Volume 2 (No 1)

Permanent URI for this community

https://reponew.gchumanrights.org/handle/20.500.11825/679

Browse

Browsing Volume 2 (No 1) by Subject "democracy"
  • Item
    Citizen agency, human rights and economic development in the context of populism and new democratic leadership models in Latin America
    (Global Campus, 2018-10) Mazzei, Héctor Santiago
    This article reviews the concepts of governance and governability in light of the emergence of new leadership models at the turn of the century and after the 1990s in Latin America. The article reviews the challenges of democratisation processes in Latin America to strengthen and broaden the exercise of human rights, in the context of the new democratic and so-called populist leadership. After a period of foreign debt crisis, and with the emergence of new leaders in Latin America at the turn of the millennium, a different type of agenda is taking shape, centred on the characteristics of leadership, plebiscite democracies, ‘decisionism’ and the search for institutional quality. These agenda points are connected to themes such as the idea of ‘republic’ versus the idea of ‘democracy’; constitutional stability; and the notion of personal and populist leadership as against democratic leadership. The article reviews these concepts and highlights the meaning of the so-called neo-constitutionalism in Latin America, both from a legal and a political perspective. Key words: Latin America; governability; populist leaderships; republic; democracy; constitutional stability; neo-constitutionalism
  • Item
    Human rights and democracy in the Arab World in 2017: Hopeless within, doomed abroad
    (Global Campus, 2018-10) Bennis, Hafsa ; Boustany, Razane ; Dalena, Anna Lucky ; Gentil, Henriette Josephine ; Hajar, Yasmine Jamal ; Sharif, Hind ; Sharif, Salma ; Taha, Suhail ; Welander, Marta ; Zucconi, Martina
    Abstract: This article, which gives an overview of the situation pertaining to human rights and democracy in the Arab world during 2017, deals with the situation in nine countries. These countries represent a varied picture, in that occupied territories (Palestine); fledgling democracies (Lebanon and Tunisia); authoritarian regimes (Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Egypt); and unstable countries where war and terror prevailed (Libya, Iraq and Syria) are included. Stated in general terms, the Arab world was subjected to pressure, from below, to liberalise, which was met by resistance and conservatism, from above. In Palestine, local authorities quashed protests for equality, dignity and freedom of speech, while Israeli expropriation, violence, arbitrary arrests and detentions caused thousands of injuries and deaths. In Lebanon and Tunisia, some advances were made with regard to women’s rights, drugs and ‘rape-marriage’ laws, but progress was hampered by measures consolidating corruption and impunity. The situation in three authoritarian regimes, Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Egypt, remained of grave concern. Saudi Arabia showed some signs of opening which may remain a cosmetic campaign aimed at legitimising the leadership of Mohammad Ben Salman and merely appeasing international pressure. Egypt and Morocco have shut down dissent and protest, while still trying to show some willingness to liberalise. Dire situations prevailed in Libya, Iraq and Syria, with terrorism, kidnappings, deprivation of liberty of children, and the prohibited chemical weapons being used. When individuals tried to escape the hardship in their countries, they often faced violations of human rights in Europe, by the countries that themselves are trying to promote change in the region. Key words: human rights; democracy; Arab world; 2017; occupied territories; fledgling democracies; authoritarian regimes; war; terror; refugees
  • Item
    Regional perspectives on democratisation of Eastern Partnership countries
    (Global Campus, 2018-10) Aleksanyan, Arusyak
    Interest in studies and measurements of democracy and human rights in terms of globalisation and regional cooperation has extended beyond the academic context, reflecting the features of government policies and the development strategies of countries. Countries in a region with higher and closer levels of democracy have more opportunities for political and economic cooperation. From this point of view the assessment of democracy and human rights levels of Eastern Partnership member states such as Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova, is of special interest. Academic literature presents a great variety of theories and definitions of democracy. There are also various indices covering different aspects of democracy. Some of them emphasise the formal or institutional aspects of democracy, whereas others define its procedural features. Other indices measure the implementation of the level of declared rights and even consider democracy in terms of economic development. Thus, to measure and present the comparative analysis of democracy and human rights levels of Eastern Partnership countries, the article first provides the selection and description of democracy indices (proceeding from the differences in covering aspects of democracy). Then, based on the selected indices, a new aggregated index of democracy is calculated through the method for constructing composite indices for providing a multi-sided analysis of democracy and human rights of Eastern Partnership countries. Finally, drawing on the obtained and calculated data, I rank Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine by democracy levels, revealing regional perspectives on human rights and democratisation. Key words: democracy; measurement; Eastern Partnership; democracy indices; aggragated democracy index
  • Item
    Selected developments in human rights and democratisation during 2017: Sub-Saharan Africa
    (Global Campus, 2018-10) Nyarko, Michael Gyan ; Makunya, Trésor
    Abstract: This article reviews selected developments in human rights and democratisation in sub-Saharan African during 2017. It discusses the presidential elections held in Kenya, Liberia, Angola, Rwanda and Somalia/ Somaliland, noting in particular democratic gains in Liberia, Angola and Somalia where elections resulted in changes of government, which brought in new leadership. It further notes the democratic crises in Zimbabwe, where President Mugabe was removed from power through military intervention, and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where instability continued due to efforts by incumbent President Kabila to prolong his term of office. It reports on incidents of protests, recurrent internet shutdowns and interference with the freedom of expression and right of access to information in various African countries. The authors identify the cause of the rift between the African Union and the International Criminal Court as the Al-Bashir warrant issued pursuant to a Security Council Resolution, and recommend that the AU should focus on petitioning the Security Council to withdraws its referral, rather than to persist with its current onslaught against the ICC. In this context, they discuss the decision of ICC Pre-Trial Chamber, which clarified that there is no conflict between article 27(2) and article 98 of the ICC Statute in relation to state parties to the Statute or states referred to the ICC by the Security Council. As far as women’s rights are concerned, the article traces significant normative and jurisprudential gains, in particular the adoption of the Joint General Comment on ending child marriage, the Guidelines on combating gender-based violence and its consequences, and the decision of the ECOWAS Court of Justice against Nigeria denouncing gender-based discrimination as a violation of the right to dignity and non-discrimination. Key words: human rights; democracy; sub-Saharan Africa; elections; mass atrocities; accountability; women’s rights