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-Democracy Research News-
February 2009Welcome to Democracy Research News, the newsletter of the Network of Democracy Research Institutes (NDRI). The Network is a membership association of institutions that conduct and publish research on democracy and democratic development. It is also one of several functional networks associated with the World Movement for Democracy (www.wmd.org). This newsletter is one means of informing democracy scholars and others worldwide about the activities of and publications produced by NDRI member institutes. The newsletter will continue to evolve as the Network grows, and we invite readers' comments and suggestions of useful features they would like to see in future issues. Additional information about the Network and profiles of all member institutes are available at www.wmd.org/ndri/ndri.html. To submit comments or to inquire about joining the Network, please write to Melissa Aten ().
Subscribing to Democracy Research News
Democracy Research News is distributed exclusively by e-mail. Subscriptions are available free of charge by writing to ndri@ned.org. We encourage readers to forward this newsletter to colleagues who may wish to subscribe. If you do not wish to receive Democracy Research News, send the message "unsubscribe" to ndri@ned.org and we will remove your name promptly.
Contents
1. News and Announcements
2. New Publications and Recent Events by NDRI Members
2.1 Africa
2.2 Asia and the Pacific
2.3 Europe
2.4 Latin America
2.5 Middle East
2.6 Russia and the Former Soviet Union
2.7 United States and Canada
1. NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Sejong Institute Welcomes New President:On January 5, 2009, the Sejong Institute (South Korea) inaugurated Dae Sung Song as the new president of the Institute. During the inauguration ceremony, President Dae Sung Song emphasized the importance of unity within the organization. More information is available here.
The Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy Holds 10th Annual Conference:
On May 5, 2009, the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID, U.S.) will hold its 10th annual conference on “How to Improve Relations with the Muslim World: Challenges and Promises Ahead” in Washington, D.C. Four broad topics will be covered at the conference: Positively Engaging the Muslim World: Learning from Past Mistakes; The Development of Democracy in the Muslim World: Best Practices; Looking Ahead: Identifying the Challenges and Promises; and Prospects for Peace in the Middle East. More information about the conference can be found here.
Rights & Democracy Awards 2008 John Humphrey Freedom Award:
Rights & Democracy (International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development, Canada) has awarded its 2008 John Humphrey Freedom Award to the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights for its courageous pursuit of justice for victims of human rights abuses inside Zimbabwe. The organization has played a leading role in the promotion and protection of human rights across Zimbabwe since its founding in 1996. Guided by a professional commitment to the rule of law and Zimbabwe’s international human rights obligations, ZLHR provides essential services ranging from legal support for victims of state-endorsed persecution to public education and human rights training for activists and civil society organizations working at the community level. More information about ZLHR, as well as the John Humphrey Freedom Award is available here.
NDRI Welcomes A New Member:
We are pleased to welcome the following new member of the research network (whose activities are reported in the appropriate geographic section of this newsletter):
• Oxford Centre for the Study of Inequality and Democracy (OCSID, United Kingdom), a research center that aims to promote both independent and collaborative research among the diverse community of comparative politics specialists at Oxford. The Centre fosters the analysis of a broad range of issues and institutions in established and new democracies as well as the analysis of economic, social, and political inequalities in regimes of any type.
2. New Publications and Recent Events by NDRI Members
Africa
Since the last issue of Democracy Research News, Afrobarometer has published five new Briefing Papers and three new Working Papers, including: “Corruption and Trust in Political Institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa” by Emmanuelle Lavallée, Mireille Razafindrakoto, and François Roubaud (October 2008); “Tribalism as a Minimax-Regent Strategy: Evidence from Voting in the 2007 Kenyan Elections” by Mwangi S. Kimenyi and Roxana Gutierrez Romero (October 2008); and “Do Free Elections Foster Capable Governments? The Democracy Governance Connection in Africa” by Michael Bratton (October 2008). Full text of these and past Afrobarometer Briefing Papers are available here. Full text of all Working Papers are available here.On November 7–9, 2008, the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD, Nigeria), along with the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies, the West African Civil Society Forum, and the Legal Resources Consortium, organized an NGO forum in advance of the 44th ordinary session of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights. The purpose of the forum was to facilitate civil society engagement with the ongoing session of the Commission. Civil society representatives sought to assess the current human rights situation on the continent and discussed issues emerging from the Swaziland meeting. The three-day event included presentations, debates, and varying perspectives from participants on issues of freedom of association and expression, sexual and reproductive rights, women’s human rights, and economic and social rights. Full text of the report of the forum is available here.
The Ghana Center for Democratic Development published a October 2008 Briefing Paper on “Averting the Resource Curse in Ghana: The Need for Accountability,” by Anna Cavnar, which tracks the Ghanaian government’s attempts to use new-found oil wealth to transform the country’s economic and social structure. The existence of bodies designed to regulate the use of oil revenue, more transparency and oversight is needed to ensure that it is used to further national development.
The Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO), of which CDD-Ghana is a member, prepared a “CODEO Report on the Pre-Election Environment for August 2008," a summary of the findings of its regular observation exercise for the month of August. The observers noticed that the activities of political parties have intensified, presidential and parliamentary candidates have focused largely on policy issues in their campaigns, the campaigns have been generally peaceful, and inter-party disputes and conflicts disrupted the parliamentary primaries for the National Democratic Congress Party and the New Patriotic Party in the Ashanti and Central regions.
