The Civil Service in Liberal Democracies
The Civil Service in Liberal Democracies

Author: John Kingdom

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-09-13

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13: 1136108122

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The civil service provides the administrative infrastructure of western government. Its functions are central to any question of efficiency, the distribution of power in the state, the role of the state in society and the operation of democracy itself. When such issues transcend national boundaries a comparative perspective is invaluable. This book provides the first comprehensive study of civil services in the West. Aimed at first year students and above, the book applies a common framework of analysis to the study of each country's political setting, historical background, political executive, structure, bureaucracy, control, accountability, management and policy-making. The book is a timely and comprehensive introduction to this vital but neglected area of study. Countries covered include: Britain, Ireland, Canada, France, Italy, Sweden, United States and West Germany.

Civil Servants and Politics
Civil Servants and Politics

Author: C. Neuhold

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2013-03-25

Total Pages: 414

ISBN-13: 1137316810

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This comparative study focuses on the changing relations between civil servants and politicians in the European Union in the last two decades. As well as national case studies this book also looks into politico-administrative relations in supranational institutions such as the European Commission and the European Parliament.

Faith, Nationalism, and the Future of Liberal Democracy
Faith, Nationalism, and the Future of Liberal Democracy

Author: David M. Elcott

Publisher: University of Notre Dame Pess

Published: 2021-05-01

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 0268200599

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Faith, Nationalism, and the Future of Liberal Democracy highlights the use of religious identity to fuel the rise of illiberal, nationalist, and populist democracy. In Faith, Nationalism, and the Future of Liberal Democracy, David Elcott, C. Colt Anderson, Tobias Cremer, and Volker Haarmann present a pragmatic and modernist exploration of how religion engages in the public square. Elcott and his co-authors are concerned about the ways religious identity is being used to foster the exclusion of individuals and communities from citizenship, political representation, and a role in determining public policy. They examine the ways religious identity is weaponized to fuel populist revolts against a political, social, and economic order that values democracy in a global and strikingly diverse world. Included is a history and political analysis of religion, politics, and policies in Europe and the United States that foster this illiberal rebellion. The authors explore what constitutes a constructive religious voice in the political arena, even in nurturing patriotism and democracy, and what undermines and threatens liberal democracies. To lay the groundwork for a religious response, the book offers chapters showing how Catholicism, Protestantism, and Judaism can nourish liberal democracy. The authors encourage people of faith to promote foundational support for the institutions and values of the democratic enterprise from within their own religious traditions and to stand against the hostility and cruelty that historically have resulted when religious zealotry and state power combine. Faith, Nationalism, and the Future of Liberal Democracy is intended for readers who value democracy and are concerned about growing threats to it, and especially for people of faith and religious leaders, as well as for scholars of political science, religion, and democracy.

The UK's Changing Democracy
The UK's Changing Democracy

Author: Patrick Dunleavy

Publisher: LSE Press

Published: 2018-11-01

Total Pages: 521

ISBN-13: 1909890464

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The UK’s Changing Democracy presents a uniquely democratic perspective on all aspects of UK politics, at the centre in Westminster and Whitehall, and in all the devolved nations. The 2016 referendum vote to leave the EU marked a turning point in the UK’s political system. In the previous two decades, the country had undergone a series of democratic reforms, during which it seemed to evolve into a more typical European liberal democracy. The establishment of a Supreme Court, adoption of the Human Rights Act, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish devolution, proportional electoral systems, executive mayors and the growth in multi-party competition all marked profound changes to the British political tradition. Brexit may now bring some of these developments to a juddering halt. The UK’s previous ‘exceptionalism’ from European patterns looks certain to continue indefinitely. ‘Taking back control’ of regulations, trade, immigration and much more is the biggest change in UK governance for half a century. It has already produced enduring crises for the party system, Parliament and the core executive, with uniquely contested governance over critical issues, and a rapidly changing political landscape. Other recent trends are no less fast-moving, such as the revival of two-party dominance in England, the re-creation of some mass membership parties and the disruptive challenges of social media. In this context, an in-depth assessment of the quality of the UK’s democracy is essential. Each of the 2018 Democratic Audit’s 37 short chapters starts with clear criteria for what democracy requires in that part of the nation’s political life and outlines key recent developments before a SWOT analysis (of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) crystallises the current situation. A small number of core issues are then explored in more depth. Set against the global rise of debased semi-democracies, the book’s approach returns our focus firmly to the big issues around the quality and sustainability of the UK’s liberal democracy.

Civil Society in Liberal Democracy
Civil Society in Liberal Democracy

Author: Mark Jensen

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2011-05-09

Total Pages: 217

ISBN-13: 1136727655

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In this contribution to contemporary political philosophy, Jensen aims to develop a model of civil society for deliberative democracy. In the course of developing the model, he also provides a thorough account of the meaning and use of "civil society" in contemporary scholarship as well as a critical review of rival models, including those found in the work of scholars such as John Rawls, Jurgen Habermas, Michael Walzer, Benjamin Barber, and Nancy Rosenblum. Jensen's own ideal treats civil society as both the context in which citizens live out their comprehensive views of the good life as well as the context in which citizens learn to be good deliberative democrats. According to his idealization, groups of citizens in civil society are actively engaged in a grand conversation about the nature of the good life. Their commitment to this conversation grounds dispositions of epistemic humility, tolerance, curiosity, and moderation. Moreover, their regard for the grand conversation explains their interest in deliberative democracy and their regard for democratic virtues, principles, and practices. Jensen is not a naive utopian, however; he argues that this ideal must be realized in stages, that it faces a variety of barriers, and that it cannot be realized without luck.

