Benjamin Reilly
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199286874
- eISBN:
- 9780191713156
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199286874.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
This chapter begins by looking briefly at some of the overarching theoretical issues confronting the field of institutional design and the rival approaches to political engineering on which they are ...
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This chapter begins by looking briefly at some of the overarching theoretical issues confronting the field of institutional design and the rival approaches to political engineering on which they are based. It then assesses the merits of the three most coherent models of political engineering in the contemporary world: consociationalism, centripetalism, and communalism. It concludes by assessing the empirical record of each approach in the Asia-Pacific region.Less
This chapter begins by looking briefly at some of the overarching theoretical issues confronting the field of institutional design and the rival approaches to political engineering on which they are based. It then assesses the merits of the three most coherent models of political engineering in the contemporary world: consociationalism, centripetalism, and communalism. It concludes by assessing the empirical record of each approach in the Asia-Pacific region.
Wayne Norman
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780198293354
- eISBN:
- 9780191604126
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198293356.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter considers the basic options for the design of a democratic federation. These include how to determine the boundaries of federal provinces, how to divide legislative and administrative ...
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This chapter considers the basic options for the design of a democratic federation. These include how to determine the boundaries of federal provinces, how to divide legislative and administrative powers, how to represent provinces and minority groups in central institutions, and how to amend the constitution. It looks at the importance of recognizing both majority and minority identities in the constitutions of both classic nation-states and multinational states. An appendix is included on the history of Canadian attempts to solve these design and recognition problems, especially concerning the place of the French-speaking province of Quebec.Less
This chapter considers the basic options for the design of a democratic federation. These include how to determine the boundaries of federal provinces, how to divide legislative and administrative powers, how to represent provinces and minority groups in central institutions, and how to amend the constitution. It looks at the importance of recognizing both majority and minority identities in the constitutions of both classic nation-states and multinational states. An appendix is included on the history of Canadian attempts to solve these design and recognition problems, especially concerning the place of the French-speaking province of Quebec.
Laurence Whitehead
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199253289
- eISBN:
- 9780191600326
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199253285.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
Considers the theory and practices of ‘accountability’ that are associated with liberal constitutionalism, democracy, and especially contemporary democratization. Once again, it adopts a broad ...
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Considers the theory and practices of ‘accountability’ that are associated with liberal constitutionalism, democracy, and especially contemporary democratization. Once again, it adopts a broad temporal and spatial perspective with the result that a plurality of alternative approaches and possibilities is highlighted, and processes of accountability‐building are presented as open‐ended. The chapter argues that it is possible to have both ‘too much’ accountability and also the ‘wrong sort’. Bicameralism and impeachment are selected for particular attention.Less
Considers the theory and practices of ‘accountability’ that are associated with liberal constitutionalism, democracy, and especially contemporary democratization. Once again, it adopts a broad temporal and spatial perspective with the result that a plurality of alternative approaches and possibilities is highlighted, and processes of accountability‐building are presented as open‐ended. The chapter argues that it is possible to have both ‘too much’ accountability and also the ‘wrong sort’. Bicameralism and impeachment are selected for particular attention.
Wayne Norman
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780198293354
- eISBN:
- 9780191604126
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198293356.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Preventing secession is the central design challenge in a multinational federation. This chapter considers how a well-designed legal secession procedure in a federal constitution could be attractive ...
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Preventing secession is the central design challenge in a multinational federation. This chapter considers how a well-designed legal secession procedure in a federal constitution could be attractive to both majority and minority nationalists. Legalizing (or ‘domesticating’) secession the right way could, paradoxically, make secession less likely by taking away some incentives for secessionist politics. It could also provide a powerful form of symbolic recognition for a national minority. The background context of secession in international law, as well as some lessons from the history of secessionist politics and the recent ‘legalization’ of secession in Canada and Quebec are discussed.Less
Preventing secession is the central design challenge in a multinational federation. This chapter considers how a well-designed legal secession procedure in a federal constitution could be attractive to both majority and minority nationalists. Legalizing (or ‘domesticating’) secession the right way could, paradoxically, make secession less likely by taking away some incentives for secessionist politics. It could also provide a powerful form of symbolic recognition for a national minority. The background context of secession in international law, as well as some lessons from the history of secessionist politics and the recent ‘legalization’ of secession in Canada and Quebec are discussed.