Finally, CDD-Ghana published the August 2008 Democracy Watch, the official newsletter of the Center. This issue includes articles on “Ghana’s Oil Discovery and the ‘Resource Curse’” and “Debating State Funding of Ghana’s Political Parties.”
In September 2008, the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS, South Africa) published a Research Report on “A Future in Dispute: Political Perspectives on South Africa’s Provincial System,” by Thabo Rapoo and Tshepo Moloi, in which the authors examine the renewed debate on the system of provincial government in South Africa from the perspectives of the country’s major political parties.
The Centre also recently published a November 2008 Policy Brief on “Governing Regionalism in Africa: Themes and Debates,” by Gilbert M. Khadiagala, in which the author examines the reasons why the governance of regional institutions in Africa remain poor when it has experienced success in other parts of the world; the ways in which African countries have reconciled the imperatives of statehood with competing roles of regional institutions, and the lessons learned from historical experiences with regionalism.
The Institute for Democracy in South Africa (Idasa) recently added several Research Reports to its Web site. In “Building AIDS Resilient Democratic Societies in Sub-Saharan Africa,” by Harry Boyte (February 2009), the author argues that the concept of resilience, or the “processes through which communities build on their assets to develop adaptive coping skills and capacities for civic agency,” has enormous potential in addressing the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The January 2009 “Civil Society and Oil in Angola,” by Shun Govender and Beatrice Mutale Skagestad, examines the opportunities and constraints faced by civil society in monitoring good governance in Angola and how a more shared and coordinated strategic vision among all non-state actors in this field can help develop better intervention strategies.
Idasa also published the January 2009 Democracy in Action, its monthly newsletter. This issue profiles Idasa’s guide to political donations in South Africa, with an emphasis on the importance of transparency in political funding to avoid corruption and undue influence in the political process. It also includes summaries of recent research on the current impasse in Zimbabwe, governance of oil revenue in Angola, and inequality and gender issues in Swaziland.
Asia and the Pacific
In December 2008, the Centre for Democratic Institutions (CDI, Australia) convened its 10th Annual Pacific Parliamentary Dialogue on “Striking A Balance: The Role of Parliament in Managing Development.” The purpose of the meeting was to open a dialogue on some of the key challenges facing democratic governance in the Pacific region in order to strengthen it. It also provided an opportunity to examine aspects of parliamentary practice in other parliaments in the region. More information about the event is available here.On November 10–14, 2008, CDI convened an inaugural “Women in Politics: ‘Train the Trainer’” course in Canberra that was designed to increase participants’ knowledge on issues such as effective ways of dealing with culture and leadership issues, the impact of electoral systems and political reform on women’s representation, the advantages and disadvantages of party quotas, gender differences in voter behavior, influencing, lobbying, resource mobilization, and networking. More information about the course is available here.
In January 2009, CDI Director Ben Reilly participated in an international conference on “Challenges and Prospects of Democratic Governance in Southeast Asia” at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. The conference focused on the variegated patterns of democratization and democratic rollback observed in Southeast Asia over the past two decades, bringing together scholars from around the world with expertise in issues of democratization, governance, and Southeast Asian politics. Professor Reilly presented a paper on “Political Reform and the Demise of Consociationalism in Southeast Asia.” Professor Reilly's paper and the conference program are available here.
In January 2009, Lokniti Programme for Comparative Democracy at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS, India) and Hindustan Times in partnership with CNN-IBN conducted a “State of the Nations” poll to gauge public opinion on issues related to politics and democracy. The major thematic issues of this survey were terrorism and Pakistan, law and order and faith in police and courts, citizen's participation in public life, commitment to democracy, and faith in government institutions. The main findings of the poll are available here.
Pratap Bhanu Mehta, president of the Centre for Policy Research (CPR, India), contributed a chapter on “On the Possibility of Religious Pluralism” to Challenges of Religious Pluralism in a Global Era, edited by Tom Banchoff and published by Oxford University Press in 2008. The paper “problematizes the concept of religion” and examines the case of India “in order to illustrate the complex relationship between religious pluralism, globalization and world politics in the contemporary era.”
In December 2008, Civic Exchange (Hong Kong) published “Hong Kong's Silent Epidemic - Public Opinion Survey on Air Pollution, Environment and Public Health 2008,” by Michael E. DeGolyer, which supports the findings of a range of other public health and air science research—that air pollution carries real and considerable health and economic impact for Hong Kong’s economy and society. The report demonstrates that the public is increasingly aware and concerned about air pollution, but feels its concerns are not being heard or addressed.
The Political Education Academy of Mongolia (APE) published Shin Toli Journal (Number 2/2008), featuring articles on “Contribution of the Political Education in the Democratic Development” by Thomas Schrappel; “Democratization and Values of Mongolians (Supply and Demand in Democracy)” by D. Ganbat; and “Does the Citizen’s Political Education Serve as School of Democracy?” by U. Tuya. The content summary of the journal is available here.
The East Asia Institute (EAI, South Korea) published the January 2009 Journal of East Asian Studies, featuring articles on “Between Balancing and Bandwagoning: South Korea’s Response to China” by David C. Kang; “The Changing Anatomy of Regional Trade Agreements in East Asia” by Kati Suominen; “The Transnational Protection Regime and Taiwan’s Democratization” by Su-Mei Ooi; “The 2008 Malaysian Elections: An End to Ethnic Politics?” by Thomas B. Pepinsky; and “Japanese Lower House Campaigns in Transition: Manifest Changes or Fleeting Fads?” by Patrick Koellner. Abstracts of above articles are available here.
