses social, religious, cultural, ethnic and racial equality, justice, liberty and fraternity. The quest for democracy in Bangladesh is moving in circles. The country gained its independence through both the democratic process and through war. During the four decades of its existence as a nation-state it has endured spells of military and non-military rules. Of the latter all were not elected. The elected governments seemed to betray superficial practices of democracy. In Bangladesh...
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