Scholars have recognized that contentious political action typically draws on relatively stable scripts for the enactment of claims making. But if such repertoires of political practice are generally reproduced over time, why and how do new modes of practice emerge? Employing a pragmatist perspective on social action, this article argues that change in political repertoires can be usefully understood as a result of situated political innovation—i.e., of the creative recombination of existing practices, through experimentation over time, by interacting political agents (...) for whom old repertoires were proving inadequate to the changing context of action. The utility of this approach is demonstrated by applying it to explain the historical emergence of a new set of populist mobilizing practices in early twentieth-century Peru. The results have implications for the study of political action and historical change. (shrink)

The paper seeks to contribute to the transitional justice literature by overcoming the Democracy v. Justice debate. This debate is normatively implausible and prudentially self-defeating. Normatively, transitional justice will be conceptualised as an imperative of democratic equal concern. Prudentially, it can prevent further violence and provide an opportunity for initiating processes of democratic emotional socialisation. The resentment and indignation animating transitions should be acknowledged as markers of a sense of justice. As such, they can help the reproduction of democracy. However, (...) their public expression must be institutionally filtered through democratic norms. The consistent institutional instantiation of equal respect can educate and recuperate negative emotions for democracy. (shrink)

When the Soviet Union fell in 1990, three of its 15 components, the Baltic States, joined the European Union, and a fourth, Moldova, may well join in the future. The other 11 quickly became presidential republics, following the lead given by Boris Yeltsin, the president of the largest among them, Russia. By 1994, all 11 were headed by a president elected by universal suffrage. These ex-Soviet countries contribute significantly to the number of presidential republics in the world. Presidential republics form (...) a clear majority, being predominant in Latin America and Africa, alongside the ex-Soviet Union. They are rare in Europe, the main cases being France, Romania, and, though seemingly temporarily, some Balkan states; in Asia, outside the ex-Soviet Union, they are a small minority. (shrink)

Problem setting. Social justice is determined by the attitude of the state towards those who contribute to its strengthening and recovery. High power is here the main arbiter. Therefore, the government should create a system for the search for talented people who can bring benefits to the state and provide them with a decent livelihood through the implementation of the principle of social justice. The greatest hopes here are based on democracy, which, according to Merkel’s definition, may not only be (...) effective, but also defective. Therefore, the assessment of its ability to ensure the principle of social justice reveals a wide research space for scientists of different directions, especially political scientists and sociologists. Recent research and publications analysis. Comprehensive systematic study of the problem of social justice is contained in works by L. Boltansky, L. Teveno, K. Sabbay, M. Sandel, M. Woltser, V. Argunova, I. Gavrilova, I. Devyatko, O. Sapelkina, T. Shipunova. It is these studies, along with works R. A. Dahl, L. Diamond, R. Dworkin were used by Merkel in developing the concept of defective democracies. The рaper objective was analysis of the causes and consequences of the deformation of the principle of social justice in conditions of defective democracy. Paper main body. In political science, social justice is defined as perfect integrity and is associated with a balance between equality and freedom. At the same time, the requirements for social justice are growing and exacerbated by the spread of social and legal inequality, exploitation, the dominance of administrative and bureaucratic methods of governance, limiting politicalfreedoms, orienting social policies to service and enriching the ruling classes of society. The vast majority of researchers in this phenomenon determine that social justice is an inherentfeature ofdemocracy, although the existence ofdemocratic institutions does not always guarantee the implementation of the principle ofsocial justice. The conducted research showed: 1) democracy, as a political regime, implies the possibility ofdeformation ofany parameter characterizing the ways and mechanisms of the realization of power in society; 2) «defect» of democracy is determined by the presence of shortcomings or limitations of institutional mechanisms created by the constitutional and legal democratic system for the realization of democratic practices of domination. It is noted that the main signs of defective democracy are corruption, ineffective courts, weak civil self-organization, incapable groups of interests and party systems, underdeveloped administrative infrastructure and controversial monopoly of the state for the exercise of political power. The analysis carried out in the article allowed to reach the following conclusions of the research. The mechanisms of action of the principle of social justice in Ukraine are destroying such defects of its democracy: imperfection of the functional separation of the actions of branches of power and their real independence; defects of party construction in a multi-party system; corrupt power; «damage» of the constitutional and legal principles and partial neutralization of the mechanisms of containment ofpower; the establishment and institutionalization of nonformal practices and rules of the political game, the displacement of formal political institutions by informal; the state’s inability to overcome the economic and political problems of the pre-democratic phase of development; domination of paternalistic practices in socio-political and socio-economic relations. (shrink)