In May 2008, the Sejong Institute (South Korea) published Is North Korea Changing?: 1997 vs. 2007 by Seong Chang Cheong. This book analyzes not only the policies of North Korea in domestic, economic, and social areas, but also its policies toward the United States from 1997, when North Korea’s collapse theory had reached its peak in the South Korean society, to 2007. More information of the book is available here.
Europe
The Access to Information Program (AIP, Bulgaria) published Access to Information Litigation in Bulgaria 2005–2008, by Alexander Kashumov and Kiril Terziyski. The book reviews the main problems surrounding litigation stemming from the Access to Public Information Act over the last three years. The analysis encompasses the development of both cases related to the exercise of the right to access to public information and to the implementation of the exemptions to this right. Summaries of fourteen court cases in which the AIP legal team provided legal help, including court representation, are included as appendices to the book.In January 2009, the Centre for Liberal Strategies (CLS, Bulgaria) published the latest edition of Foreign Policy Bulgaria. The cover story of this Bulgarian-language publication is “America’s Hard Sell,” by Bruce W. Jentleson and Steven Weber, in which the authors examine who will “corner the new global market of ideology” and argue that if the United States is going to remain a player, it’s going to have to “refine its sale's pitch.”
The Institute for Regional and International Studies (IRIS, Bulgaria) published “Between Two Eras,” by Ognyan Minchev, an article about how the recent energy crisis, the election of the first African American president in the U.S., and the collapse of global financial markets affect key global political and foreign policy issues.
In March 2009, the Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI, Germany) published the Sustainable Governance Indicators 2009: Policy Performance and Executive Capacity in the OECD, which examines the extent to which governments can identify, formulate, and implement effective reforms that render a society well-equipped to meet future challenges for all 30 members states of the OECD. The vast set of quantitative and qualitative data collected and analyzed by a network of more than 100 renowned international experts provides an unprecedented opportunity for cross-national comparative studies. This publication of the inaugural edition of the SGI includes essays on the key findings, methodology, and issues related to reform, such as the state of social justice in the OECD.
BTI also released two rankings, the "Status Index" and the "Management Index," both of which are based on in-depth assessments of 125 countries. The "Status Index" explores the state of development achieved by 125 countries on their way to democracy under the rule of law and a market economy flanked by sociopolitical safeguards; while the "Management Index" reviews and evaluates the reform activities of political decision makers, thus providing valuable information on the key factors of success and failure for states on their way to democracy and a market economy. Details of the raking, methodology, and country assessments are available here.
In September 2008, the Center for Policy Studies (CPS, Hungary), the Institute of Public Affairs (ISP, Poland), the Institute for Public Affairs (IVO, Slovakia), and the EUROPEAN Institute for European Policy published Democracy's New Champions. European Democracy Assistance after EU Enlargement, edited by Jacek Kucharczyk and Jeff Lovitt and published by the Policy Association for an Open Society (PASOS). The book analyzes the democracy promotion record of the Visegrad Four countries: the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia. These countries have the potential to be key actors in helping neighboring countries with the process of democratization and European integration, and in fostering greater freedom of association, respect for human rights, and democratization. The research in Democracy's New Champions includes an assessment of the Visegrad Four countries' democracy assistance policies and practice towards four target countries, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cuba, and Ukraine.
In 2009, the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) 'Viitorul' (Moldova) published “100 of the Most Pressing Issues in the Republic of Moldova in 2008,” by Vitalie Grousu, Ion Guzun, Mihai Salvir, Olesea Cruc, Diana Cheianu-Andrei, and Carolina Ungureanu. The authors observe that, as a pre-electoral year, 2008 represented a decisive step within the definition of the political values of citizens. One of the main problems the Republic of Moldova currently faces is the incapacity of implementing its own laws adopted by Parliament.
In January 2009, IDIS ‘Viitorul’ also published a discussion paper on “In NATO We Trust? Explaining Why Moldova Would Need to Join NATO,” by Dumitru Mînzarari and Veaceslav Ionita, in which the authors assess the political, economic, and social benefits of membership in NATO.
IDIS also published “A Plea for Open Parliaments in the Black Sea Region. Cases of Romania, Republic of Moldova, Bulgaria and Georgia,” by Elena Iorga, Igor Munteanu, Daniel Smilov, and Archil Abashidze (December 2008) and “Gagauzia: Opportunities for Investment,” by Igor Munteanu, Vlad Catlabuga, Mihail Shalvir, Veaceslav Ionita, and Liubomir Chiriac (December 2008). The former emphasizes the growing need for strengthening cooperation and civic dialogue in the Black Sea Region, not only on issues related to security matters and strategic calculations, but also on topics more accessible for civil society. It investigates the degrees of openness of national parliaments in Romania, the Republic of Moldova, Bulgaria, and Georgia by assessing the perception of relevant institutional civil society actors while commenting on the legal framework of regulating communication with the public. The latter focuses on the competitive economic opportunities of the Gagauz Region.
In December the Center for Democracy and Human Rights (CEDEM, Montenegro) released its “Democracy Index Montenegro 2008,” an annual report on the state of political processes, economic freedom, the rule of law, media, national and religious minorities, education, and the status of women in Montenegro.
In January 2009, CEDEM also published “Public Opinion of Montenegro,” a summary of the findings of three research surveys conducted in March, June, and November 2008, during which respondents were queried on numerous political, economic, and social issues.
