Local Democracy Denied? : A Personal Journey into Local Government In Malaysia
Local Democracy Denied? : A Personal Journey into Local Government In Malaysia

Author: Lim Mah Hui

Publisher: Strategic Information and Research Development Centre

Published: 2020-01-16

Total Pages: 161

ISBN-13: 9672165846

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There are plenty of books on federal government and politics in Malaysia, but very few on local government. Yet it is the level of government that is closest to us and impacts our lives most directly, and is the one least understood by the average person in the street. This book addresses that problem. Local Democracy Denied? takes a unique and comprehensive approach to discussing local government – one that is political, analytical, personal, historical, and forward looking. It begins with the author’s personal journey to becoming a councillor for six years on the Penang Island City Council, as a representative of civil society. It then provides a brief history of how local government in Malaysia evolved from the election to selection of local councillors. There follows an examination of the structure of local government, its relationship with state governments, and some of the crucial functions it performs – planning, enforcement, and provision of urban services, filled with real stories of how council decisions are made and implemented, and the frequent gap between the two. The book ends with a call to revive local democracy by strengthening public participation in local government, empowering it and restoring local elections preferably based on proportional representation rather than first-past-the-post. About the Author After careers in academia and banking which took him from New York to Jakarta, Singapore and Manila. Dr. Lim Mah Hui returned to Penang and was nominated a city councillor on Penang Island City Council for six years (2011-16) representing Penang Forum. He has actively spoken out and worked for a more economically balanced and environmentally sustainable development in Penang.

Democracy Denied
Democracy Denied

Author: Phil Kerpen

Publisher: BenBella Books, Inc.

Published: 2011-10-11

Total Pages: 357

ISBN-13: 193666139X

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Democracy Denied by Americans for Prosperity vice president Phil Kerpen is a guide to understanding and defeating the radical agenda that President Barack Obama is implementing by unilateral regulatory action through his agencies and czars. Democracy Denied exposes the Obama administration's agenda that disregards the American people, Congress, and the U.S. Constitution—and offers a plan of action to stop it.

Democracy Denied, 1905-1915
Democracy Denied, 1905-1915

Author: Charles KURZMAN

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2009-06-30

Total Pages: 405

ISBN-13: 0674039858

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Kurzman proposes that the collective agent most directly responsible for democratization was the emerging class of modern intellectuals, a group that had gained a global identity and a near-messianic sense of mission following the Dreyfus Affair of 1898. Each chapter of this book focuses on a single angle of this story, covering all six cases by examining newspaper accounts, memoirs, and government reports.

Delta Democracy
Delta Democracy

Author: Catherine E. Herrold

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2020-03-18

Total Pages: 225

ISBN-13: 0190093250

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The 2011 Arab Spring protests seemed to mark a turning point in Middle East politics, away from authoritarianism and toward democracy. Within a few years, however, most observers saw the protests as a failure given the outbreak of civil wars and re-emergence of authoritarian strongmen in countries like Egypt. But in Delta Democracy, Catherine E. Herrold argues that we should not overlook the ongoing mobilization taking place in grassroots civil society. Drawing upon ethnographic research on Egypt's nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the wake of the uprisings, Herrold uncovers the strategies that local NGOs used to build a more democratic and just society. Departing from US-based democracy advocates' attempts to reform national political institutions, local Egyptian organizations worked with communities to build a culture of democracy through public discussion, debate, and collective action. At present, these forms of participatory democracy are more attainable than establishing fair elections or parliaments, and they are helping Egyptians regain a sense of freedom that they have been denied as the long-time subjects of a dictator. Delta Democracy advances our understanding of how civil society organizations maneuver under state repression in order to combat authoritarianism. It also offers a concrete set of recommendations on how US policymakers can restructure foreign aid to better help local community organizations fighting to expand democracy.

Freedom in the World 2018
Freedom in the World 2018

Author: Freedom House

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2019-01-31

Total Pages: 1265

ISBN-13: 1538112035

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Freedom in the World, the Freedom House flagship survey whose findings have been published annually since 1972, is the standard-setting comparative assessment of global political rights and civil liberties. The survey ratings and narrative reports on 195 countries and fifteen territories are used by policymakers, the media, international corporations, civic activists, and human rights defenders to monitor trends in democracy and track improvements and setbacks in freedom worldwide. The Freedom in the World political rights and civil liberties ratings are determined through a multi-layered process of research and evaluation by a team of regional analysts and eminent scholars. The analysts used a broad range of sources of information, including foreign and domestic news reports, academic studies, nongovernmental organizations, think tanks, individual professional contacts, and visits to the region, in conducting their research. The methodology of the survey is derived in large measure from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and these standards are applied to all countries and territories, irrespective of geographical location, ethnic or religious composition, or level of economic development.