Wayne Norman
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780198293354
- eISBN:
- 9780191604126
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198293356.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter examines the principles that liberal democrats, including liberal nationalists, should use when choosing between the constitutional and federal options discussed in the preceding ...
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This chapter examines the principles that liberal democrats, including liberal nationalists, should use when choosing between the constitutional and federal options discussed in the preceding chapter. Instead of envisaging a completely novel set of principles for multinational federal constitutionalism, it explores the normative resources available in some of the major theories typically used in uni-national states, including ‘classical’, ‘deliberative’, and ‘consequentialist’ theories of democracy; and ‘classical’ and ‘contractualist’ theories of constitutionalism. It argues for seven principles of recognition that would be appropriate for justifying certain design features in a multinational federal constitution.Less
This chapter examines the principles that liberal democrats, including liberal nationalists, should use when choosing between the constitutional and federal options discussed in the preceding chapter. Instead of envisaging a completely novel set of principles for multinational federal constitutionalism, it explores the normative resources available in some of the major theories typically used in uni-national states, including ‘classical’, ‘deliberative’, and ‘consequentialist’ theories of democracy; and ‘classical’ and ‘contractualist’ theories of constitutionalism. It argues for seven principles of recognition that would be appropriate for justifying certain design features in a multinational federal constitution.
Adrian Vermeule
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195333466
- eISBN:
- 9780199855384
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195333466.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law
What institutional arrangements should a well-functioning constitutional democracy have? Most of the relevant literatures in law, political science, political theory, and economics address this ...
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What institutional arrangements should a well-functioning constitutional democracy have? Most of the relevant literatures in law, political science, political theory, and economics address this question by discussing institutional design writ large. This book moves beyond these debates, changing the focus to institutional design writ small. In established constitutional polities, the book argues that law can and should — and to some extent already does — provide mechanisms of democracy: a repertoire of small-scale institutional devices and innovations that can have surprisingly large effects, promoting democratic values of impartial, accountable and deliberative government. Examples include legal rules that promote impartiality by depriving officials of the information they need to act in self-interested ways; voting rules that create the right kind and amount of accountability for political officials and judges; and legislative rules that structure deliberation, in part by adjusting the conditions under which deliberation occurs transparently or instead secretly. Drawing upon a range of social science tools from economics, political science, and other disciplines, the book carefully describes the mechanisms of democracy and indicates the conditions under which they can succeed.Less
What institutional arrangements should a well-functioning constitutional democracy have? Most of the relevant literatures in law, political science, political theory, and economics address this question by discussing institutional design writ large. This book moves beyond these debates, changing the focus to institutional design writ small. In established constitutional polities, the book argues that law can and should — and to some extent already does — provide mechanisms of democracy: a repertoire of small-scale institutional devices and innovations that can have surprisingly large effects, promoting democratic values of impartial, accountable and deliberative government. Examples include legal rules that promote impartiality by depriving officials of the information they need to act in self-interested ways; voting rules that create the right kind and amount of accountability for political officials and judges; and legislative rules that structure deliberation, in part by adjusting the conditions under which deliberation occurs transparently or instead secretly. Drawing upon a range of social science tools from economics, political science, and other disciplines, the book carefully describes the mechanisms of democracy and indicates the conditions under which they can succeed.
Wayne Norman
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780198293354
- eISBN:
- 9780191604126
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198293356.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This book addresses some of the special challenges that arise when two or more national communities share the same (multinational) state. As a work in normative political philosophy, its principal ...
