The Puzzle Of Non Western Democracy

Western democracy is being questioned around the world. At the same time, Western aid groups are quick to say that they are not trying to impose a particular style of democracy on others and that they are open to supporting local, alternative forms of democracy. This book examines what it is about Western democracy that non-Westerners are reacting negatively to and whether the critics often are equating a dislike for certain Western social or economic features with an aversion to of Western political systems. It also explores the current state of debate about alternative forms of democratic practice in different regions—Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America—and then puts forward ideas about how Western actors engaged in democracy support can do a better job of incorporating new thinking about alternative democratic forms into their efforts.

This book, with theoretical and practical analyses of comparative political systems of Eastern countries (Asia and Africa), their political process and political cultures, describes and analyses the influence of political culture on political process in the Eastern world. It gives readers an opportunity to make a comparative appraisal of maturity of civil society in these countries as well as their specifics in political interactions and internal political competition seen through the eyes of a group of distinguished Russian researchers. The book concentrates also on specifics of political-economic and political modernization in the East, and assesses the prospects of an emergence of a Western as well as a non-Western democracy in the framework of Eastern political transformations. It also explains why the one-dimensional spread of democracy — completely negating or neglecting regional political-cultural specifics — may lead to war among civilizations instead of the formation of a more just and fair system of democratic governance.

Fifty or more years ago, Western democracy was threatened by totalitarian regimes. Now dictatorship is under challenge from democracy. Examining emerging democracies in southeast Asia, South Africa, Latin America, India, and other regions, these essays measure the achievements of the movements away from authoritarian rule to a more tolerant style of government.

"Historical accounts of democracy's rise tend to focus on ancient Greece and pre-Renaissance Europe. The Decline and Rise of Democracy draws from global evidence to show that the story is much richer--democratic practices were present in many places, at many other times, from the Americas before European conquest, to ancient Mesopotamia, to precolonial Africa. Delving into the prevalence of early democracy throughout the world, David Stasavage makes the case that understanding how and where these democracies flourished--and when and why they declined--can provide crucial information not just about the history of governance, but also about the ways modern democracies work and where they could manifest in the future."--

The key values of the Open Society – freedom, justice, tolerance, democracy, and respect for knowledge – are increasingly under threat in today’s world. As an effort to uphold those values, this volume brings together some of the key political, social and economic thinkers of our time to re-examine the Open Society closely in terms of its history, its achievements and failures, and its future prospects. Based on the lecture series Rethinking Open Society, which took place between 2017 and 2018 at the Central European University, the volume is deeply embedded in the history and purpose of CEU, its Open Society mission, and its belief in educating skeptical, but passionate citizens.

This book explores the ways in which democratizing Muslim countries treat their ethnic minorities’ requests of inclusiveness and autonomy. The author examines the results of two important cases—the securitization of Kurds in Turkey and the “autonomization” (a new concept coined by the study) of Acehnese in Indonesia—through multiple hypotheses: the elites’ power interest, the international factors, the institutions and history of the state, and the ontological security of the country. By examining states with ethnic diversity and very little religious diversity, the research controls for the effect of religious conflict on minority inclusion, and so allows expanded generalizations and comparisons. In non-Muslim majority countries, and in so called “mature democracies,” the problem of the inclusion of old or new ethnic minorities is also crucial for the sustainability of the “never-ending” democratization processes.

Shadi Hamid reimagines the ongoing debate on democracy's merits and proposes an ambitious agenda for reviving the lost art of democracy promotion in the world's most undemocratic regions. What happens when democracy produces bad outcomes? Is democracy good because of its outcomes or despite them? This democratic dilemma is one of the most persistent, vexing problems for America abroad, particularly in the Middle East--we want democracy in theory but not necessarily in practice. When Islamist parties rise to power through free elections, the United States has too often been ambivalent or opposed, preferring instead pliable dictators. With this legacy of democratic disrespect in mind, and drawing on new interviews with top American officials, Shadi Hamid explores universal questions of morality, power, and hypocrisy. Why has the United States failed so completely to live up to its own stated ideals in the Arab world? And is it possible for it to change? In The Problem of Democracy, Hamid offers an ambitious reimagining of this ongoing debate and argues for democratic minimalism as a path to resolving democratic dilemmas in the Middle East and beyond. In the seemingly eternal tension between democracy and liberalism, recognized by the ancient Greeks and the American founders alike, it may be time to prioritize one over the other, rather than acting as if the two are intertwined when increasingly they are not. At the end of the Cold War, the democratic idea was victorious, so much so that it took on more meaning than it could bear. Democracy became a means to other ends, whether it was liberalism, economic development, or cultural progress. What if, instead, democracy was reconceptualized as its own end? What if the people are right even when they're wrong? The problem of democracy is no longer just a Middle Eastern problem. The polarizing effects of identity, culture, and religion are now haunting the world's oldest democracies. At home, a growing number of Americans are realizing that respecting election results when the other side wins is easier said than done. To look then at the democratic dilemma abroad is to consider a deeper set of questions around why we believe democracy is good as well as whether we think it is good for other nations and cultures.

“Given their ethnic diversity, to what extent, and at what cost and benefit to human dignity, can European countries adopt and adapt plural democracy?” The contributors to this volume offer answers to this question from a variety of multidisciplinary perspectives within the framework of the integral theory of law and the state. Their shared aim is to explain legal phenomena in the context of other relevant issues and to identify, analyse and critique conceptualizations, problems and situations. This volume is rooted in the historical and contemporary European experience with special cases from Bosnia and Hercegovina, Croatia, Latvia, Slovenia, Spain and Canada which are relevant for understanding the European problem. Solutions to the problem are sought through innovative interpretations of the rule of law, democracy and human dignity, which are followed by argumentation about how these concepts, when recognized as European legal principles, can be implemented in order to avoid ethnic conflicts. Following an introduction that defines the problem at the centre of the book and explains how legal theory can be used to address it, the book consists of eleven contributions divided into three thematic sections. The first covers topics concerning the European principles which can help avoid ethnic conflicts: the principle of compulsory adjudication in interstate relations, the principle of democracy, and principles regarding the recognition of individual and collective identities. These European principles are then investigated by drawing on legal and political theories. The second section presents three ways of conceptualizing ethnical needs in multi-ethnic states: asymmetric federalism, dêmoicratic account and cooperative federalism. The third and final section elaborates on issues concerning the protection of minority rights: the role of judicial ideology in protecting minority rights, citizenship, the EU mechanism for the protection of minority rights, and the importance of remembering tragic events affecting minorities.