The Institute of Public Affairs (ISP, Poland) published the November 2008 Analyses and Opinions on “Donald Tusk’s Government Policy towards Ukraine” by Jan Pieklo, in which the author argues that Polish policy towards Ukraine should respond to the challenges facing the region as the outcome of the Georgian crises and Russian resurgence, political crisis in Ukraine, and global economic problems that are severely threatening the Ukrainian financial and industrial sectors.
In November 2008, ISP also published a working paper “Transatlantic Relations 2009: European Expectations for the Post-Bush Era,” edited by Jan Techau and Alexander Skia. The authors maintain that the new US administration will likely reach out to its European partners on several global and bilateral issues. Based on surveys conducted in 15 member states and of the European Union as a whole, the paper explores what the EU and its individual member states expect from the United States in the post-Bush era. Individual case studies outline the concrete issues and fields of action that Europeans seek to address in the transatlantic format.
In August 2008, the Romanian Academic Society (SAR) published a Policy Brief on “The National Electricity Company - A Good Idea or An Anti-Reform Measure?” which explores the pros and cons of the Romanian government’s decision to merge distribution and generation units in the public electricity system and explains why the measure would be at odds with the Lisbon Agenda and the reforms made in the sector over the past decade.
In September 2008, SAR also published a Policy Brief on “Property Restitution: What Went Wrong in Romania?” by Viasu Romania. This preliminary report is a summary of the problems associated with the restitution process in the country, measured by a numerical indicator developed by SAR. Among the main problems mentioned in the report are indecision in the restitution process due in part to the successive adoption of several laws that indicate overlapping rights and large scale abuse at the local and central levels that are sustained by ambiguous laws and discrete judicial practices.
In 2008, the Center for Liberal–Democratic Studies (CLDS, Serbia) published Corporate Governance: Five Years Later, by Boris Begovic, Boško Mijatovic, Marko Paunovic, Boško Živkovic, Milica Bisic, Katarina Ðulic, and Ana Jolovic. The study is a continuation of corporate governance research in Serbia conducted by CLS in 2003. This new study examines the results of a survey on corporate governance conducted by CLS, the concentration of ownership and the problem of investor protection, the main flaws and possible improvements of financial markets regulation, legal regulations of corporate governance, and corruption.
The Institute for Public Affairs (IVO, Slovakia) released the findings of the IVO Barometer in the 4th quarter of 2008 in the article “IVO BAROMETER: Quality of democracy in the 4th quarter-year: Decline to 3,1.” The Barometer revealed a decline in the quality of Slovak democracy in all areas surveyed: democratic institutions and the rule of law; legislation; human and minority rights; and independent media.
In January 2009, the Democratisation and Rule of Law Program of FRIDE (La Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior, Spain) published “The Case for a New European Engagement in Iraq,” by Edward Burke, who argued that the EU should respond favorably to requests for the deployment of a technical assistance mission to Iraq from the government and lists a series of recommendations on how the EU can improve bilateral relations with the country.
In Is the European Union Supporting Democracy in its Neighborhood? (December 2008), Jos Boonstra, Julia Choucair Vizoso, Ana Echagüe, Balázs Jarábik, Kristina Kausch, and Richard Youngs examine the EU’s role in promoting human rights and democratic norms in the European Neighborhood through a detailed study of the different EU instruments available to support democracy and human rights improvements, with a focus on the cases of Morocco, Jordan, Lebanon, Ukraine, Belarus, and Azerbaijan.
In January 2009, FRIDE also published “Europe, the US and Middle Eastern Democracy,” by Tamara Cofman Wittes and Richard Youngs who look beyond the highly charged, Iraq-related deterioration in the transatlantic relationship in order to assess the real similarities and differences in the two actors’ democracy promotion strategies in the Middle East.
In December 2008, FRIDE published an Activity Brief on “Defending Human Rights and Promoting Democracy,” by Jos Boonstra, which presents the conclusions of the roundtable on Euro-Atlantic approaches towards Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in the field of democracy and human rights that was held in Madrid on December 12, 2008.
In early 2009, the Centre for the Study of Public Policy (CSPP, United Kingdom) published Understanding Post-Communist Transformation: A Bottom Up Approach by Richard Rose. Drawing on more than a hundred public opinion surveys from the New Europe Barometer, the book compares how ordinary people have coped with the stresses and opportunities of transforming Communist societies into post-Communist societies and the resulting differences between peoples in the new EU member states and Russia.
In late 2008, the Oxford Centre for the Study of Inequality and Democracy (United Kingdom) released four publications: “Collapsing Worlds and Varieties of Welfare Capitalism: How to Step Out of Weber’s Long Shadow” (November 2008) by Waltraud Schelkle, in which the author explains why classifications of countries according to the welfare capitalism they represent are so attractive for comparative political economy and social policy research, despite their limitations and the raft of convincing criticism they have received over the years. In “Comparing Capitalisms: Liberal, Coordinated, Network, and Hierarchichal” (November 2008) by Ben Ross Schneider, the author explores the different capitalist logics among economic agents in each variety. This expanded typology facilitates broader comparative analyses of varieties of capitalism beyond the usual cases in the developed world to developing countries in Latin America, Asia, and elsewhere. Anthony M. Messina’s November 2008 piece on “The Politics of Migration to Western Europe: Ireland in Comparative Perspective” finds that Ireland’s experience with mass immigration since the 1990s appears to be following a political trajectory similar to that of the traditional immigration-receiving states, despite being removed from the latter by as many as four decades. Finally, the November 2008 “Fiscal Austerity and the Trade-off between Public Investment and Social Spending,” by Marius Busemeyer, introduces the notion of a budgetary trade-off, which is defined as a situation in which one type of spending is continuously prioritized over another type of spending in the face of fiscal pressure.