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This book addresses some of the special challenges that arise when two or more national communities share the same (multinational) state. As a work in normative political philosophy, its principal aim is to evaluate the political and institutional choices of citizens and governments in states with rival nationalist discourses and nation-building projects. The first chapter takes stock of a decade of intense philosophical and sociological debates about the nature of nations and nationalism. The remainder of the book focuses on the three major political and institutional choices in multinational states. First, what can political actors and governments legitimately do to shape citizens’ national identity or identities? This is the core question in the ethics of nation-building. Second, how can minority and majority national communities each be given an adequate degree of self-determination, including equal rights to carry out nation-building projects, within a democratic federal state? Finally, even in a world where most national minorities cannot have their own state, how should the constitutions of multinational federations regulate secessionist politics within the rule of law and the ideals of democracy?Less
This book addresses some of the special challenges that arise when two or more national communities share the same (multinational) state. As a work in normative political philosophy, its principal aim is to evaluate the political and institutional choices of citizens and governments in states with rival nationalist discourses and nation-building projects. The first chapter takes stock of a decade of intense philosophical and sociological debates about the nature of nations and nationalism. The remainder of the book focuses on the three major political and institutional choices in multinational states. First, what can political actors and governments legitimately do to shape citizens’ national identity or identities? This is the core question in the ethics of nation-building. Second, how can minority and majority national communities each be given an adequate degree of self-determination, including equal rights to carry out nation-building projects, within a democratic federal state? Finally, even in a world where most national minorities cannot have their own state, how should the constitutions of multinational federations regulate secessionist politics within the rule of law and the ideals of democracy?
Rex Martin
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198292937
- eISBN:
- 9780191599811
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198292937.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Arguments are developed here that allow us to rank the relevant disparate options. This ranking involves two main steps: (1) putting option (a) ahead of option (b) – that is, putting (a) policies and ...
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Arguments are developed here that allow us to rank the relevant disparate options. This ranking involves two main steps: (1) putting option (a) ahead of option (b) – that is, putting (a) policies and laws that are in the interests of each and all ahead of (b) policies and laws concerned with things that are in the corporate or collective interest, such as GDP, though these things are not necessarily in the interests of each person there; and then (2) putting options (a) and (b) ahead of option (c), putting them ahead of policies and laws that help mere majority interests or even hurt minority interests (with the proviso added that allowed instances of (c) must be compatible with the first two options—otherwise they are simply excluded).Thus, where democratic institutions stay in line with that which justifies them, they will in fact tend to produce civil rights laws and they will not act so as to supersede such rights. There is a deep affinity between the idea of civil rights as justified and that of justified democratic institutions; the two are mutually supportive; accordingly, they can form a coherent system. In this system, democratic institutions must, where they stay true to their own justifying rationale, be constrained so as to observe the established priorities; taking such an approach has implications for institutional design (it can, for example, provide for a justification of judicial review that is compatible with democratic ideals).The chapter concludes by considering certain troubling problems that arise for democratic theory: problems such as cyclical majorities and strategic voting; these problems are not negligible but they can be dealt with given the resources of a democratic system of rights.Less
Arguments are developed here that allow us to rank the relevant disparate options. This ranking involves two main steps: (1) putting option (a) ahead of option (b) – that is, putting (a) policies and laws that are in the interests of each and all ahead of (b) policies and laws concerned with things that are in the corporate or collective interest, such as GDP, though these things are not necessarily in the interests of each person there; and then (2) putting options (a) and (b) ahead of option (c), putting them ahead of policies and laws that help mere majority interests or even hurt minority interests (with the proviso added that allowed instances of (c) must be compatible with the first two options—otherwise they are simply excluded).
Thus, where democratic institutions stay in line with that which justifies them, they will in fact tend to produce civil rights laws and they will not act so as to supersede such rights. There is a deep affinity between the idea of civil rights as justified and that of justified democratic institutions; the two are mutually supportive; accordingly, they can form a coherent system. In this system, democratic institutions must, where they stay true to their own justifying rationale, be constrained so as to observe the established priorities; taking such an approach has implications for institutional design (it can, for example, provide for a justification of judicial review that is compatible with democratic ideals).
The chapter concludes by considering certain troubling problems that arise for democratic theory: problems such as cyclical majorities and strategic voting; these problems are not negligible but they can be dealt with given the resources of a democratic system of rights.
Andrew Kuper
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- November 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199274901
- eISBN:
- 9780191601552
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199274908.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Global organizations are exercising unprecedented power–from the hallowed halls of the UN to the closed boardrooms of multinational corporations. Yet their leaders are often scandalously ...
