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The transition from an authoritarian to an egalitarian form of government is a major paradigm shift for any society. When the forces of opposition remain major players, however, the transition is bound to be tumultuous. In this, the first major book on post-UNIP Zambia, the author chronicles the transition to democracy in Zambia and in doing so sheds light on the challenges for democratisation in post-Cold War Africa.
How stable are free societies today? This book argues that they are under threat from "market free-choice" and "moral free-choice," two sides of the same coin which between them, the author warns, threaten to tear civil society apart. Market free-choice is the prevailing economic ideology that gives free reign to market forces, even when they ride roughshod over communities and whole nations. Moral free-choice, the other side of the coin, is the notion of individual rights without any sense of civic responsibility. The result of such ultra-individualism in economic and moral practice is the malaise we find ourselves in today- a lost sense of place, community, and belonging, as well as dismissiveness and unawareness of the lessons of the past. In the wake of these destructive trends, this book reminds us that personal well-being is dependent in large part upon the maintenance of a coherent civic and moral order. A society consisting of isolated individuals focused solely on personal rights with no regard for the foundation of their freedoms will soon see that foundation crumble through neglect. By the same token, a society that routinely sacrifices equality of opportunity and economic fairness to the forces of the global marketplace creates dangerous tensions between the few haves and the many have-nots. Reminding the reader of the aspirations and largely-forgotten writings of America's founding fathers, the book concludes by pointing to the principles of what the author calls the "true commonwealth" as an alternative to today's political, ethical, and social disorders.
After an apparent temporary relief, the financial crisis is back full steam. The ?double dip? has turned into a full-blown meltdown of financial markets, public budgets and, by and large, democratic accountability. This global crisis is a fundamental wake-up call: a signal that our conventional political economy and, perhaps, the very foundations of our societies need a serious rethink. Currently, the spotlight is on the role of political elites and economic agents (especially the investors included in the vague notion of ?markets?) and their strategies to stabilize or destabilize countries, from North America to the Eurozone. Regrettably, the actual and potential role of civil society is hardly mentioned in public debate. Yet, it is exactly within civil society that important responses to the crisis may emerge. It is within civil society that an alternative paradigm and a fundamental rethinking of conventional wisdom may be fostered. Citizens vs. Markets is the first book to unpack the transformative role of civil society in a sector in which it has traditionally been less proactive, in order to reflect on possible forms of social transformation that are not merely remedial but also constructive in nature. This is the most important struggle of our times.This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of Civil Society.
"Devoting particular emphasis to Bolivia, Chile, and Mexico, proposes a theory of civil society to explain the economic and political challenges for continuing democratization in Latin America"--Provided by publisher.
Freedom in the World, the Freedom House flagship survey whose findings have been published annually since 1972, is the standard-setting comparative assessment of global political rights and civil liberties. The survey ratings and narrative reports on 195 countries and fifteen territories are used by policymakers, the media, international corporations, civic activists, and human rights defenders to monitor trends in democracy and track improvements and setbacks in freedom worldwide. The Freedom in the World political rights and civil liberties ratings are determined through a multi-layered process of research and evaluation by a team of regional analysts and eminent scholars. The analysts used a broad range of sources of information, including foreign and domestic news reports, academic studies, nongovernmental organizations, think tanks, individual professional contacts, and visits to the region, in conducting their research. The methodology of the survey is derived in large measure from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and these standards are applied to all countries and territories, irrespective of geographical location, ethnic or religious composition, or level of economic development.
The second half of the twentieth century has witnessed several waves of democratization in Europe, the Americas, and in other regions of the world, such as South East Asia. Although for the most part these democratic regimes are no longer haunted by the prospect of a return to authoritarianism, severe economic and social problems have posed serious challenges, creating a situation where change is often achieved through alternating periods of consolidation and crisis. Drawing on a systematic, empirical analysis of four key Southern European countries, Portugal, Spain, Greece, and Italy, Morlino identifies several key aspects of democratic consolidation: consensus and legitimation, party system and party organization, and the ways in which organized and non-organized interests are related to parties and the institutions of state. The resulting models of consolidation are analysed and the mechanisms and patterns of their unfolding crises identified, taking care to disentangle the pragmatic reactions against the regime, often related to corruption, from more ideological ones grounded in differences in values. Finally, the author addresses the question of the `quality' of democracy, examining how this is related to the outcome of processes of consolidation and crisis. This insightful study offers the first extensive, comparative analysis of consolidation and crisis in these countries, and features a wealth of up-to-date information on party organizations, interest associations, the media, and public opinion. Although clearly focusing on Southern Europe, the author's findings are extremely relevant for understanding the politics of several other regions, including Eastern Europe, Latin America, and South East Asia.
This edited volume brings together a number of well-known scholars and activists from various parts of the world to present critical perspectives on recent and long term trends in the economic, socio-cultural and political life of the people of Asia and examines the policies and constraints faced by the nation-states of the region. It contributes to and enriches the current debates on globalization, the prospects for democracy, and sustainable human development. The book offers an incisive assessment of the role of civil society in creating a democratic political culture in Asia.
When countries become more democratic, new opportunities arise for individuals and groups to participate in politics and influence the making of policy. But democratization does not ensure better representation for everyone, and indeed some sectors of society are ill-equipped to take advantage of these new opportunities. Small industry in Mexico, Kenneth Shadlen shows, is an excellent example of a sector whose representation decreased during democratization. Shadlen’s analysis focuses on the basic characteristics of small firms that complicate the process of securing representation in both authoritarian and democratic environments. He then shows how increased pluralism and electoral competition served to exacerbate the political problems facing the sector during the course of democratization in Mexico. These characteristics created problems for small firms both in acting collectively through interest associations and civil society organizations and in wielding power within political parties. The changes that democratization effected in the structure of corporatism put small industry at a significant disadvantage in the policy-making arena even while there was general agreement on the crucial importance of this sector in the new neoliberal economy, especially for generating employment. The final chapter extends the analysis by making comparisons with the experience of small industry representation in Argentina and Brazil. Shadlen uses extensive interviews and archival research to provide new evidence and insights on the difficult challenges of interest aggregation and representation for small industry. He conducted interviews with a wide range of owners and managers of small firms, state and party officials, and leaders of business associations and civil society organizations. He also did research at the National Archives in Mexico City and in the archives of the most important business organizations for small industry in the post-World War II period.
Power to the People, after documenting the emergence of a new interstate system and the Cold War that divided it in the postwar period, examines the factors that led to the process of democratization in countries around the world.
An analysis of the growth economy, this book traces the causes of the present crisis in the modern market system, initiated two centuries ago with the establishment of the market economy system which has led to the present growth economy. It concludes that a true democracy can only be derived from a synthesis of the democratic and socialist traditions, along with the radical green, feminist and libertarian ideologies. To this end, this text offers a new vision of an inclusive democracy.