Journal of Political Philosophy, EarlyView.

During the last two decades, women politicians have emerged as female democratisation agents, i.e. change agents who actively lobby, struggle and organize for a pro-democracy regime change and a subsequent functioning democratic system, often with a mass following – whose personal sacrifices, political contributions and legacies arelargely overlooked or contested in related democratisation and gender studies. This article aims to critically assess in how far democratisation and gender studies have systematically studied and analysed the contributions towards democratisation and the consolidation (...) of democracy made by women as head of state or government. It is argued, that there is a strong research desideratum with regard to this phenomenon despite statistical evidence in Latin America, Europe, sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. An overview of different case studies of women heads of state and government in Southern and Eastern Europe, Latin America, South and Southeast Asia is presented, outlining the career paths, political agenda and democratisation record of the respective female democratisation agents. Nevertheless, systematic and substantial research needs to be conducted to allow a profound and appropriate assessment of the political performance and legacies of female democratisation agents at the top echelons of political power. These studies can contribute to a better understanding of the nexus of gender and democratisation, gender and politics as well as to enlarge the explanatory strength of democratisation theories in general.Durante las dos últimas décadas, las mujeres políticas han emergido como agentes femeninos de democratización, es decir agentes de cambio como grupos de presión activos, que luchan y se organizan en pro de un cambio hacia el régimen democrático y al subsiguiente funcionamiento del sistema, a menudo con el seguimiento de las masas – quienes con sus sacrificios personales, contribuciones políticas y sus legados, son enormemente pasadas por alto o refutadas en cuanto a democratización y estudios de género se refiere. Este artículo intenta evaluar de forma crítica hasta dónde los estudios de género han estudiado y analizado las contribuciones para con la democratización y la consolidación de la democracia llevada a cabo por mujeres como cabezas de Estado o de gobierno. Se sostiene que hay un fuerte desideratum respecto a América Latina, Europa, África Subsahariana y Asia. Una mirada a los diferentes estudios de casos de mujeres jefas de Estado y de gobierno en América Latina, Europa, África Subsahariana, y Sur y Sudeste de Asia se presentan como un esbozo del camino de la carrera, la agenda política y la relación de democratización de los respectivos agentes femeninos de la democratización. Sin embargo, una investigación sistemática y sustancial necesita ser realizada para permitir una profunda y apropiada valoración del cambio político y legado de los agentes femeninos de democratización en el último escalón del poder político. Estos estudios pueden contribuir a un mejor entendimiento entre los nexos de género y democratización, género y política mejor así como también a extender la solidez explicativa de las teorías democráticas en general. (shrink)

What is the distinctive trait of the Latin American pattern of modernization? In contrast to western societies, where the debate on modernization has been dominated by the Weberian thematic of bureaucratiz-ation, the most salient feature of the Latin American developmental path is the chronic frailty of legal-constitutional arrangements. In Latin America, the process of modernization and social differentiation has not been followed by the legal stabilization of social complexity but is characterized by a low degree of juridification and institutional precariousness. (...) Drawing on insights from both Luhmann's and Habermas' theories, the article provides a critical theoretical framework for the study of the peculiarities of the Latin American modernizing path. (shrink)