Latin America
The Center for the Implementation of Public Policies Promoting Equity and Growth (CIPPEC, Argentina) published “Nº 60 El Clientelismo en la Gestión de Programas Sociales contra la Pobreza” (Clientelism in Social Program Management against Poverty) (January 2009) by Christian Gruenberg y Victoria Pereyra Iraola; “Nº 61 Diagnóstico y Propuesta de Fortalecimiento para el Tercer Nivel de Atención en el Noroeste Argentino”(Diagnosis and Proposal of Strengthening the Third Level of Attention in Northwestern Argentina) (January 2009) by Daniel Maceira and Pedro Kremer; "Agenda Pública a 25 Años de Democracia" (Public Agenda after 25 years of Democracy) (December 2008), and “Nº 59: ¿Qué Piensan los Jóvenes Acerca de la Salud, las Instituciones y sus Derechos?” (What Do the Young Think about Their Health, Institutions and Rights?)(November 2008) by Cintia Cejas, Sofía Olaviaga, and Mariana Stechina. Full text of these articles (in Spanish) are available here.In December 2008, the Center for Opening and Development in Latin America (CADAL, Argentina) published “Democracy, Market and Transparency 2008," a global ranking of indicators determined by Freedom House, Index of Economic Freedom, and Transparency International scores. The report includes an overview essay by Gabriel C. Salvia and Hernán Alberro that reveals that 75 countries improved their score since 2007, while 62 countries received lower scores. The report also include articles on “The Great Pending Matter in Latin America Is Government Transparency” by Raúl Ferro; “The Cases of Denmark, Russia, and China” by Gonzalo Bustamante Kuschel; “The Worst of the World” by Pablo Brum and Mariana Dambolena; “May They Wait for the End of Capitalism” by Pablo Díaz de Brito; and “The Validity of Market Democracies in an International Society” by Héctor Ricardo Leis and Eduardo Viola.
CADAL also published Second Semester 2008 Latin America Tendencies on “The Region in the Context of a Deep Economic Crisis” by Carlos Sabino, in which the author examines how the deterioration of the global economy is causing tension for the governments in Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Argentina, Nicaragua, Paraguay, and Colombia.
On November 12–13, 2008, Congreso Visible (CV, Colombia) and el Instituto de investigación y debate sobre la gobernanza (IRG) jointly organized “Seminario Internacional: Evaluación de las instituciones públicas en América Latina: Papel de la Sociedad civil y dialogo con los poderes públicos.” (International Seminar: Evaluation of Public Institutions in Latin America: Civil Society Paper and Dialogue with Public Authorities). The main themes of the seminar were: motivation, relevance of evaluating institutions in Latin America, the role of civil society in evaluation, and the space of interaction between evaluators. More information about the conference is available here.
In February 2009, the Instituto de Ciencia Política (ICP, Colombia) published the February 2009 Perspectiva, which includes articles on the impact of the financial crisis on Latin America countries: “La crisis financiera externa y los desafíos de América Latina” (The External Financial Crisis and the Challenges of Latin America); “Lecciones para enfrentar la crisis: el caso de Chile” (Lessons for Combating the Crisis: The Case of Chile).
On February 12, 2009, ICP organized a conference on “Los objetivos de desarrollo del milenio: ¿En Qué Vamos?” (The Objectives of Millennium Development: What’s next?) featuring César Caballero Reinoso, coordinator of the Millennium Development Program at United Nations.
In late 2008, the State of the Nation Program (Programa Estado de la Nacion, Costa Rica) published two reports: “Décimo Cuarto Informe sobre el Estado de la Nación” (Report about the State of the Nation) and “Informe Estado de la Región en Desarrollo Humano Sostenible” (State Report of the Region in Sustainable Human Development).
The Program also published Estado de la Educación (2008), an examination of the state of the Costa Rican educational system.
In October 2008, Grupo Faro (Ecuador) published two papers: “¿Qué vemos en el presupuesto 2008 de La Joya de los Sachas?” (What Do We See in the 2008 Budget of Joya de los Sachas?) and “Municipalidad del Distrito Metropolitano de Quito, Ejecución Presupuestaria Año 2006” (Municipal of the Metropolitan District of Quito, Budgetary Year of 2006).
Since the last issue of Democracy Research News, the Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas, A.C. (CIDE, Mexico) published six articles: “Franchises for Crime: ‘Maras’ and North American Security,” by Jorge Chabat, which analyzes the concept of franchise in organized crime and the transmission of criminal knowledge, and examines the government’s responses to the threat of maras in Mexico and Central America; "Threats and Partial Concessions in the Exhaustion of the Zapatista Wave of Protest, 1994–2003,” by María de la Luz Inclán, in which the author analyzes the effects of repressive threats and procedural concessions on Zapatista protests from 1994 to 2003; “La industria del amparo fiscal” (The Industry of Fiscal Protection), by Carlos Elizondo, examines the industry of the writ of amparo in Mexican tax laws; and Joy Langston’s “Las reformas electorales de 2007” (The Electoral Reforms of 2007) explores several aspects of the 2007 electoral reforms in terms of improving electoral institutions, increasing credibility in the results, and punishing certain actors that were seen as problematic in the election in 2006. In “Electoral Institutions and Democratic Consolidation in the Mexican States, 1990–2004,” Francisco Javier Aparicio and Sandra Jessica Ley exploit the longitudinal variation in political competitiveness in Mexico’s local and state elections from 1990 to 2004 to analyze its effect on the formation and development of independent electoral management bodies and finally, in “Exploring the Links between Immigration and Educational Quality and Opportunity in Mexico,” José Felipe Martinez, Lucrecia Santibañez and Edson Serván explore the relationship between education and immigration from two complementary angles: the relationship between individual expectations and decisions to migrate to the United States and experiences and opportunities offered to students in Mexico, and the relationship between rates of migration and a range of indicators of educational quality including student achievement.
