Building Global Democracy

This article argues that a political reading of mobility is instrumental for understanding the role of democracy within globalised structures of power. Relegated to a socio-economic background that prompts new engagements with democracy, mobility has been

I wish to address the sources of international society's reticence, and the tensions to which its promotion of democracy currently gives rise. It is now commonplace for national governments routinely to affirm their intent to 'continue to promote and supp

To properly comprehend democracy's present and future role in politics, particularly in regards to processes of democratisation and democracy promotion, we must cultivate a more nuanced reading of democracy's past. Needed is `a radical historicisation of

Much current thinking about democracy and how it can be promoted is based on myths about how democracy was achieved in the West. For example, the association of economic openness with democratisation - the focus of a vast literature and the rationale for

Contemporary normative debates about democracy beyond nation-states have largely centred on the claims of two broad camps: the `liberal cosmopolitans' and the `deliberative democrats'. This article offers an alternative perspective developed from the work

Democracy and tragedy were intrinsically linked during the time of the Athenian city-state. But though vital at the time, this symbiosis is largely forgotten today. We address this puzzling silence. What was it about democracy that encouraged, even needed

International Relations (IR) needs democratising. Currently, IR theorising remains under the hegemony of a singular worldview (`warre of all against all') with a singular logic (`conversion or discipline') for all actors and activities. This top-down, sta

The end of the cold war brought with it arguments in favour of international institutional and legal mechanisms that would protect democracy worldwide. These arguments have by no means been confined to the academic departments of international law or poli

What should the relationship between citizens and the law in a liberal democracy look like? The idea that citizens should be associated with the laws that govern them is a cornerstone of democratic theory. Yet the specific nature of this relationship has

The problems and prospects of the expansion of democracy at international, transnational and/or global levels were the focus of numerous fascinating and penetrating analyses by the participants in the 2008 Millennium Conference. However, there were also a

In the seven and a half years since September 11, the United States has witnessed one of the greatest expansions of executive authority in its history, at the expense of the constitutionally mandated separation of powers. President Obama, as only the thir

The failure of authoritarian and totalitarian regimes spurred a global surge in democratization in the 1980s. However, efforts at democratization have been challenged by path-dependent institutional and political variables that can inhibit the growth of w

There are many patterns of internal conflict identified in the Third World-"economically vulnerable," "politically vulnerable,""heterogeneous-parochial," and "egalitarian-distributive"-and the sheer variety of these indicates that internal conflict is a c

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 20 (IPS) - Ahead of the annual meetings of the world's biggest international financial institutions this weekend, calls are growing for the United Nations to take new initiatives on financing for development in poor countries. "There

After nearly a year of seemingly endless talks brokered by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Zimbabwe's long-ruling ZANU-PF party and the two factions of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) formed a coalition government in

President Barack Obama pledged in his first TV interview-with the Arab satellite channel Al Arabiya-that America under his watch would "listen with respect and not dictate" to the world. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has further announced that this c

WASHINGTON, Apr 24 (IPS) - A massive overhaul of U.S. development assistance is needed, says a new report from an influential Washington think tank. While the "heightened rhetorical attention" given to democracy issues by George W. Bush's administration w

As the global financial crisis emanating from the United States shuts down world markets, can globalization survive? Will the resurgent intrusion of the state-and thus politics-into the market lead to protectionism and collapse, as was the case in the ear

President Barack Obama pledged in his first TV interview-with the Arab satellite channel Al Arabiya-that America under his watch would "listen with respect and not dictate" to the world. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has further announced that this c

URL: http://www.jamestown.org/uploads/media/GeorgiaCrisisTorbakov.pdf. Source: Jamestown Foundation. The August 2008 Russia-Georgia war has triggered some major shifts in regional geopolitics. The Caucasus crisis also directly affected the relationship