Building Global Democracy

The transition and consolidation of democracy in Southeast Asia has proven fragile and tenuous some 30 years after the current wave of democratization began. A critical ingredient in the process of democratization is the role of public opinion and the ext

Recent events in Europe and Latin America have triggered serious debate over federalism. In response, political scientists have turned to the new institutionalism literature in the attempt to understand both the causes and the consequences of federal inst

Recent cross-national studies have returned their attention to the structural determinants of political regimes, highlighting in particular the factor of as a decisive barrier to democratization. This article provides the first systematic test of such hyp

Many advanced liberal democracies exhibit 'democracy deserts' in which high levels of social exclusion among large sections of the population are compounded by low levels of democratic engagement. How to reverse declining levels of electoral participation

One of Africa's main challenges is ensuring that constitutions reflect a consensus amongst all sectors of the population, including vulnerable groups such as women, are rarely taken into account in constitutional strengthening initiatives.

Legitimate concerns have been expressed over what Harper has asked of the Governor General. The most compelling, in my view, is that Jean's approval of the prorogation request sets a dangerous precedent in which a Prime Minister may seek prorogation or di

Cambodia could be the latest Asian country to adopt tighter laws governing the activities of local and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) -- a move many believe will put further pressure on the country's already fragile democratic space.

This article advances the argument that there is a distinct ideology of Human Rights embedded in the International Bill of Rights (IBR). Instead of contrasting ideologies in terms of their stance on equality and liberty, it suggests employing three dimens

In Nigeria, as in other societies, there is, and there has always been a women's movement or more correctly women's movements. These existed before, during and after colonialism. Many of these may probably not fit into the conventional definition of a mov

Western democracies have seen a setback both in law and in practice, Callamard said. "Most of Western Europe and the U.S. have seen a setback through new legislation and new powers given to the police and the state. That is a part of a wide range of setba

The forum defines Asia along geographic rather than cultural lines in an attempt to bridge civilizational schisms, notes Benjamin Reilly, director of the Centre for Democratic Institutions at the Australian National University, an approach which includes

The Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), signed after eight months of rancorous negotiations, is categorical and unconditional. America's bid to act as the world's only super-power and to establish quasi-colonial control of Iraq, an attempt that began with

The US has a track record in guiding chaotic states toward vibrant democracies in Taiwan and South Korea, and can do so again, although the challenges are greater considering round-the-clock news coverage as well as the many complications associated with

The theme of the conference - Global Governance for Sustainable Development - was chosen soon after the Conference on Insecurity and Development was held in Bonn in 2005. The Bonn conference had shown that there were more threats to human security than wa

This article addresses recent theoretical discussion about the state under conditions of globalisation, focusing in particular on recently popular 'world state' theory, as articulated by Martin Shaw and Alexander Wendt. It suggests that while world state

Shortcomings in the prevailing discourse of 'failed states' and the practical challenges of international state-building are examined in this article through a detailed case study of the Solomon Islands, a small independent Pacific island country that sin

Just when the nation-state appeared to be waning in significance, national sovereignty is back in the spotlight. The issue takes on special urgency in the United States, where sovereign right has been proclaimed persistently by the president in an attempt

This essay focuses on the cultural literacy that popular songs of lament in the Philippines in the1970s and 1980s created and depended on and discusses the way this cultural literacy contributed to the popular revolt against the dictatorship in 1986. I fo

Rising energy costs and the eco-social consequences of climate change are causing anxieties about the future to increase, while trust in the ability of political elites to solve these problems is evaporating. Reaching eco-political targets calls for more

American officials - without any trace of irony - label Iran as militaristic, aggressive, expansionist, interventionist, even as hegemonic and imperialistic. The media often echo this, depicting Iran as a cross between the Persian Empire and the Third Rei