In late 2008, FUNDAR (Mexico) published “Boletín México Transparente” (Mexico Transparency Bulletin) Año 4, Núm. 3.
FUNDAR also recently published papers on “Responsabilidad y Reparación, un Enfoque de Derechos Humanos” (Responsibility and Reparation, A Human Rights Perspective) by Graciela Rodríguez, Iván Alonso, Marcela Talamás, and Miguel Pulido; “Monitor Civil de la Policía en la Montaña de Guerrero” (Civil Monitor of the Police in the Mountain Region of Guerrero) by Antia Mendoza and Juan Salgado; and “Un Acercamiento al Trabajo Legislativo de las Comisiones de Derechos Humanos del Congreso de la Unión” (An Approach to the Legislative Work of the Human Rights Commission of the Union Congress) by Itzel Checa Gutiérrez.
Middle East
In February 2009, the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) published an article on “Reinventing Israeli Democracy,” by IDI President Carmon Arye, in which he addresses the grave political problems Israel is facing: incessant political instability, uncertain government policy on existential issues, potential collapse of the parliamentary system, growing aversion to politics, and increasing public mistrust of democratic institutions.In January 2009, IDI also published “Elections in the Shadow of War,” by Blander Dana, in which the author discusses the issue of elections during times of war from an historical-legal perspective and draws on Israeli historical precedents and the similar experiences of other democracies to help contextualize the possible scenarios that lie ahead.
IDI also published the November 2008 Parliament. Featured articles include: “Elections for the Local Authority – Who, What, When, Where and How?” by Blander Dana, “The Upcoming Municipal Elections: An Interview with Dr. Arye” by Carmon Arye, “National and Local Politics” by Himeyn-Raisch Naomi, and “Local Authorities – An Issue of National Importance” by Nili Shmulik.
In December 2008, the Center for Strategic Studies (Jordan) released its “Poll on Jordanian Public Opinion toward the Election of Barack Obama.” The poll identifies the viewpoints of the Jordanian public and public opinion leaders regarding the impact of Barack Obama’s recent election as president of the United States on American policy toward the Arab region and the Middle East. Full results of the poll are available here.
In December 2008, the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) released Palestinian Public Opinion Poll on “Palestinians Want Legislative and Presidential Elections in Early 2009 to Resolve Fatah-Hamas Power Struggle and Want a Strong Intervention from the Obama Administration to Resolve the Conflict with Israel.” The poll examines domestic issues such as the balance of power, the performance and legitimacy of two governments, the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip, the peace process, and attitudes toward and expectations of the Obama administration.
In late 2008, the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV) published “A Roadmap for the Solution of the Kurdish Question: Policy Suggestions to the Government from the Region,” which is based on the opinions of experts, politicians, non-governmental representatives, and opinion leaders that represent Kurdish society. The main purpose of the report is to convey to the government and the people of Turkey the unheard voices of the Kurds people.
TESEV also published “Guidelines for Persons and Organizations Providing Support for Victims of Forced Migration,” which discusses ways to make support and aid efforts to displaced persons easier and to help shape a road map that addresses the problems victims of forced migration face.
On October 25, 2008, TESEV’s Democratization Program hosted an international media conference on “Media: In Pursuit of the Truth?” The conference provided a democratic arena whereby the role of the media in the democratization process and the relationship between the media and political authorities as well as between the media and the “truth” were discussed.
In February 2009, the Gulf Research Center (GRC, United Arab Emirates) published a research paper on “Piracy: Motivation and Tactics. The Case of Somali Piracy” by Nicole Stracke and Marie Bos. The study focuses on how piracy in Somalia has evolved from a spontaneous act of protest by local Somali fishermen into a professional and highly-organized business venture.
The GRC also published “U.S. - Arab Economic Relations and the Obama Administration” by Nadar Habibi and Eckart Woertz, a brief report that examines four developments that affect U.S.–Middle East economic relations and current important policy challenges to the Obama administration: the increasing energy interests in the Persian Gulf by China and India; the U.S. interest in the economic development of areas of the Middle East in which poverty and inequality lead to instability and political violence; the U.S. loss of market share to European and Asian countries as the Middle East’s purchasing power grows; and the Gulf Cooperation Council’s (GCC) emergence as the financial and economic center of the Middle East.
The Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID, United States) published the February 2009 Democracy Watch. This issue covered various topics including: “The War on Gaza: A Crime against Humanity: The Statement of the Network of Democrats in the Arab World;” “Morocco: Reservations on CEDAW Withdrawn;” “Civil Society in Syria: A Case of Inefficacy;” “Islamists and the Left in Morocco: Discord and Harmony;” “Hanging Apart: Palestinian Civil Society Fragmented;” and “Low Turnout in Algeria Election.” Full text of the publication in English and Arabic is available here.
