This dissertation provides a substantive study of the faith-based Mondragón Cooperative Movement in Spain and the Indra’s Net Life Community in Korea, analyzing and critically comparing the ethical values of Catholic Social Teaching and Socially Engaged Asian Buddhism. By evaluating the extent of their success in dealing with socioecological concerns, the importance of religio-ethical values and principles to the disciplines of social and environmental ethics is stressed, offering a new, religiously sensitive approach to ecological wellbeing. As this dissertation argues, the thought and work of Mondragón and Indra’s Net offer important resources for conceptualizing ecological ethics and social justice in and among human communities. This comparison considers two questions: First, what alternative economic system might engage, in context, socioecological religious values and be implemented as an alternative to neoclassical economics? Second, what socioecological ethical principles provide effective intellectual resources to critically assess today’s global economic and ecological crises, and suggest a way to resolve them? These questions are addressed by a study of the ethical and social implications of modern economic systems, as compared to a worker-owned cooperative movement and a socially engaged Asian Buddhist liberation movement, both of which offer an alternative to current economic configurations. Inspired by the communitarian personalist thought of Mondragón’s priest-founder, José María Arizmendiarrieta, and the ecological thought of the Venerable Tobŏp, based on Huayan Buddhism’s philosophy of "interdependent co-arising" (pratītyasamupāda), these grassroots socio-ecological movements provide relevant, religion-based social and ecological teachings that present concrete proposals for economic and social practice. Social Catholicism and socially engaged Buddhism, as evidenced by these two movements, apply a dynamic social-spiritual ideology consonant with their traditions' developing social-ecological consciousness, thereby striving to promote the wellbeing of Earth, humanity, and all life.

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The school has a democratic fostering mission, as it is tasked with conveying and anchoring respect for fundamental democratic values. The purpose of this study is to investigate how subject teachers relate to the democratic fostering mission. This study contributes to the research area by examining how social studies subject teachers manage the complexity of fostering for democracy and how teachers interpret and implement the democratic fostering mission. The study also enhances understanding of the relationship between fostering for democracy and respecting democratic principles. The main conclusions of this study are that the way teachers approach the fostering mission can vary depending on how the curriculum is interpreted and how they align with the purpose of the mission. This, in turn, will affect how the fostering mission is realized in teaching, primarily through dialogue and participation. The results also indicate that boundary-setting in teaching becomes crucial in understanding how teachers foster for democracy. It is through boundary-setting in teaching that teacher’s objective position is challenged, aiming to uphold the democratic values outlined in the educational document. Consequently, the democratic upbringing mission may sometimes appear to be incompatible with the fundamental democratic principles of society.

After the destabilization of Iraq following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein by U.S. forces, Iraq had the opportunity to emerge as a democratic nation. This study explores the emerging concepts of democracy in Iraq during the roughly 13-year period between 2005 and 2018 as the country moved from Authoritarian (Guardianship) and Thin (Successorship) views of democracy to a Deep (Western) liberal view. I trace the evolution of democracy in Iraq by probing the possible influences of religious, cultural, historical, external, socioeconomic, and physical factors influencing these concepts of democracy, analyzing the elections held during the period, and interviewing Iraqis in the United States. In a religiously conservative society such as Iraq, understanding the basics of Iraqis' religion helps scholars better understand how Iraqis define and view democracy. In examining the bases for varying views of democracy among Iraqis, religion as a collective framework generates meanings, attitudes, beliefs, values, and purposes to help make sense of Iraqi political experience and shapes individuals' beliefs, behaviors, and ethical structures. Additionally, income, education, personal experiences, and religious attachment also help to shape their definition of democracy. Using scholarship about the theories of democracy, this study constructed measures of different aspects of its meaning among Iraqi individuals and political parties. Then, using data collected from primary and secondary sources (including interviews, statements of the political philosophies of active political parties, statements of party leaders, and sources such as books, articles, media reports, public discourse, websites, and blogs), I examined several expectations about the extent of variation in and the nature of Iraqis' definitions of democracy. Each group evidently manipulated its definition of democracy to protect its interests at the expense of its rivals. Based on the evidence examined, five key themes emerged: restoration of full Iraqi administration of the country; schism in the Shi'a house between the two religious centers of Qum (Iran) and Najaf (Iraq); collapse of the ruling party; fluidity of political realignments; a rise of secularisms; and the emergence of a robust social movement supporting a Western liberal democratic system. Competition over shared social and ideological terrain often intensified political struggles, especially the fierce clash between and within the Shi'a and Sunni communities and Islamists and leftist forces. Although the intensity of conflicting definitions of democracy diminished over the two elections held in 2014 and 2018, a more universal definition is still sought. A clearer and more stable meaning remains elusive despite growing consensus on the term. In sum, this study is far from the last word on how Iraqis define democracy, as it continues to evolve in theory and practice. / Doctor of Philosophy / Between 2005 and 2018, Iraq held five national elections, followed by a series of political crises surrounding conflicting understandings of democracy. This study follows the evolution of democracy in Iraq during this 13-year period, as the country moved from Authoritarian (guardianship) and Thin (successorship) views of democracy to a Deep (Western) liberal view. I trace the evolution of democracy in Iraq by probing the possible influences of religious, cultural, historical, external, socioeconomic, and physical factors on ideas of democracy, analyzing the elections held during the period and interviewing Iraqis in the United States. This project highlights the views of democracy espoused by Iraqi individuals and active political parties. The study investigated the conditional nature of ideological congruence within the political parties in Iraq that had religious preferences. Various Iraqi groups exhibited different levels of understanding of democracy based on their religions, personal experiences and levels of education and income. Using scholarship on democratic theory, I looked at Deep (Western) liberal (pluralism), Thin (Successorship, Sunni rule by consensus), and Authoritarian (Guardianship), Shi'a centralized authority views of democracy and explored whether and how differences the rules of thought in each view were associated with Iraqis' definitions of democracy and accompanying political dislocation and mistrust. I examined these views of democracy based on multiple data bases, interviews, television, newspapers, and blogs and found that oppressed groups and religious minorities more generally accepted liberal democracy even if it had been forcefully introduced by an occupier. Different democratic perspectives are often associated with antagonism toward and discord in the electoral process. Thus, the definitions of democracy from each community's perspective are some of the most important predictors of democratic acceptance by Iraqis.

