Democratic Governance

  • 2011 Apr 13

    Participatory Budgeting: Democratic Deliberation and Decision Making at the Local Level

    4:10pm to 5:30pm

    Location: 

    124 Mt. Auburn Street, Suite 200-North, Cambridge, MA

    Joe MooreJoe Moore, City of Chicago

    About the Seminar
    Around the United States, city leaders are increasingly asking their residents for suggestions about budget spending. In Chicago’s 49th Ward, a city council member is going one step further. Through a novel experiment in democracy known as participatory budgeting (PB), Alderman Joe Moore is not just asking their opinions – he is giving his constituents the power to make real decisions about how to spend their tax dollars.

    PB is an innovative model of democratic deliberation and decision-making in which ordinary citizens decide how to allocate part of a municipal budget.... Read more about Participatory Budgeting: Democratic Deliberation and Decision Making at the Local Level

  • 2011 Apr 06

    How the Military Shapes ’Democratic’ Institutions in Dictatorships

    4:10pm to 5:30pm

    Location: 

    124 Mount Auburn, Suite 200-North, Cambridge, MA

    Barbara GeddesBarbara Geddes, University of California Los Angeles

    About the Seminar
    In this seminar, Professor Barbara Geddes will investigate the survival strategies of dictators whose tenure in office depends on armed supporters. The main threat that faces such leaders is ouster by military coup. Geddes will argue that dictators’ strategy choices for responding to that threat depend on characteristics of the military force from which these rivals are likely to come. Where the military is unified and disciplined, commanders can make credible promises to support a dictator who shares power with the rest of the officer corps and also credible threats to oust those who do not. In such circumstances, dictators’ best strategy is to agree to authoritarian institutions that induce power sharing and consultation among military rivals. Where the military is factionalized, however, promises of support are not credible because commanding officers cannot assure the discipline of other officers. Dictators who lack the option of stable power sharing with the rest of the military often try to build a balancing political force through the creation of a mass-based party and holding elections. Results of the data analysis are consistent with the argument that dictators from factionalized armed forces are more likely to organize support parties. Her argument also implies that if the strategies described are effective, dictators who form parties while they rule should be less likely to be ousted by coup than those who do not. Results from the data analysis show that party creation tends to reduce the likelihood of coups and coup attempts. The implication of this argument is that institutions that mimic those in democracies may be responses to challenges from within the armed group supporting the regime rather than from societal opposition groups.... Read more about How the Military Shapes ’Democratic’ Institutions in Dictatorships

  • 2011 Apr 05

    Deliberative Democracy and Climate Governance

    4:10pm to 5:30pm

    Location: 

    124 Mt. Auburn Street, Suite 200-North, Cambridge, MA

    John DryzekJohn Dryzek, Australian National University
    Co-sponsored by the Program on Science, Technology and Society, HKS

    About the Seminar
    In environmental political theory and associated fields such as ecological economics, it is now widely accepted that deliberative governance ought to be able to promote both effective environmental performance and democratic legitimacy. But do these claims stand up in light of the reality of climate governance, currently so problematic at every level from the local to the global? Making reference to studies ranging from locally constituted citizen forums to global negotiations and networks, John Dryzek will claim that the theoretical arguments for deliberative democracy can be sustained when it comes to climate governance. The idea of a deliberative system proves crucial. Implications will be drawn for the content of rhetoric that can reach skeptics when climate science cannot.... Read more about Deliberative Democracy and Climate Governance

  • 2011 Mar 30

    Reconciling Diversity and Democracy

    4:10pm to 5:30pm

    Location: 

    Pop Center, 9 Bow Street, Cambridge, MA

    Irene BloemraadThe Process and Policies of Immigrant Political Incorporation
    Irene Bloemraad, University of California, Berkeley

    About the Seminar
    Attacking multiculturalism has become a political cliché, from German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s proclamation in October 2010 that a multicultural approach had “utterly failed” in Germany, to David Cameron’s speech in February 2011 implying that such policies might foster terrorism. The alternative, for many politicians of the right and left, is stronger integration policies and greater normative emphasis on common citizenship, an argument also advanced by academics. This juxtaposition – between multiculturalism on one hand and common citizenship on the other – implies that there is a zero-sum trade-off between the two. Can democracy and immigrant-driven diversity be reconciled? And if so, in what ways – through policies of assimilation, multiculturalism. or something else?

    This talk takes as its starting point critiques of multicultural policy and ideology, and the arguments of the political theorists who defend a multicultural approach. Using evidence on immigrants’ naturalization, their success in gaining office and indicators of trust and civic participation from various Western democracies, Dr. Bloemraad will show that immigrants tend to be more politically integrated in countries identified as more multicultural. She will draw on a comparison of the United States and Canada to discuss some of the reasons why this might be the case.... Read more about Reconciling Diversity and Democracy

  • 2011 Mar 29

    Playing Between Elephants: Film Screening and Discussion

    4:00pm to 6:30pm

    Location: 

    Land Lecture Hall, Belfer Building, 4th Floor

    Playing Between Elephants filmAbout the Event
    "Playing Between Elephants subtly, yet compellingly shows the fears as well as the lives involved in the reconstruction of post-tsunami Aceh" ~ The Jakarta Post

    A post-screening discussion will feature:

        • Nelden Djakababa, Amsterdam University
        • Jonatan Lassa, Ash Center
        • Doreen Lee, Northeastern University