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Global organizations are exercising unprecedented power–from the hallowed halls of the UN to the closed boardrooms of multinational corporations. Yet their leaders are often scandalously unaccountable to the people they claim to serve. How can we ensure that global leaders act responsively, and effectively, in the interests of the world’s people? In this lucid and provocative book, Andrew Kuper develops persuasive and practical answers.Democracy Beyond Borders criticizes conventional theories of justice and democracy that focus almost exclusively on the state and its electoral cycles. Kuper shows how non-state actors, such as corporations and civil society advocates, can be brought into multi-level government as partners with states. He presents an original theory of representation to answer the problem of accountability. At the core of this vision is a new separation of powers, in which different global actors check and balance one another in a complex harmony. This innovative framework complements electoral accountability and enables Kuper to recommend far-reaching reforms to the World Courts, the UN, and advocacy agencies including Transparency International.Democracy Beyond Borders stands at the forefront of a new generation of political thought, for which globalization is the challenge and deepening democracy the solution.Less
Global organizations are exercising unprecedented power–from the hallowed halls of the UN to the closed boardrooms of multinational corporations. Yet their leaders are often scandalously unaccountable to the people they claim to serve. How can we ensure that global leaders act responsively, and effectively, in the interests of the world’s people? In this lucid and provocative book, Andrew Kuper develops persuasive and practical answers.Democracy Beyond Borders criticizes conventional theories of justice and democracy that focus almost exclusively on the state and its electoral cycles. Kuper shows how non-state actors, such as corporations and civil society advocates, can be brought into multi-level government as partners with states. He presents an original theory of representation to answer the problem of accountability. At the core of this vision is a new separation of powers, in which different global actors check and balance one another in a complex harmony. This innovative framework complements electoral accountability and enables Kuper to recommend far-reaching reforms to the World Courts, the UN, and advocacy agencies including Transparency International.Democracy Beyond Borders stands at the forefront of a new generation of political thought, for which globalization is the challenge and deepening democracy the solution.
Rein Taagepera
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199287741
- eISBN:
- 9780191713408
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199287741.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
For a given electoral system, what average number and size distribution of parties can we expect? This book makes specific predictions that agree with world averages. The basic factors are assembly ...
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For a given electoral system, what average number and size distribution of parties can we expect? This book makes specific predictions that agree with world averages. The basic factors are assembly size and district magnitude (the number of seats allocated in the district). While previous models tell us only the direction in which to change the electoral system, the present ones also tell us by how much they must be changed so as to obtain the desired change in party system and cabinet duration. These are quantitatively predictive logical models. Combined with known particularities of a country, these models can be used for informed institutional design. Allocation of seats among countries in the European Parliament is also put on a logical basis.Less
For a given electoral system, what average number and size distribution of parties can we expect? This book makes specific predictions that agree with world averages. The basic factors are assembly size and district magnitude (the number of seats allocated in the district). While previous models tell us only the direction in which to change the electoral system, the present ones also tell us by how much they must be changed so as to obtain the desired change in party system and cabinet duration. These are quantitatively predictive logical models. Combined with known particularities of a country, these models can be used for informed institutional design. Allocation of seats among countries in the European Parliament is also put on a logical basis.
Adrian Vermeule
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195333466
- eISBN:
- 9780199855384
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195333466.003.0009
- Subject:
- Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law
This chapter presents some concluding thoughts from the author. It argues that institutional design, writ small, is a going concern. The gaps in the standing design leave space for improvement at the ...
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This chapter presents some concluding thoughts from the author. It argues that institutional design, writ small, is a going concern. The gaps in the standing design leave space for improvement at the margins, but there are usually alternative improvements to be debated, and questions about what would count as an improvement. Democrats with different views can deliberate and decide together about what democracy permits or requires in particular contexts, even if they lack a full account of what democracy entails.Less
This chapter presents some concluding thoughts from the author. It argues that institutional design, writ small, is a going concern. The gaps in the standing design leave space for improvement at the margins, but there are usually alternative improvements to be debated, and questions about what would count as an improvement. Democrats with different views can deliberate and decide together about what democracy permits or requires in particular contexts, even if they lack a full account of what democracy entails.
