International Actors, Democratization and the Rule of Law


Book Description

Explores how external influences and international actors can help hybrid regimes, which display minimal elements of an electoral democracy, to be transformed into a quality democracy.







Democracy and the Rule of Law


Book Description

This book addresses the question of why governments sometimes follow the law and other times choose to evade the law. The traditional answer of jurists has been that laws have an autonomous causal efficacy: law rules when actions follow anterior norms; the relation between laws and actions is one of obedience, obligation, or compliance. Contrary to this conception, the authors defend a positive interpretation where the rule of law results from the strategic choices of relevant actors. Rule of law is just one possible outcome in which political actors process their conflicts using whatever resources they can muster: only when these actors seek to resolve their conflicts by recourse to la, does law rule. What distinguishes 'rule-of-law' as an institutional equilibrium from 'rule-by-law' is the distribution of power. The former emerges when no one group is strong enough to dominate the others and when the many use institutions to promote their interest.




Rule of Law Dynamics


Book Description

This volume explores the various strategies, mechanisms and processes that influence rule of law dynamics across borders and the national/international divide, illuminating the diverse paths of influence. It shows to what extent, and how, rule of law dynamics have changed in recent years, especially at the transnational and international levels of government. To explore these interactive dynamics, the volume adopts an interdisciplinary approach, bringing together the normative perspective of law with the analytical perspective of social sciences. The volume contributes to several fields, including studies of rule of law, law and development, and good governance; democratization; globalization studies; neo-institutionalism and judicial studies; international law, transnational governance and the emerging literature on judicial reforms in authoritarian regimes; and comparative law (Islamic, African, Asian, Latin American legal systems).




The Politics of Memory


Book Description

One of the most important political and ethical questions faced during a political transition from authoritarian or totalitarian to democratic rule is how to deal with legacies of repression. Indeed, some of the most fundamental questions regarding law, morality and politics are raised at such times, as societies look back to understand how they lost their moral and political compass, failing to contain violence and promote the values of tolerance and peace. The Politics of Memory sheds light on this important aspect of transitional politics, assessing how Portugal, Spain, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and Germany after reunification, Russia, the Southern Cone of Latin America and Central America, as well as South Africa, have confronted legacies of repression. The book examines the presence - or absence - of three types of official efforts to come to terms with the past: truth commissions, trials and amnesties, and purges. In addition, it looks at unofficial initiatives emerging from within society, usually involving human rights organisations (HROs), churches or political parties. Where relevant, it also examines the 'politics of memory,' whereby societies re-work the past in an effort to come to terms with it, both during the transitions and long after official transitional policies have been implemented or forgotten. The book also assesses the significance of forms of reckoning with the past for a process of democratization or democratic deepening. It also focuses on the role of international actors in such processes, as external players are becoming increasingly influential in shaping national policy where human rights are concerned.




Comparing Transitions to Democracy. Law and Justice in South America and Europe


Book Description

This present book examines some of the key features of the interplay between legal history, authoritarian rule and political transitions in Brazil and other countries from the end of 20th Century until today. This book casts light on these aspects of the role of law and legal actors/institutions. In the context of transition from authoritarian rule to democratic state, Brazil has produced a significant literature on the challenges and shortcomings of the transition, but little attention has been given to the role of law and legal actors/institutions. Different approaches focus on the legal mechanisms, discourses and practices used by the military regime and by the players involved in the political transition process in Brazil. A comparative perspective that takes into account different political transitions – and their legal consequences – in Europe and Latin America complements the analysis. Part 1 (4 essays) discusses some of the central issues of political transition and legal history in contemporary Brazil, focusing on the time of the transition (and its effects on transitional justice) with different perspectives, from racial and gender issues to constitutional reform and police repression. Part 2 (3 essays) brings the comparative studies on South American experiences. Part 3 (4 essays) analyses different cases of transition to democracy in Chile, Portugal, Spain and Italy. Part 4 (3 essays) proposes a historiographical and methodological approach, considering the politics of time involved in the interplay between political transitions and legal history.