No / The anticapitalist protests at Seattle and Genoa are dramatic symbols of a growing collective anger about the of a few multinational corporations. But there is more to anticapitalism than demonstrations: concepts like participatory democracy and economic solidarity form the heart of alternative but equally compelling visions. Hilary Wainwright, writer and long-time political activist, set out on a quest to find out how people are putting such concepts into practice locally and taking control over public power. Her journey starts at home, in east Manchester, where local community groups are testing Tony Blair¿s commitment to ¿community-led¿ regeneration by getting involved in the way government money is spent. In Newcastle, she joins a meeting of homecare workers and their clients to challenge the threat of privatization of homecare services in that city. In Los Angeles she talks to the people behind the community-union coalitions that have had major successes in improving the impoverished bus system and in winning a living wage for employees of firms contracted by the city. And in Porto Alegre she discovers the wider democratic potential of the participatory budget, the basis of investment decisions in many Brazilian cities. Local democracy and ¿people power,¿ it turns out, provided the foundations for a global alternative, as her visit to the World Social Forum reveals.

This study concerns the terms liberalism, the political, democracy, and liberal democracy focusing on the application of the terms in the discourse of two distinct political theorists: Carl Schmitt and Sheldon S. Wolin. I address the question of whether similarities exist between Schmitt and Wolin's theories? Specifically, are there similarities in their use of the terms listed above? Although both emphasize different aspects of the terms, I suggest they simultaneously share similar perspectives on them. In particular, I suggest that Schmitt and Wolin share in common attributes in their views on the purported problematic of liberal democracy. Furthermore, I suggest both theorists speak to the general concern that if the political cannot be realized, then democracy cannot be practice. / Master of Arts

This study centers around the evolution in theory and practice used in dealing with superior children. The manner in which the growth of democracy has influenced this evolution is pointed out.

The problem of this study is to make an analysis of some democratic procedures for planning and conducting special education for exceptional children.

The purpose of this study is to determine a method of helping elementary school pupils to learn the ways of democracy through the use of the integrative-experience curriculum.

This thesis handles the subjects of freedom and democracy on the West Bank, Palestine. The analysis builds on discourse theory with focuses on the informants’ reality and experiences. In order to highlight the difficulties they face in their daily lives under occupation and oppression this thesis focuses on how they express themselves in regards to freedom and democracy. The study has been carried out through fieldwork and qualitative interviews undertaken to ascertain the people’s opinions and views on subjects of democracy and freedom. The analysis handles subjects of inequalities, how fellow citizens get divided geographically and based on opinions held, the reasons behind it; as well as the role played by the occupation of the Palestinian territories in the fight for democracy and freedom for the informants.