Andrew Kuper
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- November 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199274901
- eISBN:
- 9780191601552
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199274908.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
In the face of globalization, an international political system based on states is unable to meet daunting political challenges that confront our world. Is it possible to develop a global order that ...
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In the face of globalization, an international political system based on states is unable to meet daunting political challenges that confront our world. Is it possible to develop a global order that would enable more justifiable and effective rule for the world’s people? In particular, can the principles and practices of justice and representative democracy be extended, to answer this challenge, beyond the state contexts for which they were devised? This book argues that we should end our dubious romance with the nation-state in favour of a multi-form global system called Responsive Democracy. To this end, the book presents core components of (a) a theory of global justice that arises out of a critique of the influential political philosophy of John Rawls; (b) a theory of democratic representation that constitutes an alternative to the approach taken by Jurgen Habermas and his deliberative democratic followers; and (c) a theory of how political and moral ideals that are necessarily framed in abstract terms can help orient practice in messy, non-ideal conditions. Together, these three currents of this text form a novel approach to global justice and democracy. The concrete implications of this approach to constitutionalism, institutional design, and politics will be explored for four leading global institutions.Less
In the face of globalization, an international political system based on states is unable to meet daunting political challenges that confront our world. Is it possible to develop a global order that would enable more justifiable and effective rule for the world’s people? In particular, can the principles and practices of justice and representative democracy be extended, to answer this challenge, beyond the state contexts for which they were devised? This book argues that we should end our dubious romance with the nation-state in favour of a multi-form global system called Responsive Democracy. To this end, the book presents core components of (a) a theory of global justice that arises out of a critique of the influential political philosophy of John Rawls; (b) a theory of democratic representation that constitutes an alternative to the approach taken by Jurgen Habermas and his deliberative democratic followers; and (c) a theory of how political and moral ideals that are necessarily framed in abstract terms can help orient practice in messy, non-ideal conditions. Together, these three currents of this text form a novel approach to global justice and democracy. The concrete implications of this approach to constitutionalism, institutional design, and politics will be explored for four leading global institutions.
Craig T. Borowiak
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199778256
- eISBN:
- 9780199919086
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199778256.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory, International Relations and Politics
This chapter uses the eighteenth-century ratification debates between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists to reflect upon competing accountability tendencies inherent in representative democracy. ...
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This chapter uses the eighteenth-century ratification debates between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists to reflect upon competing accountability tendencies inherent in representative democracy. Both sets of authors conceived of electoral accountability mechanisms as part of a politics of control designed to manage the various gaps separating representatives from citizens. However, they had different understandings of what such a politics should entail. Counterintuitively, the Federalists believed that expanding the distances between citizens and representatives could actually enhance the accountability of government. The Anti-Federalists, by contrast, placed greater emphasis upon the pacifying effects accountability institutions can have upon citizens. They believed republican accountability depends on the active participation of diverse citizens, a form of participation that is undermined when government grows distant. Drawn together, these competing visions illustrate numerous pitfalls of institutional design and how republican appeals to accountability can be made to serve conflicting agendas. They demonstrate the need to balance the effects accountability institutions have on government with the effects they have on citizens.Less
This chapter uses the eighteenth-century ratification debates between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists to reflect upon competing accountability tendencies inherent in representative democracy. Both sets of authors conceived of electoral accountability mechanisms as part of a politics of control designed to manage the various gaps separating representatives from citizens. However, they had different understandings of what such a politics should entail. Counterintuitively, the Federalists believed that expanding the distances between citizens and representatives could actually enhance the accountability of government. The Anti-Federalists, by contrast, placed greater emphasis upon the pacifying effects accountability institutions can have upon citizens. They believed republican accountability depends on the active participation of diverse citizens, a form of participation that is undermined when government grows distant. Drawn together, these competing visions illustrate numerous pitfalls of institutional design and how republican appeals to accountability can be made to serve conflicting agendas. They demonstrate the need to balance the effects accountability institutions have on government with the effects they have on citizens.
Scott Barrett
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199211890
- eISBN:
- 9780191695827
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199211890.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, International
Climate change, nuclear proliferation, and the threat of a global pandemic have the potential to impact each of our lives. Preventing these threats poses a serious global challenge, but ignoring them ...
