Politicising Democracy: The New Local Politics Of Democratisation (international Political Economy Series)

There is a major contradiction in contemporary politics: there has been a wave of democratization that has swept across much of the world, while at the same time globalization appears to have reduced the social forces that have built democracy historically. This book, by an international group of authors, analyses the ways in which local politics in developing countries--often neglected in work on democratization--render democratic experiments more or less successful in realizing substantial democracy. The Chapters In This Book, By An International Group Of Authors, Analyse The Kinds Of Politics And Of Governance That Are Emerging In Developing Countries, As Different Actors Are Confronted With Structural Changes And Institutional Reforms That Generate New And Widened Local Political Spaces. Are They Really Constructing More Substantial Democracy?--jacket. Introduction : The New Local Politics Of Democratisation / John Harris, Kristian Stokke, And Olle Törnquist -- Decentralisation In Indonesia : Less State, More Democracy? / Henk Schulte Nordholt -- Bossism And Democracy In The Philippines, Thailand And Indonesia : Towards An Alternative Framework For The Study Of 'local Strongmen' / John T. Sidel -- Can Public Deliberation Democratise State Action? Municipal Health Councils And Local Democracy In Brazil / Günther Schönleitner -- Historical Hurdles In The Course Of The People's Planning Campaign In Kerala, India / P.k. Michael Tharakan -- Social Movements, Socio-economic Rights And Substantial Democratisation In South Africa / Kristian Stokke And Sophie Oldfield -- More Than Difficult, Short Of Impossible : Party Building And Local Governance In The Philippines / Joel Rocamora -- Trade Unions, Institutional Reform And Democracy : Nigerian Experiences With South African And Ugandan Comparisons / Björn Beckman -- The Political Deficit Of Substantial Democratisation / Olle Törnquist. Edited By John Harriss, Kristian Stokke And Olle Törnquist. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 226-245) And Index. "Global issues have become an increasingly vital part of environmental debates. They are closely interrelated with problems at local levels. In this wide-ranging study, Robert Boardman argues that investigation of environmental issues raises complex theoretical questions, and requires more sustained links between the natural and social sciences.". "In a closely integrated account of problems in critical ecological theory, Boardman draws extensively on current research in sociology, ecology, economics, the earth sciences and other disciplines. He suggests that ideas from these can be used to expand attention to and the understanding of environmental issues in international relations and international political economy, as well as in social theory more generally.". "The discussion identifies five main theoretical bases for these tasks. These are ecology and earth-system science; constructionist approaches; environmental ethics; micro-level research, particularly perspectives based on rational expectations and on agency; and governance. Connections among these are examined in the context of debates on economics globlization and ecological transformation."--BOOK JACKET. The Farm War of the early 1980s caused subsequent disruptions in world markets, conflicts among major governments and disagreements in international organizations. The Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations, ostensibly devoted to the new issues of globalization, dragged on from 1986 to 1993 in an attempt to end farm-subsidy battles. Wolfe shows how and why battles over agricultural protectionism were largely resolved through the Round, demonstrating that the global economy is not self-regulating; it needs institutions if it is to be stable. The Green Box, a core provision of The Agreement on Agriculture, shows how states can decide that certain types of policies should be immune from international regulation by the new World Trade Organization, an elegant compromise between the imperatives of responding to global change and maintaining democratic accountability. Wolfe's analysis will be helpful for planners of the next set of farm trade talks, due to begin in 1999, while the annotated text of The Agreement on Agriculture will be especially useful in introducing students to the complexities of trade policy There is a major contradiction in contemporary politics: despite a wave of democratisation that has swept across much of the world, globalisation appears to have reduced those forces that have encouraged democracy historically. Democratic aspirations may well founder upon local political realities. But there is another side to all of this that is still little understood. As the social forces that have supplied the basis for democratisation in the past have become weaker, so other forms of organisation have grown up. A variety of new social movements and of voluntary associations, often operating locally and in neighbourhoods, seem to have become more powerful, and to provide the basis for more substantial democracy than we have know hitherto. The chapters in this book, by an international group of authors, analyse the kinds of development and of governance that are emerging in developing countries, as different actors are confronted with structural changes and institutional reforms that generate new and widened local political spaces. Are they