Beyond Liberal Democracy
Beyond Liberal Democracy

Author: Daniel A. Bell

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2009-01-10

Total Pages: 395

ISBN-13: 1400827469

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Is liberal democracy appropriate for East Asia? In this provocative book, Daniel Bell argues for morally legitimate alternatives to Western-style liberal democracy in the region. Beyond Liberal Democracy, which continues the author's influential earlier work, is divided into three parts that correspond to the three main hallmarks of liberal democracy--human rights, democracy, and capitalism. These features have been modified substantially during their transmission to East Asian societies that have been shaped by nonliberal practices and values. Bell points to the dangers of implementing Western-style models and proposes alternative justifications and practices that may be more appropriate for East Asian societies. If human rights, democracy, and capitalism are to take root and produce beneficial outcomes in East Asia, Bell argues, they must be adjusted to contemporary East Asian political and economic realities and to the values of nonliberal East Asian political traditions such as Confucianism and Legalism. Local knowledge is therefore essential for realistic and morally informed contributions to debates on political reform in the region, as well as for mutual learning and enrichment of political theories. Beyond Liberal Democracy is indispensable reading for students and scholars of political theory, Asian studies, and human rights, as well as anyone concerned about China's political and economic future and how Western governments and organizations should engage with China.

The Pitfalls of Liberal Democracy and Late Nationalism in South Africa
The Pitfalls of Liberal Democracy and Late Nationalism in South Africa

Author: M. Muiu

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2008-12-08

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 0230617271

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This book compares African and Afrikaner nationalisms to demonstrate that the transition from apartheid to liberal democracy in South Africa was a neo-colonial settlement that left the economy and the military and security sectors under the control of the white minority, while increasing wide socioeconomic disparities between rich and poor.

Calvin in the Public Square
Calvin in the Public Square

Author: David W. Hall

Publisher: P & R Publishing

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 343

ISBN-13: 9781596380998

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This book examines Calvin's contribution to the rise and development of primarily the Genevan, British, and American political traditions. To show this, Hall traces the development of Calvinist political thought from its roots in Augustine and Calvin's own life, to its expression in the Institutes, and finally, to the way his followers appropriated his ideas into public policy especially in Britain and America. --from publisher description.

Democracy, Participation and Contestation
Democracy, Participation and Contestation

Author: Emmanuelle Avril

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-08-07

Total Pages: 357

ISBN-13: 1317750764

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The establishment of democracy on both sides of the Atlantic has not been a smooth evolution towards an idealized presumed endpoint. Far from it, democratization has been marked by setbacks and victories, a process often referred to as ‘contested democracy’. In view of recent mobilizations such as the Arab Spring and the Occupy movement, in which new technologies have played a key role, there is a need for a renewed analysis of the long-term evolution of US and UK political systems. Using new areas of research, this book argues that the ideals and the practices of Anglo-American democracy can be best understood by studying diverse forms of participation, which go beyond classical expressions of contestation and dissent such as voting. The authors analyze political parties, social movements, communications and social media, governance, cultural diversity, identity politics, public-private actors and social cohesion to illustrate how the structure and context of popular participation play a significant role in whether, and when, citizens ́ efforts have any meaningful impact on those who exercise political power. In doing so, the authors take crucial steps towards understanding how a vigorous public sphere and popular sovereignty can be made to work in today’s global environment. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of political science, British and US history, democracy, political participation, governance, social movements and politics.

Philosophy, Law and Culture of Liberal Democracy and the Authoritarian Challenge
Philosophy, Law and Culture of Liberal Democracy and the Authoritarian Challenge

Author: Suri Ratnapala

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published: 2024-07-11

Total Pages: 426

ISBN-13: 1527570819

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Liberal democracy is the great legacy of the Enlightenment; it has reduced world poverty, increased life expectancy, enriched lives by every measure of wellbeing and enlarged our moral compass. Yet, external threats to liberal democracy are posed by totalitarian regimes and their allies seeking to remake the world in their image, and internal pressures arise from opposition to liberal principles from the extremities of the ideological spectrum: radicalism on the left and nativist populism on the right. The defence of liberal democracy requires understanding of its foundational principles, epistemological norms, institutional framework, cultural underpinnings and economic settings. This book argues that the defence of liberal democracy against rising authoritarianism is the great moral imperative of our time. This work combines extensive legal analysis with the history and philosophy of liberal constitutionalism, institutional economics and ethical reasoning. It engages with opposing schools of thought, including radical critical theory and authoritarian ideologies of the right. The book is highly instructive on administrative and constitutional law, the epistemology and ethics of political liberalism and the nature and immediacy of the domestic and external threats to liberal democracy and fundamental rights and freedoms.