Democracy is all about masses participation in public functions. Private Citizens' participation in politics and public functions, it is argued that it is the surest security against the tyranny of the state over the individual. But participation in politics and public function by private citizens is not enough to guarantee security against the tyranny of the state over individuals unless an individual can through his personal participation effectively check and control the government, especially the effects of government's policies on him. But how can his personal participation be effective if he does not understand his rights and responsibilities as a citizen, the principles, processes and requirements of democracy as well as the nature and purpose of a political state? Today, following the wave of democratization sweeping across the globe, democracy has become the most coveted form of government. Unfortunately, most states that joined the band wagon of democratization are not enjoying the so-called dividends of democracy. This, many scholars have blamed on lack of proper understanding of the basic principles, processes and requirements of democracy. Political education is one instrument that enhances a people's capacity for effective and meaningful participation in government and public functions. The aim of this book is to enhance our understanding of contending issues in democracy. The book discusses such issues as: meaning, principles and conditions for the working of democracy, who counts as the people in a democracy, the possibility of effective representation, majority rule and minority rights, the meaning and principles of good governance and the relation between democracy and good governance. The book argues that in as much as democracy could promote good governance, it is not a guarantee nor synonymous with good governance.

A theoretical and empirical examination of why political institutions and organizations matter in economic growth.

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A passionate examination of why international anti-corruption fails to deliver results and how we should understand and build good governance.

The health of American democracy ultimately depends on our willingness and ability to work together as citizens and stakeholders in our republic. Government policies often fail to promote such collaboration. But if designed properly, they can do much to strengthen civic engagement. That is the central message of Carmen Sirianni's eloquent new book. Rather than encourage citizens to engage in civic activity, government often puts obstacles in their way. Many agencies treat citizens as passive clients rather than as community members, overlooking their ability to mobilize assets and networks to solve problems. Many citizen initiatives run up against rigid rules and bureaucratic silos, causing all but the most dedicated activists to lose heart. The unfortunate—and unnecessary—result is a palpable decline in the quality of civic life. Fortunately, growing numbers of policymakers across the country are figuring out how government can serve as a partner and catalyst for collaborative problem solving. Investing in Democracy details three such success stories: neighborhood planning in Seattle; youth civic engagement programs in Hampton, Virginia; and efforts to develop civic environmentalism at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The book explains what measures were taken and why they succeeded. It distills eight core design principles that characterize effective collaborative governance and concludes with concrete recommendations for federal policy.

While popular movements in South Korea rightly grab the headlines for forcing political change and holding leaders to account, those movements are only part of the story of the construction and practice of democracy. In Top-Down Democracy in South Korea, Erik Mobrand documents another part – the elite-led design and management of electoral and party institutions. Even as the country left authoritarian rule behind, elites have responded to freer and fairer elections by entrenching rather than abandoning exclusionary practices and forms of party organization. Exploring South Korea’s political development from 1945 through the end of dictatorship in the 1980s and into the twenty-first century, Mobrand challenges the view that the origins of the postauthoritarian political system lie in a series of popular movements that eventually undid repression. He argues that we should think about democratization not as the establishment of an entirely new system, but as the subtle blending of new formal rules with earlier authority structures, political institutions, and legitimizing norms.

Authoritarian regimes of various sorts have crumbled worldwide to give way to liberal constitutional democracies. Prerequisites for the consolidation of the new democracies are regular free and fair elections, granting political parties legitimate authority and citizens protection by the rule of law.

Conventional wisdom warns that unaccountable political and business agents can enrich a few at the expense of many. But logically extending this wisdom implies that associated principals – voters, consumers, shareholders – will favor themselves over the greater good when ‘rules of the game’ instead create too much accountability. Democratic Governance and Economic Performance rigorously develops this hypothesis, and finds statistical evidence and case study illustrations that democratic institutions at various governance levels (e.g., federal, state, corporation) have facilitated opportunistic gains for electoral, consumer, and shareholder principals. To be sure, this conclusion does not dismiss the potential for democratic governance to productively reduce agency costs. Rather, it suggests that policy makers, lawyers, and managers can improve governance by weighing the agency benefits of increased accountability against the distributional costs of favoring principal stakeholders over more general economic opportunities. Carefully considering the fundamentals that give rise to this tradeoff should interest students and scholars working at the intersection of social science and the law, and can help professionals improve their own performance in policy, legal, and business settings.

This book explores the theoretical and empirical relationship between democracy and governance in the Asia-Pacific region. Examining a variety of country cases and themes addressing the theoretical tension between governance and democracy, it illuminates how this impacts political and civil societies across the region. Analysing the character, structure and current trajectories of polities in the Asia-Pacific, democratic or otherwise, this book demonstrates that the role of civil society, political society and governance has significantly differed in practice from what has been commonly assumed within the international community. The book includes both theoretical investigations tracing the modern development of the concepts of governance, development and democratization as well as regional and country-specific observations of major issues, presenting comprehensive country-level studies of China, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Fiji and the Solomon Islands. Presenting fascinating insight into non-democratic governance, civil society and the rule of law in illiberal contexts, Governance and Democracy in the Asia-Pacific will prove to be of great use to students and scholars of Asian politics and society, as well as international and comparative politics.