We talk a lot about rules and procedures, the more formal and formalistic dimensions of contemporary democratic governance. Arguably, informal spaces such as those studied in a recently published article by Philip Norton, are equally important, if not more so, as they reveal key aspects of what political scientists call “political culture,” which must include … More On design and informal space
Editor’s note: The following is a partial paraphrase in English of an article* which appeared in French in Le Monde on December 19. The citizen’s ballot or referendum initiative (référendum d’initiative citoyenne, or RIC) has become one of the principal revindications of the yellow vest (gilet jaune) movement in France. A well known feature in … More A novel initiative in France and Switzerland
Herewith an excerpt of a recent post on the blog of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Date: 9 September 2018 Election type: Parliamentary Background Unicameral parliament in parliamentary constitutional monarchy: Riksdag (national legislature) composed of 349 representatives, supreme decision-making body in Sweden. Elections held every 4 years with a proportional system; parties must … More Elections in Sweden
In The Joy of Politics I examined various political institution in countries which were scheduled to hold elections of some sort in 2016. Included in my sample was a handful of countries in sub-Saharan Africa. I noted additionally that certain observers were optimistic about the prospects for democratic regimes across the African continent. Not so … More Democracy in Africa, bis
Excerpts below from an article by Zachary Elkins on Medium. The Joy of Politics posted a note on Constitute in June 2017. One nagging challenge in Constitutional design is how to involve citizens in the drafting process in a meaningful way. One traditional role for citizens is to review and approve the proposed text by … More Draft constitutions in comparative perspective
Norwegians voted this past week to return the governing center-right party to power. Norway is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Below is an abridged excerpt from the text of the interactive entry on the government of Norway in the CIA Factbook, a great resource to consult online to test your understanding of the design components in … More Design Digest: Norway votes
You might think that simplicity would be at a premium in national elections. The architects of the German electoral system thought otherwise. Germans will vote for members of the federal legislature (the Bundestag) in the autumn of 2017, not once, but twice, simultaneously! The electoral system is a complex hybrid, and we will not know … More Design digest: federal elections in Germany
According to the annual Democracy Index, compiled and published by the Economist Intelligence Unit, New Zealand has been ranked fourth worldwide, after three Scandinavian countries (Norway, Iceland and Sweden). The Democracy Index collects data in five categories: electoral process; civil liberties; government function; political participation; and political culture. Accordingly, a country can be said to … More Design digest: democracy in New Zealand
Let’s say that you are called upon to design a new state. Those of us who live in democracies engage in this sort if activity more frequently than we realize, whenever we amend our constitution or vote in a referendum. Where do we start? Google has an answer. It’s called Constitute. It works, too, according … More Drafting your own constitution: where to start
An analysis in last week’s The Economist casts light on coming “state” elections in Mexico, and illustrates two themes discussed in The Joy of Politics. To whit. Mexico is a federal state, the units of which are called “states,” or, in Spanish, estados. Elections take place at varying intervals at both the national, or federal, … More Design digest: state elections in Mexico
The Joy of Politics 