Rule of Law and Democracy


Book Description

Leading scholars address the interplay between rule of law and democracy, the most relevant ideals for our present civilisation in the legal and political spheres, at the same time making sense of the different ways in which legal requirements, social commitments, and democratic standards are expected to interweave. Through a reappraisal of the theoretical import of the concepts the contributors provide for a fresh set of inquiries, internal and external, ranging from the State, consolidated and transitional democracies, to interstate, European and global scenarios. Re-orienting the diversity in disciplinary approaches, they converge in tackling disputed empirical and normative questions in-context, and suggest further connections between the rule of law’s potential and the transformations of political arenas. Contributors are Monica Ciobanu, Christian Joerges, Poul Kjaer, Friedrich Kratochwil, Leonardo Morlino, Gianluigi Palombella, and Daniela Piana.




The Politics of Memory:Transitional Justice in Democratizing Societies


Book Description

One of the most important political and ethical questions faced during a political transition from authoritarian or totalitarian to democratic rule is how to deal with legacies of repression. Indeed, some of the most fundamental questions regarding law, morality and politics are raised at such times, as societies look back to understand how they lost their moral and political compass, failing to contain violence and promote the values of tolerance and peace. The Politics of Memorysheds light on this important aspect of transitional politics, assessing how Portugal, Spain, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and Germany after reunification, Russia, the Southern Cone of Latin America and Central America, as well as South Africa, have confronted legacies of repression.The book examines the presence - or absence - of three types of official efforts to come to terms with the past: truth commissions, trials and amnesties, and purges. In addition, it looks at unofficial initiatives emerging from within society, usually involving human rights organisations (HROs), churches or political parties. Where relevant, it also examines the 'politics of memory,' whereby societies re-work the past in an effort to come to terms with it, both during the transitions and longafter official transitional policies have been implemented or forgotten. The book also assesses the significance of forms of reckoning with the past for a process of democratization or democratic deepening. It also focuses on the role of international actors in such processes, as external players arebecoming increasingly influential in shaping national policy where human rights are concerned.




Democracy and International Law


Book Description

At the end of the Cold War, international law scholars engaged in furious debate over whether principles of democratic legitimacy had entered international law. Many argued that a 'democratic entitlement' was emerging. Others were skeptical that international practice in democracy promotion was either consistent or sufficiently widespread and many found the idea of democratic entitlement dangerous. Those debates, while ongoing, have not been comprehensively revisited in almost twenty years. Together with an original introduction, this volume collects the leading scholarship of the past two decades on these and other questions. It focuses particular attention on the normative consequences of the recent 'democratic recession' in many regions of the world.




Promoting Democracy in Postconflict Societies


Book Description

?An engaging set of case studies, rich in detail and accessibly written, which underscore the complicated and challenging nature of war-to-democracy transitions.??Timothy Sisk, University of DenverFew would dispute the importance of donating funds and expertise to conflict-ridden societies?but such aid, however well meant, often fails to have the intended effect. This study critically evaluates international democratization assistance in postconflict societies to discern what has worked, what has not, and how aid programs can be designed to have a more positive impact.The authors offer a unique recipient perspective as they explore three dimensions of democracy promotion: elections, free media, and human rights. Drawing on the experiences of Cambodia, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Uganda, they suggest concrete ways in which the international community can better foster democratization in the wake of conflict. Jeroen de Zeeuw is research fellow in the Conflict Research Unit at the Clingendael Institute of International Relations in the Netherlands. Krishna Kumar is senior social scientist with the United States Agency for International Development. His recent books include Rebuilding Societies After Civil War: Critical Roles for International Assistance and Postconflict Elections, Democratization and International Assistance. Contents: Introduction?the Editors. Parties and Elections. Supporting ?No-Party Democracy? in Uganda?J.-J. Barya. Fostering Political Pluralism in Ethiopia?D. Rahmato and M. Ayenew. Electoral Assistance and Democratic Transition in Mozambique?M. de Tollenaere. Human Rights. Strengthening Human Rights in Guatemala?D. Azpuru. Cambodia?s Fragile Rule of Law?S. Peou. Human Rights Assistance to Sierra Leone?M. G. Sesay and C. Hughes. Transitional Justice in Sierra Leone?Marieke Wierda. Media. Opening Up Media Space in Post-Genocide Rwanda?C. Kayumba and J.-P. Kimonyo. Promoting Independent Media Organizations in El Salvador?Anne Germain Lefevre. Building a Community Radio Network in Afghanistan?K. Kumar. Conclusion. Lessons and Recommendations?J. de Zeeuw.