Political deliberation is a classic component of collective decision-making. It consists in forming one’s political position through the give-and-take of reasons in the search of, but not necessarily reaching, consensus. Participants of genuine deliberation are open to transform their preferences in the light of persuasive arguments. Constitutional theory has borrowed this notion in its effort to reconstruct a justificatory discourse for judicial review of legislation. Constitutional courts were ascribed the pivotal role of implementing fundamental rights in most contemporary democracies and called for a more sophisticated picture of democratic politics. One influential defence has claimed that courts are not only insulated from electoral competition in order to guarantee the pre-conditions of majoritarian politics, but are deliberative forums of a distinctive kind: they are better located for public reasongiving. This belief has remained, from the normative point of view, largely underelaborated. The thesis proposes a model of deliberative performance to fill that gap. This qualitative concept unfolds the institutional and ethical requirements for courts to be genuinely deliberative. Instead of taking a stand on the old dispute about which institution is more legitimate to have the “last word” on constitutional meaning, this research leaves this question suspended and systematizes the large range of variations that can exist in constitutional courts’ performances. Discussions about the potential roles of constitutional courts, in this perspective, become more sensitive to contexts and to their varying degrees of legitimacy. The thesis offers a comprehensive picture of what is at stake if a constitutional court plans to be truly deliberative. This picture comprises the virtues presupposed by an ethics of deliberation, the institutional devices that facilitate deliberation, the approach to constitutional reasoning that is more hospitable to deliberation and, finally, the political perception to grasp the limits of deliberation itself.

China and Mexico present an intriguing case for comparison. In 1990, the Peruvian Nobel Prize winner described Mexico as “the perfect dictatorship”. By 2000, just a decade later, Mexico’s peaceful transition to a democracy culminated in the victory of Vicente Fox, and the unseating of the PRI’s seventy-one year rule over Mexico. China, or more specifically, People’s Republic of China, on the other hand, has been under the one-party leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for sixty-seven years, since it was founded in 1949, and remains an authoritarian regime today. Since the Third Wave of Democratization swept the world’s developing countries, there have been heated discussions about the potential of democratization in China. Much of the buzz surrounds the direct village elections in China, in which Chinese citizens have the opportunity to vote directly for their village leaders. Although it makes no pretense of hosting national elections, China has held village elections that seem to be a step towards democratization. Or is it? Despite the focus on village elections and the extent to which they are democratic, there has been little work comparing China’s local elections to that of other countries that have been through similar experiences, namely Mexico. This thesis will compare the cases of Mexico and China in order to explore the conditions for democratization, and hypothesize the future of China’s democracy. By examining scholarly works, historical trends, and recent events, this thesis will argue for the importance of local elections on the process of democratization in both Mexico and China.

