Raj Chari - Hard Questions for Democracy

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Hard Questions for Democracy

The recent financial and economic crisis has forced governments and people from around the globe to ask some hard questions about how democracy has evolved. Some of these are old questions; others are new. Is democracy really the most desirable form of government? How democratic is policy-making during the financial and economic crisis? Why do vote-seeking parties in modern democracies actually make voters miserable? Can womens under-representation in politics be explained because of voter bias? Why are some citizens still excluded from voting in their country? And can terrorist organizations that promote violence one day, really become democratic the next?

This represents the first book of its kind to ask and answer a broad range of hard questions that need to be addressed in times of both flux and calls for democratic change throughout the world. It does so by bringing together leading social scientists and rising stars from around the globe. Inter-disciplinary in its analysis, it is essential reading for students of comparative and international politics, political philosophy, gender studies and economics.

The books website can be found at: www.democracyquestions.com and it was originally published as a special issue of Irish Political Studies.

Raj Chari is Associate Professor in Political Science at Trinity College Dublin.

Hard Questions for Democracy

Edited by
Raj Chari

First published 2013
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN

Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2013 Taylor & Francis

This book is a reproduction of Irish Political Studies, vol. 26, issue 4. The Publisher requests to those authors who may be citing this book to state, also, the bibliographical details of the special issue on which the book was based.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 13: 978-0-415-52305-9

Typeset in Times New Roman
by Taylor & Francis Books

Publishers Note
The publisher would like to make readers aware that the chapters in this book may be referred to as articles as they are identical to the articles published in the special issue. The publisher accepts responsibility for any inconsistencies that may have arisen in the course of preparing this volume for print.

Contents

Raj Chari

James L. Hyland

Gerry Mackie

Patrick Bernhagen & Raj Chari

Raj Chari & Patrick Bernhagen

Michael Laver

Heinz Brandenburg

Macartan Humphreys

Gail McElroy & Michael Marsh

Michael Gallagher

Iseult Honohan

Maria Laura Sudulich

Colm McKeogh

Garrett OBoyle

RAJ CHARI

Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

In December 2008, Girvin and Murphy edited a significant issue of Irish Political Studies in which contributors analysed continuity, crisis and change in Ireland, focusing on developments during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. In many ways, this issue builds on their insights, but in the context of a very changed Ireland. The country indeed, the world now finds itself questioning many aspects of democratic development in the second decade of the 2000s given the recent financial and economic crisis.

In fact the raison dtre of this issue is based on the recent global crisis, the effects of which have been deeply felt, especially in small states in world markets: the crisis has caused students of Irish and comparative politics to ask some hard questions about how democracy has evolved. Some of these are old questions with new answers; others are new questions with both old and new answers. The underlying theme of Hard Questions for Democracy is whether democracy as it was originally conceived in Ireland and the world can live up to peoples expectations in modern times. That is, can democracy function democratically in the twenty-first century?

With this in mind, the objectives of this issue are to address hard questions about the theoretical, institutional, policy, partisan, participatory and conflictive aspects of democracy that are so relevant today.

The issue is subdivided into five main thematic sections, where each paper in each section addresses specific hard questions. The first section is democracy and legitimacy, where Hyland starts by exploring the roots of democratic legitimacy and questions if democracy is really the most desirable form of government. Mackie then ponders what the values of democratic proceduralism are.

The second section considers democracy and the markets, focusing on institutions and policymakers. In the first of two back-to-back papers, Bernhagen and Chari ask which theoretical explanations from the political science literature are useful in understanding why the global financial and economic crisis that started in 2007 occurred. Chari and Bernhagen then evaluate which of these theoretical explanations are of more value in understanding, more specifically, the crisis starting in 2008 in Ireland.

The third section focuses on democracy, political parties and voters, offering five papers. First, Laver asks why vote-seeking parties may make voters miserable. Brandenburg then reflects on what factors give politics such a bad name. Humphreys questions how much of a constraint compactness places on would-be gerrymanderers. McElroy and Marsh then consider whether or not womens under-representation in Irish politics can be explained by voter bias, or be understood in the recruitment practices of parties and supply-side issues. Gallagher closes by asking whether referendums weaken parties and constitute a threat to liberal democracies such as Ireland.

The fourth section highlights issues related to democracy and participation. Situ-ating the Irish case in comparative perspective, Honohan contemplates whether or not Irish emigrants should have votes. Sudulich then asks whether or not the Internet promotes increased political participation in Ireland.

The final section examines democracy, violence and conflict. McKeogh questions whether or not citizens of a democracy can be considered just targets for terrorists. Focusing on the Irish Republican movement, OBoyle finishes by asking how those who have been politically violent ultimately become democrats.

In addressing significant hard questions, leading academics and rising stars from around the globe are brought together, many of whom have been students or colleagues of Eddie Hyland, whose hard questions during seminars and presentations have always proved to be the toughest to answer. In this tradition, the work presented here is envisaged to provide social scientists with both a basis for reflection and a foundation to pursue novel work.

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