really constructing more substantial democracy? Front Matter....Pages i-xiv Introduction: The New Local Politics of Democratisation....Pages 1-28 Decentralisation in Indonesia: Less State, More Democracy?....Pages 29-50 Bossism and Democracy in the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia: Towards an Alternative Framework for the Study of ‘Local Strongmen’....Pages 51-74 Can Public Deliberation Democratise State Action?: Municipal Health Councils and Local Democracy in Brazil....Pages 75-106 Historical Hurdles in the Course of the People’s Planning Campaign in Kerala, India....Pages 107-126 Social Movements, Socio-economic Rights and Substantial Democratisation in South Africa....Pages 127-147 More than Difficult, Short of Impossible: Party Building and Local Governance in the Philippines....Pages 148-170 Trade Unions, Institutional Reform and Democracy: Nigerian Experiences with South African and Ugandan Comparisons....Pages 171-200 The Political Deficit of Substantial Democratisation....Pages 201-225 Back Matter....Pages 226-253 List Of Tables And Figure -- Acknowledgements -- List Of Abbreviations -- Introduction: The Intersection Of Risk And Trade -- Science In The Regulation Of Risk : A Transatlantic Divide? -- Informal Trade Conflict -- Mad Cows And Transatlantic Trade Conflict -- Resolving Differences Over Stinky Cheese And Bothersome Beetles -- Formal Trade Conflict -- The Dispute Over Hormonal Cattle : The Lead Up To Ec-hormones -- Fearing Frankenfoods : Emergence Of Ec-biotech -- Disputing Chlorinated Chickens : The Politics Underpinning Ec-poultry -- Science And The Politics Of Transatlantic Trade Conflict -- Conclusions: Lessons For Trade Conflict -- Moving Forward -- Conclusions -- Notes -- Bibliography. David J. Hornsby, Senior Lecturer In International Relations, University Of Witwatersrand, South Africa. Includes Bibliographical References. Internationally the trade union movement is finding itself peripheralized by a series of mutually reinforcing processes - the ongoing world economic crisis; the uneven transition from an industrial to an information and service capitalism; the aggressive policies of neoliberalism; the collapse of communism and radical nationalism; the decline of the social-democratic or labour tradition - and by a globalization that undermines the nation-state to which union hopes have long been pinned. The editors argue that this crisis provides an opportunity for labour to recover or reinvent itself. They see this in terms of a labour response to the waves of energy coming from the new global social movements (women, ecology, human rights/democracy, and so on). Sri Lanka is hailed internationally for its high standards of education despite rather modest levels of economic growth. Much of this achievement has been underpinned by economic revenues generated by the labours of the plantation community whose own achievements in education fell well below the national norm. In recent years, however, educational participation among this community has increased. Why, and how? A day in the life of Vickneswari provides the starting-point for an analysis of educational progress among the Tamil plantation community. The authors examine various aspects of Japanese financial markets. This analysis is interspersed with the relevant institutional/historical background on Japanese financial markets necessary for the non-specialist. Principal chapters include: an institutional overview; a chapter on the comparative costs of capital (both internationally and among Japanese firms); causes and implications of the high degree of financial intermediation in Japan; and an invaluable analysis of the most recent trends in the Japanese/Asian financial markets This book examines the effect of post-Soviet transitions on current problem solving trends with regards to world capitalism. The fall of Soviet communism left liberal capitalism as the dominant blueprint from which to construct economic development policies. Using Central Europe as an example it is shown that the application of the Western liberal-capitalist model has not been without its difficulties. This book endeavours to place the changes to the global political economy, since 1989, in a theoretical and historical context Annotation There is a major contradiction in contemporary politics: there has been a wave of democratization that has swept across much of the world, while at the same time globalization appears to have reduced the social forces that have built democracy historically. This book, by an international group of authors, analyzes the ways in which local politics in developing countries - often neglected in work on democratization - render democratic experiments more or less successful in realizing substantial democracy "Many in South Africa have begun to cope with globalization, regionalization, a depleting ozone layer, new disease, rampant militarization, and structures of influence like race, class, and gender. In this book scholars present a wide variety of thoughts on the future of the region and the place of theory in helping us to understand the array of events characterizing the early 21st-century world."--Jacket Written in the context of contemporary theoretical debate in international political economy, this book overturns a number of myths about the political economy of trade in one of the oldest areas of industry. Yvon Grenier ; Foreword By Mitchell A. Seligson. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 215-218) And Index.