Recent theories of democracy agree in rejecting the 'classical' theory and in giving only a minor place to popular participation. Attempts to defend the 'classical' theory have failed to show that the rejection is unjustified given the empirical evidence of the political apathy of the ordinary man. Chapter 1. The theory of a very influential forerunner of recent theorists, Schumpeter, is discussed. The work of Mayo, Dahl and Sartori, theorists concerned to establish the defining characteristics of democracy, is examined. They agree that the essential feature is the electoral competition of leaders. So long as a certain minimum of the electorate periodically vote nothing further is required of them. Sartori argues that apathy is "nobody's fault". Three theories of stable democracy, complementary to those of the first group of writers, are discussed. Berelson, Almond and Verba, and Eckstein are concerned with the attributes of the citizen and the forms of non-political authority structures required for a stable democratic system. It is argued that all the writers considered adhere to a common theory of democracy: the contemporary theory. The critics of this theory argue a) that despite claims to the contrary, a new normative theory has been produced: b) that the 'classical' theory has been misunderstood. Chapter II. It is argued that although facts and values can be distinguished from each other there is no unbridgeable, logical gulf between tnem; rather a two-way relationship exists and values are 'vulnerable' to facts. Further it is argued that it is not possible for political theorists to use certain key terms, e.g. political equality, in a purely descriptive sense. An evaluative background is needed to make particular interpretations intelligible. The evaluative framework of the contemporary theory of democracy, which includes a model of tne ideal (private) citizen, is discussed. The notion of one 'classical' theory of democracy is shown to be a myth. The contemporary theory descends from 'classical' theorists (e.g. Bentham) who held the sane narrow, protective view of participation. Other 'classical' theorists held a very different view of participation. Chapter III. On the basis of a discussion of the participatory theories of two 'classical' theorists, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and J.S. Mill, and one twentieth century theorist, G.D.H. Cole, it is argued that the significant contribution to democratic theory of the theorists of participation is the recognition of an inter- relationship between the form of, and operation of, political institutions and the attributes of individuals interacting within them. The major hypothesis of these theorists is that participation is educative, in the widest sense of that term. The psychological impact of participation, and the political control it gives to citizens, means that the more men participate the better able they are to do so; the political system becomes self-sustaining. In Mill's and Cole's theories it is argued that if citizens are to participate at national level then they need 'practice' in more familiar spheres. Cole argues that the most important area for such participation is industry, so that industrial authority structures must therefore be democratised. Chapter IV. Despite criticisms of the contemporary theory of democracy no attempt has been made to provide even the beginnings of a modern participatory theory of democracy that retains the essentials of the earlier theories. It is argued that the crucial variable in the political socialisation process is the authority structures of familiar spheres of social life, the most important area being industry. The democratisation of this area makes possible the transformation of the existing political culture. The evaluative framework of a modern participatory theory of democracy is discussed, including its wide definition of the 'political' itself. The theory argues that all men are potentially political animals; what is missing at present is the institutional setting to develop this potentiality. Chapter V. Recent "empirical" democratic theory has ignored the important fact that the existing pattern of political participation is linked to class position. Furthermore, the social and psychological characteristics correlated with low rates of participation are not a random collection of items but form a non-participation syndrome; a syndrome having both cognitive and psychological aspects. The empirical data in The Civic Culture support the argument of the participatory theory that the workplace is crucial for political socialisation. Other important, but neglected, evidence on this point is reviewed. It is argued that the typical social- isatlon process of the working class citizen, culminating, crucially, in socialisation in the workplace, accounts for the psychological aspect of the syndrome. The (inter-related) cognitive aspect of the syndrome is that apathy arises becaude participation in the existing system seems pointless to the ordinary citizen. This aspect of the explanation is supported by a reinterpretation of working class respondents' replies to scales designed to ensure political efficacy, and "authoritarianism" in the sense of commitment to democratic norms. Chapter VI. The available evidence on participation in industry has been neglected by students of political socialisation and democracy. The argument that leisure is now more important than work is shown to be unconvincing. Participation at the lower (shop floor) level and the higher management level must be distinguished. Ihere is a good deal of evidence to show both that the ordinary worker wants more participation at the lower level and that it is feasible. Evidence on experiments with participation at this level, and the collective contract in the mining and automobile industries is reviewed. The arguments of the participatory theory is also supported by experiments with small groups and by the writings of many modern management theorists who argue that lower level participation is essential for real efficiency in the enterprise. Chapter VII. Most definitions of participation in industry are very imprecise, and 'participation' and 'democracy' are often used as synonyms, so that clarification is necessary. Pseudo-participation and two forms of participation (in decision making) are distinguished: partial and full participation. The claim that democracy in industry already exists is rejected. It is shown that it is a mistake to equate 'democracy' and 'participation'. To influence both aspects of the non-participation syndrome higher level participation is required. Three British examples of higher level participation are discussed, at Glacier Metal, John Lewis Partnership, and the Scott Bader Commonwealth. In general this, and other evidence, indicates that workers have little interest in higher level participation. But too hasty a conclusion should not be drawn, as evidence also indicates that the lower level in the enterprise acts as a 'training ground' for the higher, so that a system combining opportunities at both levels would be required for the maximum interest and activity. Chapter VIII. For an example of an attempt to democratize industry over a whole economy one has to turn to the Yugoslav system of workers' self management. One major problem in assessing the system is the role of the Communist League. It is argued that though important this does not completely nullify the self-management structure. Another important factor is the economic reforms of 1965, especially since they have helped to increase the influence of 'experts' within the enterprise and within the workers' council itself.

This study examines how preschool teachers are working together with the children, and how much the children actually influence the work. In order to examine this, a qualitative study has been made, examining four preschool teachers thought and attitudes towards children's influence in some of the most important parts of their daily work. The study examines how preschool teachers are working with the children's influence in early childhood education. This is also the main purpose of the study. The questions made in the study to answer the main purpose are: What does the preschool teacher think of the term democracy in general? What do preschool teachers think about children's influence and how do they work practically with this in their daily work? How does the preschool curriculum define children's influence? To what extent does children's influence get limited in the daily work? The study has used previous research about children's influence in preschool andalso uses the preschool curriculum and the CRC. It shows that the participating preschool teachers working with children's influence within the various parts of preschool activities do so by taking advantage of the children's interests and opinions. At the same time, there may be situations where the children are not given as much influence. The study also shows that teachers assume the perspective of children and child perspective.

published_or_final_version / Politics and Public Administration / Master / Master of Philosophy

<p>The overreaching purpose of this study is to examine in what ways lobbying contributes to democratic policymaking in the European Union. Having limited amount of time, a case study has been conducted with the main purpose to examine what impacts lobbying have on the proposed EU-legislation to lower CO2 emissions from newly produced cars, in terms of democratic policymaking. The lobby groups in this case being ACEA and T&E. In order to fulfill the purpose a comprehensive research question is formulated: What impacts do ACEA and T&E have on the proposed EU-legislation to lower the CO2 emissions from newly produced cars, in terms of democratic policymaking?</p><p>The theory and definitions of democratic policymaking were drawn from Rinus van Schendelen´s book “Machiavelli in Brussels; The Art of Lobbying the EU”. Definitions of different components essential to democratic policymaking were given here and used together with the material on ACEA and T&E to answer the research question.</p><p>The material was based on documents, press-statements, speeches and publications from the European Union, ACEA and T&E to find out how ACEA and T&E lobbied the proposed legislation.</p><p>The study has shown mostly positive impacts from ACEA and T&E on the proposed EU-legislation to lower the CO2 emissions from newly produced cars, in terms of democratic policymaking. For the overreaching purpose the conclusion is that lobbying therefore contributes mostly in a positive way to democratic policymaking in the European Union.</p><p>This study can in the future be used in further studies to see what impacts lobby groups have on democratic policymaking in the European Union and also in studies concerning how lobby groups carry out their lobbying.</p>

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