Russia and the Former Soviet Union
In September 2008, the Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy, and Development (CIPDD, Georgia) published “After August 2008-Consequences of the Russian-Georgian War.” This paper engages the ongoing debates on the consequences of the war with Russia in August 2008 with analysis of the war’s political, economic, and environmental aspects. The study is accompanied by a timeline of events from Kosovo’s declaration of independence to the outbreak of war in Georgia that clearly demonstrates how the situation escalated in Abkhazia and South Ossetia from February 2008 onward.CIPDD also published Effects/Impact of Media: Leading Televisions and Election Campaigns in Georgia, co-edited by Nino Danelia, Nini Gogiberidze, Tinatin Zurabishvili, and David Aprasidze. Contributors to the volume address the interrelation between media and politics during the pre-election campaign in 2008 in Georgia. The authors observe that the role of media in political processes, as well as the interests of political institutions in media institutions, is evident during the electoral cycle.
In late 2008, the Carnegie Moscow Center (Russia) has published Path to Europe. Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, and East Germany, edited by Igor Klyamkin and Lilia Shevtsova. This Russian-language book explores the reforms these countries have undertaken since the transition to democracy, the problems they have encountered and how they have addressed them, and their accomplishments to date, as well as the differences and similarities between their reforms and those undertaken in Russia.
The Center also recently published two Working Papers. The first, on “Revival of ‘Feudal’ Archaism in Modern Russia: Practice and Ideas,” (in Russian) by Andrei Ryabov, examines the emergence and spread of archaic elements in various areas of modern Russian society, the roots of which go back to feudal relations. Alexey Malashenko’s “Russia and the Muslim World” analyzes the Russian policies regarding the Muslim community and examines the policy towards radical Islam and its representatives. It provides an overview of Russia’s ties with several Muslim countries in the energy sector and the military-technical cooperation field.
The Center has recently released a January 2009 Briefing Paper on “‘Moscow the Muscular:’ The Loneliness of an Aspiring Power Center,” by Dmitri Trenin, in which he discusses how Russia has distanced itself from the West and engaged in conflict with neighboring countries, moves he considers “dangerous.” The author recommends that Russia should proceed along a path of a rapprochement with Europe and North America, and with the economically and politically developed world on the whole.
Finally, the Center published the September–December 2008 Pro et Contra on “Two Crises: Consequences and Outlook." Contributors to the journal examine how “the economic crisis has laid bare the problems that arise from the concentration of power, catastrophic weakening of institutions and atrophying of feedback channels. Summaries of all articles in English and full text in Russian are available here.
In late 2008, the International Centre for Policy Studies (ICPS, Ukraine) published Topical Issues of Gender Equality in Ukraine: The Collection of Analytical Documents and Draft Laws, edited by Olga Romanuyk. The book was prepared within the Center’s project on “Policy Campaign for Gender Equality,” the goal of which is to intensify the equal participation of women in political processes and decision making.
Three recent issues of ICPS News, the weekly newsletter of the ICPS will be of interest to democracy scholars. The November 24, 2008 edition on “Visegrad Countries Take Lead in Democratic Aid to Ukraine” presents the conclusions drawn in a study on “Supporting Consolidation and Democracy Assistance Policies among V4 Countries: Ukraine.” The December 22, 2008 issue on “The Path of the EU: Spain’s Recipe for Ukraine” summarizes the discussion of a roundtable called “On the Way to Europe: Spain’s experience.” The main objectives of the initiative are to disseminate the process of Spain’s democratization process in Ukraine and to establish active relationships between the government, business, and nongovernment sectors of both countries. Finally, the February 9, 2009 edition on “Open Budget Survey 2008: Ukraine’s Process Too Closed” examines budget transparency in 85 countries. Ukraine’s score on the Open Budget Index reveals that the government provides the public with limited information on the state budget and financial activities during the course of the budget year, which makes it difficult for voters to hold their government accountable for the way it manages taxpayers’ money.
United States and Canada
In February 2009, the Applied Research Center at IFES (ARC, United States) published a White Paper on “Election Violence Education and Resolution (EVER)” that details the findings from the EVER program that was designed by IFES and implemented by Odihikar for the December 28, 2008, parliamentary election is Bangladesh. The program is designed to document accurate information about incidents of election-related violence in a reliable manner to enable stakeholders in the electoral process can use the information to design and implement effective electoral interventions in the country. Key findings in the report include: 110 episodes of electoral-related violence during the election period occurred, supporters and activists of the Awami League and BNP were the most active participants of this violence, and law enforcement agencies were recorded as perpetrators in only three of these episodes and were generally found to be active and tolerant in the majority of monitored areas. Full text of the report is available here.In February 2009, Rights & Democracy (International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development, Canada) published Human Rights and Bilateral Investment Treaties: Mapping the Role of Human Rights Law within Investor-State Arbitration, by Luke Eric Peterson. The report describes the foreign investment protection regime as a collection of more than 2,600 bilateral investment treaties and free-trade agreements designed to protect investors and their assets. While these agreements place strict legal restrictions on what actions can be taken by host governments, they impose no limits and confer no responsibilities on investors, even in terms of the protection of human rights. This report is the third volume in a series of publications produced by Rights & Democracy’s “Investing in Human Rights” project.
