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Samenvatting politics and protest
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Politics & protest aantekeningen +Comparitive politics of Latin America. Democracy at last?
1.Conceptions of democracy
Focus Questions
- When we speak of a “third wave of democracy,” what do we mean,
and what kind of democracy do we envision? Are there alternatives?
- What is “polyarchy” as a model of democracy? How does it compare
to other conceptions of democracy?
- Should we consider social and economic equality to be a measure,
an outcome, or a precondition of democracy?
- What are some alternative views on liberal democracy and polyarchy
in Latin America?
Modern liberal democratic state = polyarchy
- Polyarchy as defined by Dahl a political regime in wich elites
(leaders) drawn from different sectors (labor, business, education,
religion etc.) of society, compete with one antoher for influence in a
system characterized by liberal freedoms (freedom of expression,
right to assembly, fair elections).
- A form of government in which power is invested in multiple
people. ... A polyarchy is a state that has certain procedures that
are necessary conditions for following the democratic principle.
Neither a dictatorship nor a democracy. A polycracy is a state ruled
by more than one person.
Representative democracy is indispensable for the stability, peace and
development of the region. It is the sole political system which guarantees
respect for human rights and the rule of law; it safeguards cultural
diversity, pluralism, respect for the rights of minorities, and peace within
and among nations. Democracy is based, among other fundamentals, on
free and transparent elections and includes the right of all citizens to
participate in government.
- This political model was tied explicitly to an economic model,
capitalism, and more specifically neoliberal capitalism based on a
reduced role for government and an expanded role for the market,
both nationally and internationally.
A key to prosperity (welvaart) is trade without barriers, without subsidies,
without unfair practices, and with an increasing stream of productive
investments. Eliminating imped- iments to market access for goods and
services among our countries will foster our economic growth . . . Free
trade and increased economic integration are key factors for raising
standards of living, improving the working conditions of people in the
Americas and better protecting the environment.
, In late 2001, the governments (again, not including Cuba) of the
hemisphere formally adopted the Inter-American Democratic Charter,
stating, “Essential elements of representative democracy are the holding
of free and fair elections as an expression of popular sovereignty, access
to power through constitutional means, a pluralist system of political
parties and organizations, and respect for human rights and fun- damental
freedoms.” Take note of “pluralist,” a term closely connected to
polyarchy.
- Pluralism = a condition or system in which two or more states,
groups, principles, sources of authority, etc., coexist.
Pink tide
Social movements and Pink Tide leaders questioned not only the adequacy
of liberal democracy but also the type of socialism practiced in the Soviet
Union.
Liberalism = refers to a political ideology that sees individual choice as
the essence of freedom.
liberal democracies assume the following:
The individual takes priority over the community and the state—that
is, the foundation of society and the state is a decision taken by
individuals to form associations. Some other political theories would
say that this way of thinking fails to consider how much the
individual is a product of human society—of the family and groups
that naturally make up a political community.
The market is preferred over government planning or other forms of
allocating economic resources and resolving economic conflict.
Government action is reserved for exceptional circumstances—
severe economic crisis, megaprojects that only
the state can afford, threats to national security, key areas of
human welfare (such
as education and health), and so on. Most liberals today do see
some need for government regulation and moderation of the
market’s flaws, but liberalism still prefers the market to government
regulation.
The right to private property is a “natural right”; that is, property,
including wealth, is accumulated mostly as a result of some
combination of hard work, creativity, and risk on the part of
individuals. Property rights are extensions of individual human
rights.
Because liberals mistrust government, they seek to limit the power
of the state through constitutions that (1) keep many social and
economic questions off-limits to government and (2) divide the
powers of government against one another—what is known as
“checks and balances.”
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