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Climate change, nuclear proliferation, and the threat of a global pandemic have the potential to impact each of our lives. Preventing these threats poses a serious global challenge, but ignoring them could have disastrous consequences. How do we engineer institutions to change incentives so that these global public goods are provided? This book provides an introduction to the issues surrounding the provision of global public goods. Using a variety of examples to illustrate past successes and failures, the book shows how international cooperation, institutional design, and the clever use of incentives can work together to ensure the effective delivery of global public goods.Less
Climate change, nuclear proliferation, and the threat of a global pandemic have the potential to impact each of our lives. Preventing these threats poses a serious global challenge, but ignoring them could have disastrous consequences. How do we engineer institutions to change incentives so that these global public goods are provided? This book provides an introduction to the issues surrounding the provision of global public goods. Using a variety of examples to illustrate past successes and failures, the book shows how international cooperation, institutional design, and the clever use of incentives can work together to ensure the effective delivery of global public goods.
Adrian Vermeule
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195333466
- eISBN:
- 9780199855384
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195333466.003.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law
This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of institutional design writ small. It considers the mechanisms of democracy, and proposes mechanisms that advance four core values of democratic ...
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This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of institutional design writ small. It considers the mechanisms of democracy, and proposes mechanisms that advance four core values of democratic constitutionalism: impartiality, accountability, transparency, and deliberation. The chapter then discusses the advancement of democratic values, disagreements about democratic values, the limiting conditions for democratic mechanisms, and the feasibility constraints on democratic reform. An overview of the subsequent chapters is presented.Less
This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of institutional design writ small. It considers the mechanisms of democracy, and proposes mechanisms that advance four core values of democratic constitutionalism: impartiality, accountability, transparency, and deliberation. The chapter then discusses the advancement of democratic values, disagreements about democratic values, the limiting conditions for democratic mechanisms, and the feasibility constraints on democratic reform. An overview of the subsequent chapters is presented.
Peter Leslie
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198296409
- eISBN:
- 9780191599989
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198296401.003.0011
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
Differentiated integration, e.g. arising out of the flexibility provisions of the Amsterdam Treaty, is a special instance of functional asymmetry within compound political systems such as federal ...
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Differentiated integration, e.g. arising out of the flexibility provisions of the Amsterdam Treaty, is a special instance of functional asymmetry within compound political systems such as federal states or the EU. Functional asymmetry exists when central decision‐making applies unevenly across the system; the system is asymmetrical in that some of the participants (provinces, member states) exercise greater powers than others. This chapter explores when and why such an arrangement may be acceptable to participants or may even be imposed (as with admission rules for EMU). It argues that states’ attitudes towards asymmetry may be shaped (1) by economic calculation (cost/benefit), (2) by possible tendency to link economic issues with non‐economic ones (democracy, human rights), or (3) by institutional design, which may permit matching of functional asymmetries with political ones (uneven participation in central decision‐making). In all three respects, the question arises, what is fair, or reasonable? Judgements on such matters are inherently subjective, but still may be the focus of reasoned discussion identifying two possible abuses of asymmetry: privilege and exclusion.Less
Differentiated integration, e.g. arising out of the flexibility provisions of the Amsterdam Treaty, is a special instance of functional asymmetry within compound political systems such as federal states or the EU. Functional asymmetry exists when central decision‐making applies unevenly across the system; the system is asymmetrical in that some of the participants (provinces, member states) exercise greater powers than others. This chapter explores when and why such an arrangement may be acceptable to participants or may even be imposed (as with admission rules for EMU). It argues that states’ attitudes towards asymmetry may be shaped (1) by economic calculation (cost/benefit), (2) by possible tendency to link economic issues with non‐economic ones (democracy, human rights), or (3) by institutional design, which may permit matching of functional asymmetries with political ones (uneven participation in central decision‐making). In all three respects, the question arises, what is fair, or reasonable? Judgements on such matters are inherently subjective, but still may be the focus of reasoned discussion identifying two possible abuses of asymmetry: privilege and exclusion.
Albert W. Dzur
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199874095
- eISBN:
- 9780199980024
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199874095.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Focusing contemporary democratic theory on the neglected topic of punishment, this book argues for increased civic engagement in criminal justice as an antidote to the American penal state. It ...
