lecture 8 - Democracies in TransitionaI: Domestic and Transnational Challenges

Question 1

Mixed electoral system:

Answer 1

• an electoral system that uses a combination of single-member districts and proportional representation
  
  • Two common variants:
    
    • parallel voting
    • Mixed member proportional

Question 2

what are the pillars of liberal democracy

Answer 2

participation, competition and liberty, can be practised directly or indirectly
shaped by economic, political, social and international forces,
have three branches of government but these can differ in how their executive , legislative and judicial institutions are constructed

Question 3

how does technology effect politics?

Answer 3

• control on our political behaviour
• tech oligarchs influencing political information, communication, voting

Question 4

Outline the Pessimistic view on democracy

Answer 4

• social media are “one of the biggest reasons for democracies weakening”
• misinformation, the rise of populism, polarization, and democratic decay.
• ## amplify radical content

Question 5

what does a move to information integrity aim to achieve?

Answer 5

Used by the United Nations (UN) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as a positive approach to a safely navigable information sphere with access to trustworthy information for all, the concept as understood by the UN and the OECD emphasises protecting freedom of expression.

Question 6

what is the impact of EU Charter of Fundamental Rights

Answer 6

Chapter 2, Article 11, which stipulates that freedom of expression includes freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference. It is also in line with Article 19 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)

Question 7

Define populism

Answer 7

a political view that does not have a consistent ideological foundation, but that emphasizes hostility toward elites and established state and economic institutions and favors greater power in the hands of the public.
a) A political ideology > or rather: set of ideas
b) A political strategy > how politics is done
c) A discursive political style > how ideas are formulated and articulated

Question 8

describe the nature of Populism as an ideology

Answer 8

• ‘Thin-centered ideology’ (or ‘kind of mental map’): a relatively coherent, but narrow set of beliefs, flexible, adaptable, eclectic, which the defining ones are:
  
  • The dichotomy between the ‘pure people’ and the ‘corrupt elite’,
    Anti-pluralism and, according to most analysts, authoritarian political
    dispositions.

Question 9

what is the difference between left and right wing populism

Answer 9

left-wing populists (Syriza, Podemos) posit the people against the economic, rather than the cultural elite, and they generally do not share the ethno-national sentiments that characterise the predominant part of

right wing populism, including the Populist radical Right = dominant variant of populism

Question 10

Why the rise in populism?

Answer 10

• impact of globalisation
• social and economic uncertainty and insecurity
• Meritocracy, immigration
• failed promises of democracy