Land, the State, and War
Land, the State, and War

Author: Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2021-09-09

Total Pages: 231

ISBN-13: 1108639798

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Although today's richest countries tend to have long histories of secure private property rights, legal-titling projects do little to improve the economic and political well-being of those in the developing world. This book employs a historical narrative based on secondary literature, fieldwork across thirty villages, and a nationally representative survey to explore how private property institutions develop, how they are maintained, and their relationship to the state and state-building within the context of Afghanistan. In this predominantly rural society, citizens cannot rely on the state to enforce their claims to ownership. Instead, they rely on community-based land registration, which has a long and stable history and is often more effective at protecting private property rights than state registration. In addition to contributing significantly to the literature on Afghanistan, this book makes a valuable contribution to the literature on property rights and state governance from the new institutional economics perspective.

Democracy Denied
Democracy Denied

Author: Nicholas Thomas

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-12-17

Total Pages: 333

ISBN-13: 0429859503

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Published in 1999, this book is designed to provide the reader with a detailed understanding of Hong Kong’s social and political development. It offers a contemporary, holistic understanding of Hong Kong, which will not only complement existing works but also provide the reader with a solid foundation for understanding future developments in the territory. The book is divided into three sections: Identity, Civil Society and Politics. The first two sections provide a discrete understanding of the issues involved. This analysis is then utilised to explain the particular path of political development Hong Kong experienced in the 1980s and 1990s. Due to the in-depth analysis provided this work will be of use either to academics or to members of the general public seeking to understand the development of Hong Kong.

Decentralization and Local Democracy in the World
Decentralization and Local Democracy in the World

Author: United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG)

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2008-11-04

Total Pages: 350

ISBN-13: 0821377353

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'Decentralization and Local Democracy in the World' constitutes a global reference on decentralization by presenting the contemporary situation of local governments in all regions of the world. The report analyzes local authorities in each continent under three main themes: the evolution of territorial structures; responsibilities and power, management and finances; and local democracy. An additional chapter is dedicated to the governance of large metropolises, where rapid growth presents major challenges, in particular in the fast-developing countries of the South. This report also offers a comparative overview of the different realities concerning the state of decentralization, and how the basic indispensable mechansims for local democracy do, or do not exist in come countries. Relationships between the state and local authorities are evolving toward innovative forms of cooperation. In this context, the role of local authorities in the development of global policies is increasingly recognized. The first Global Observatory on Local Democracy and Decentralization (GOLD) Report is one of the main products of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG). The GOLD Report is the first of what will be a triennial publication. UCLG represents and defends the interests of local governments on the world stage, regardless of the size of the communities they serve. Headquartered in Barcelona, the organization's stated mission is: To be the united voice and world advocate of democratic local self-government, promoting its values, objectives and interests, through cooperation between local governments, and within the wider international community.

On Democracy's Doorstep
On Democracy's Doorstep

Author: J. Douglas Smith

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 385

ISBN-13: 0809074230

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"The inside story of the Supreme Court decisions that brought true democracy to the United States Today, Earl Warren is recalled as the chief justice of a Supreme Court that introduced school desegregation and other dramatic changes to American society. In retirement, however, Warren argued that his court's greatest accomplishment was establishing the principle of "one person, one vote" in state legislative and congressional redistricting. Malapportionment, Warren recognized, subverted the will of the majority, privileging rural voters, and often business interests and whites, over others. In declaring nearly all state legislatures unconstitutional, the court oversaw a revolution that transformed the exercise of political power in the United States. On Democracy's Doorstep tells the story of this crucial--and neglected--episode. J. Douglas Smith follows lawyers, activists, and Justice Department officials as they approach the court. We see Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy pushing for radical change and idealistic lawyers in Alabama bravely defying their peers. We then watch as the justices edge toward their momentous decision. The Washington Post called the result a step "toward establishing democracy in the United States." But not everyone agreed; Smith shows that business lobbies and their political allies attempted to overturn the court by calling the first Constitutional Convention since the 1780s. Thirty-three states ratified their petition--just one short of the two-thirds required"--

Corporations and American Democracy
Corporations and American Democracy

Author: Naomi R. Lamoreaux

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2017-05-08

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 0674977718

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Recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Citizens United and other high-profile cases have sparked passionate disagreement about the proper role of corporations in American democracy. Partisans on both sides have made bold claims, often with little basis in historical facts. Bringing together leading scholars of history, law, and political science, Corporations and American Democracy provides the historical and intellectual grounding necessary to put today’s corporate policy debates in proper context. From the nation’s founding to the present, Americans have regarded corporations with ambivalence—embracing their potential to revolutionize economic life and yet remaining wary of their capacity to undermine democratic institutions. Although corporations were originally created to give businesses and other associations special legal rights and privileges, historically they were denied many of the constitutional protections afforded flesh-and-blood citizens. This comprehensive volume covers a range of topics, including the origins of corporations in English and American law, the historical shift from special charters to general incorporation, the increased variety of corporations that this shift made possible, and the roots of modern corporate regulation in the Progressive Era and New Deal. It also covers the evolution of judicial views of corporate rights, particularly since corporations have become the form of choice for an increasing variety of nonbusiness organizations, including political advocacy groups. Ironically, in today’s global economy the decline of large, vertically integrated corporations—the type of corporation that past reform movements fought so hard to regulate—poses some of the newest challenges to effective government oversight of the economy.