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Focusing contemporary democratic theory on the neglected topic of punishment, this book argues for increased civic engagement in criminal justice as an antidote to the American penal state. It considers how the jury may serve as a participatory institution that gathers and utilizes citizen’s juridical capabilities rather than merely expressing unreflective public opinion. In doing so, the book resists trends in criminal justice scholarship holding citizen participation to blame for greater penal severity, and it rejects the longstanding skepticism of lay abilities in political theory. It distinguishes a mass politics mobilized superficially around single issues from more constructive citizen involvement that takes responsibility for public problems. This more positive view of citizen action was once a major justification for the jury trial and is now also manifest in the restorative justice movement, which has incorporated laypeople into community boards and sentencing circles. Jury trials and restorative justice programs are examples of rational disorganization, in which lay citizen action renders a process less efficient yet also contributes valuable qualities such as attunement, reflectiveness, and full-bodied communication. While restorative justice programs and participatory policy forums such as citizens’ juries have become attractive to reformers, traditional juries have suffered a deep decline. This book advocates a broader role for jurors in the criminal courts and more widespread use of jury trials. Though no panacea for a political culture grown too comfortable with criminalization and incarceration, participatory institutional designs that rationally disorganize punishment practices and slow down criminal justice can increase civic responsibility and public awareness about the need to conceive alternative paths forward.Less
Focusing contemporary democratic theory on the neglected topic of punishment, this book argues for increased civic engagement in criminal justice as an antidote to the American penal state. It considers how the jury may serve as a participatory institution that gathers and utilizes citizen’s juridical capabilities rather than merely expressing unreflective public opinion. In doing so, the book resists trends in criminal justice scholarship holding citizen participation to blame for greater penal severity, and it rejects the longstanding skepticism of lay abilities in political theory. It distinguishes a mass politics mobilized superficially around single issues from more constructive citizen involvement that takes responsibility for public problems. This more positive view of citizen action was once a major justification for the jury trial and is now also manifest in the restorative justice movement, which has incorporated laypeople into community boards and sentencing circles. Jury trials and restorative justice programs are examples of rational disorganization, in which lay citizen action renders a process less efficient yet also contributes valuable qualities such as attunement, reflectiveness, and full-bodied communication. While restorative justice programs and participatory policy forums such as citizens’ juries have become attractive to reformers, traditional juries have suffered a deep decline. This book advocates a broader role for jurors in the criminal courts and more widespread use of jury trials. Though no panacea for a political culture grown too comfortable with criminalization and incarceration, participatory institutional designs that rationally disorganize punishment practices and slow down criminal justice can increase civic responsibility and public awareness about the need to conceive alternative paths forward.
Rein Taagepera
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199287741
- eISBN:
- 9780191713408
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199287741.003.0017
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
We now expect to be able to fine-tune simple electoral laws to effect party systems and government stability positively, but we still need to be cautious. We should not expect to be able to tailor ...
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We now expect to be able to fine-tune simple electoral laws to effect party systems and government stability positively, but we still need to be cautious. We should not expect to be able to tailor complex electoral laws to desired goals. In institutional design, we need to consider marginal adjustments rather than flipping to completely different electoral laws. We should consider keeping the same electoral laws for at least three elections before changing them. Political science has been an intellectual field separate from politics, but the two may now start to connect, thanks to advances in the study of electoral systems and party systems.Less
We now expect to be able to fine-tune simple electoral laws to effect party systems and government stability positively, but we still need to be cautious. We should not expect to be able to tailor complex electoral laws to desired goals. In institutional design, we need to consider marginal adjustments rather than flipping to completely different electoral laws. We should consider keeping the same electoral laws for at least three elections before changing them. Political science has been an intellectual field separate from politics, but the two may now start to connect, thanks to advances in the study of electoral systems and party systems.
Kenneth A. Armstrong
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199278374
- eISBN:
- 9780191594861
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199278374.003.0008
- Subject:
- Law, EU Law
A decade of the Lisbon strategy and of policy coordination through the OMC has produced little change in the number of households at risk of income poverty. Meanwhile the economic recession following ...