In December 2008, Rights & Democracy also published “The Fight for Human Rights in Africa: Perspectives on the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights,” edited by Michael Wodzicki. Contributors to this volume describe the strengths and challenges of Africa’s regional human rights system by bringing together the experiences of three Canadian lawyers who worked at the African Commission’s Secretariat in Gambia and by highlighting the strengths and opportunities of this regional system.
In February 2009, Barak D. Hoffman, president of the Center for Democracy and Civil Society (CDACS, United States) published “Ghana’s Undecided Voters,” in which he describes the characteristics of the undecided voters in Ghana’s 2008 presidential election, who almost entirely cast their vote for the National Democratic Congress, ensuring their victory over the incumbent New Patriotic Party. Hoffman found that these voters were not aligned along any clear ethnic lines, viewed the NDC as slightly less inferior to the NPP, and were more concerned that the election was free and fair than that any single candidate win.
CDACS also published the Fall 2008 Democracy and Society, the Center’s biannual newsletter. Featured articles in this issue include: “Two Paradoxes of Sovereignty” by Mona Erickson; “Dealing With State-Sponsored Militias: Policy Recommendations in the Face of Path Dependence” by Ariel I. Ahram; “Piracy: Both a Symptom and Cause of State Failure in Somalia” by Johanna Womer Benjamin; “Revenue Sharing and the Future of a Unified Iraq” by Christopher R. Dittmeier; and “The Pentagon and Global Development: Making Sense of the DoD’s Expanding Role” by Stewart Patrick and Kaysie Brown.
In December 2008, the Center for the Study of Democracy (United States) published “A Gender Gap in Citizenship Norms? The Importance of Political, Civil and Social Rights and Responsibilities,” by Catherine Bolzendahl and Hilde Coffe, in which the authors used 2004 ISSP data among 18 Western, industrialized nations to evaluate gender cleavages in citizenship norms to find that there is no difference in men and women’s political norms, but that women do view the responsibilities and rights associated with civil and social norms as significantly more important than men.
In November 2008, CSD published “Explanatory Factors for the Merger of Political Parties,” by Hilde Coffe and Rene Torenvlied, in which the authors identify three different types of factors that may act as catalysts for parties to merge: intra-party, inter-party, and contextual factors.
Donald Emmerson, affiliated faculty member of the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL, United States) edited Hard Choices: Security, Democracy, and Regionalism in Southeast Asia (Brookings Institution Press, 2008). Contributors to the book examine the effects of promoting democracy on autocratic governments in Southeast Asia and on ASEAN, whether Burma and other autocratic members of ASEAN should be expelled from the organization, and how ASEAN should respond to nontraditional threats to security. Ordering information as well as the introductory chapter are available here.
CDDRL also recently published two Working Papers on global welfare regimes. Miriam Abu Sharkh’s January 2009 work on “Global Welfare Mixes and Wellbeing: Cluster, Factor and Regression Analyses from 1990 to 2000” conducts a cluster analysis of 79 countries across the world to identify wellbeing regimes, which are then examined across time to assess if they exhibit a degree of constancy across time and composition that would allow labeling them as stable regimes. The January 2009 “Global Welfare Regimes: A Cluster Analysis,” by Miriam Abu Sharkh and Ian Gough, tests the claim that a small number of distinct welfare regimes can be identified across the developing world and identifies three meta-welfare regimes: proto-welfare state regimes, informal security regimes, and insecurity regimes.
On February 5, 2009, CDDRL held a on workshop on “Democratization in the Middle East: A Provisional Assessment,” featuring, among others, Larry Diamond and Kathryn Stoner-Weiss. Participants discussed topics on “Stable Autocracies?” “Liberation Movements: The Roles of Religion and Nationalism,” and “Framework on Democratization in the Arab World.” A workshop summary is available here.
The International Forum for Democratic Studies (United States) published the January 2009 Journal of Democracy that features two articles on Can Cuba Change?: “Ferment in Civil Society,” by Carl Gershman and Orlando Gutierrez, which outlines how Cuban opposition movements have become more diverse as well as more unified, while the regime is showing signs of underlying weakness, and “Tensions in the Region,” by Eusebio Mujal-León, which examines the likelihood of divisions within the ruling elite, especially between the military and the Party. The Forum sponsored a January 30 event on these articles.
Other articles include Thomas Carothers’s “Democracy Assistance: Political vs. Developmental,” a cluster of articles that debates the causes of the color revolutions, as well as individual case studies of Paraguay, Finland, and Hong Kong. Full text of selected articles and the table of contents of this issue of the Journal are available here.
The Forum also sponsored several luncheon presentations featuring the Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows, including Rajesh Dev’s January 22 event on “Democracy and its Discontents: Dilemmas of Diversity in Northeast India;” Ihor Lylo’s January 29 event on “The Future of Independent Media in Ukraine,” with comments by Myroslava Gongadze; Sharon Wolchik’s February 4 event on “The Day After: Democratizing Elections in Post-Communist Europe and Eurasia;” Frederic Loua’s February 5 event on “Guinea after the Coup: New Opportunities for Judicial Reform,” with comments by Maria Koulouris; and Suvash Darnal’s February 12 event on “Securing Dalit Rights: The Case for Affirmative Action in the ‘New Nepal,’” with comments by Brian Joseph. More information about these events can be found here. The Forum will welcome its Spring 2009 group of Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows, who come from Sudan, Algeria, Nigeria, Chad, Peru, Argentina, Indonesia, India, and Russia, on March 2. More information about the Reagan Fascell program and current and past fellows are available here.
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