    Directed by Aryo Danusiri (Ph.D. Candidate, Harvard University), this critically-acclaimed film won the Jakarta Independent Film Festival’s 2007 Human Rights Award and the Brussels Independent Film Festival’s 2008 Best Documentary Award.... Read more about Playing Between Elephants: Film Screening and Discussion

  • 2011 Mar 23

    Democracy without Accountability: Promiscuous Power Sharing and Presidential Domineering in Indonesia

    4:10pm to 5:30pm

    Location: 

    124 Mount Auburn, Suite 200-North, Cambridge, MA

    Daniel SlaterDan Slater, University of Chicago

    About the Seminar
    The fall of Indonesia’s New Order regime in 1998 set the stage for competitive elections, but not necessarily for competitive elites. Political elites primarily responded to democratic transition by promiscuously sharing power, not vigorously competing for it. By carving up the cabinet among all significant parties, they constructed what amounted to a party cartel. This threatened to stifle party opposition and effectively immunize party elites from accountability to Indonesian voters. The introduction of direct presidential elections in 2004 disrupted this initial party cartel, but did not necessarily destroy it. Cross-party networks and norms against excluding fellow elites who wish to share executive power appear to remain entrenched. Despite having held three admirably free and fair national elections, Indonesia continues to confront an “accountability trap” between party collusion and the dysfunctional pattern of democratic politics most structurally prone to displace it: presidential domineering.... Read more about Democracy without Accountability: Promiscuous Power Sharing and Presidential Domineering in Indonesia

  • 2011 Mar 07

    The Impact of Good Governance on Wealth and Happiness

    4:10pm to 5:30pm

    Location: 

    124 Mt. Auburn Street, Suite 200-North, Cambridge, MA

    Pakistani National CelebrationInternational Findings from the Legatum Prosperity Index
    Jiehae Choi, Nathan Gamester, & Ashley Thomas Lenihan
    Legatum Institute

    About the Seminar
    The Legatum Prosperity Index is the only global assessment of national prosperity that defines ’prosperity’ as encompassing both wealth and well being. The most prosperous nations are not simply those with the highest GDP, but also those with happy, healthy, and free citizens. The Index identifies good governance – effective/accountable government, participatory and fair elections with a reliable rule of law – as one of eight key pillars of a prosperous society. Yet good governance alone does not produce prosperity. Representatives from the Legatum Institute will explain why and how countries can leverage good governance into prosperity. By introducing attendees to the interactive Index, the Institute hopes to spur attendees to ask more questions about global prosperity, use the Index for research, and with your questions and comments help make this Index even better.... Read more about The Impact of Good Governance on Wealth and Happiness

  • 2011 Mar 02

    Egypt: The Road to and from Liberation Square

    5:00pm to 6:00pm

    Location: 

    Center for Middle Eastern Studies, 38 Kirkland Street, Room 102

    Tarek Masoud, Ash Center

    About the Seminar
    A discussion led by Tarek Masoud, assistant professor of public policy, Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Harvard Kennedy School.

    Harvard University’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies Mideast Newsreel series is a new public discussion program in which senior faculty will present an analysis of current events as a key to the understanding of contemporary history in a Middle Eastern country or region.

    Watch a recording of the presentation here.... Read more about Egypt: The Road to and from Liberation Square

  • 2011 Mar 02

    Ending Female Genital Cutting: A Way that Works

    4:10pm to 5:30pm

    Location: 

    124 Mount Auburn, Suite 200-North, Room 226, Cambridge, MA

    Gerry MackieGerry Mackie, University of California San Diego

    About the Seminar
    Gerry Mackie will report on the theory and practice of his work with the West African NGO Tostan since 1998, and UNICEF since 2004, in organizing collective abandonment of female genital cutting and other harmful social practices. His approach combines historical sociology, simple game theory, simple network analysis, social norms, moral psychology, and values deliberations. It was recently declared the “common approach” in a document published by major donor-country development agencies and intergovernmental organizations. The organized change of social norms in the community through values deliberations is a good way to solve some development problems.... Read more about Ending Female Genital Cutting: A Way that Works

  • 2011 Feb 10

    Muslim and American? How Religiosity and Mosques Foster Incorporation into American Politics

    4:10pm to 5:30pm

    Location: 

    124 Mt. Auburn Street, Suite 200-North, Cambridge, MA

    Dr. Karam Dana, Harvard Kennedy School
    Dr. Matt Barreto, University of Washington

    About the Seminar
    Previous scholars have argued that Islam as a religion and a culture is incompatible with liberal, democratic American values. Not only is Islam inconsistent with the West, but it poses a direct conflict according to some scholars. This viewpoint has been popularized in American and European media and by government officials who declare fundamentalist Muslims as enemies of freedom and democracy. However, there is no evidence that the grounds of conflict are based on religious ideology. Are the most devout Muslims really opposed to political incorporation in the U.S., or are other traditional non-religious factors such as socioeconomic status and acculturation more important in understanding political alienation? To date, nearly every study of Islam and Western values has been qualitative, anecdotal, or philosophical in nature, leaving most questions unanswered, at least empirically. Using a unique national survey of Muslim Americans, we find that more religiously devout Muslims are significantly more likely to support political participation in America – in contrast to prevailing wisdom. We conclude that there is nothing inconsistent with Islam and American democracy, and in fact, religiosity fosters support for American democratic values.... Read more about Muslim and American? How Religiosity and Mosques Foster Incorporation into American Politics

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