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A decade of the Lisbon strategy and of policy coordination through the OMC has produced little change in the number of households at risk of income poverty. Meanwhile the economic recession following a global financial crisis has threatened to wipe out past gains. It is against this economic background, together with a changed legal and institutional context, and a new policy context — Europe 2020 — that this chapter evaluates how to strengthen EU intervention. It cautions against assumptions that strengthening implies hardening the social OMC, either by turning to ‘hard law’ or mimicking treaty-based coordination processes. Rather, it suggests that the task for policymakers is to learn the specific lessons of a decade of experience in order to improve the institutional design of coordination processes, including adoption of ‘hybrid’ solutions. Impulses to centralize decision-making ought to be resisted.Less
A decade of the Lisbon strategy and of policy coordination through the OMC has produced little change in the number of households at risk of income poverty. Meanwhile the economic recession following a global financial crisis has threatened to wipe out past gains. It is against this economic background, together with a changed legal and institutional context, and a new policy context — Europe 2020 — that this chapter evaluates how to strengthen EU intervention. It cautions against assumptions that strengthening implies hardening the social OMC, either by turning to ‘hard law’ or mimicking treaty-based coordination processes. Rather, it suggests that the task for policymakers is to learn the specific lessons of a decade of experience in order to improve the institutional design of coordination processes, including adoption of ‘hybrid’ solutions. Impulses to centralize decision-making ought to be resisted.
Cristina E. Parau
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780197266403
- eISBN:
- 9780191879593
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197266403.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Legal Profession and Ethics
Studies of the fate of Judiciaries in post-Communist Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) have been rare and attempts at causal explanation rarer. This study found that interlocked transnational ...
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Studies of the fate of Judiciaries in post-Communist Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) have been rare and attempts at causal explanation rarer. This study found that interlocked transnational networking empowered a minority of elite Judiciary revisionists to entrench their institutional template in Eastern European constitutions, setting these transitional democracies on a trajectory toward a global trend of the judicialization of politics. The first, crucial step in that process is traced: the formal disempowerment of democracy through Judiciary revisions that ordinary people and politicians in Central and Eastern Europe little heeded. The causal nexus converging on this outcome is explained. Why it matters is because the revisionist template reorients that most venerable of non-majoritarian institutions beyond adjudication of the guilt or innocence of subjects of state power under legal certainty – the classical role of modern courts – toward the improvisation of public policy, with or without the consent of the majority of the governed, by ‘finding’ it in constitutions; the unique legitimacy of which derives from the prior ratification of a supermajority. The question of who shall have the final disposition of contested constitutional meaning – the Executive, Legislature, Judiciary, the People, or All of these – implicates sovereignty itself and whom it shall rest on: the last word is sovereign for practical purposes. The interdisciplinarity of this study will appeal to a wide audience: scholars of law and politics and socio-legal studies, social scientists researching elite transnationalism and European integration beyond the EU, even institutional design practitioners.Less
Studies of the fate of Judiciaries in post-Communist Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) have been rare and attempts at causal explanation rarer. This study found that interlocked transnational networking empowered a minority of elite Judiciary revisionists to entrench their institutional template in Eastern European constitutions, setting these transitional democracies on a trajectory toward a global trend of the judicialization of politics. The first, crucial step in that process is traced: the formal disempowerment of democracy through Judiciary revisions that ordinary people and politicians in Central and Eastern Europe little heeded. The causal nexus converging on this outcome is explained. Why it matters is because the revisionist template reorients that most venerable of non-majoritarian institutions beyond adjudication of the guilt or innocence of subjects of state power under legal certainty – the classical role of modern courts – toward the improvisation of public policy, with or without the consent of the majority of the governed, by ‘finding’ it in constitutions; the unique legitimacy of which derives from the prior ratification of a supermajority. The question of who shall have the final disposition of contested constitutional meaning – the Executive, Legislature, Judiciary, the People, or All of these – implicates sovereignty itself and whom it shall rest on: the last word is sovereign for practical purposes. The interdisciplinarity of this study will appeal to a wide audience: scholars of law and politics and socio-legal studies, social scientists researching elite transnationalism and European integration beyond the EU, even institutional design practitioners.
