Democracy

Direct vs representative democracy

Federal vs. unitary state

Presidential vs. parliamentary government

Majoritarian vs. proportional representation

Citizens make decisions themselves through votes, or elect representatives to make decisions for them.

Political authority is distributed among different territorial levels, or concentrated mainly in the central government.

In presidential systems, the executive is institutionally separate from the legislature; in parliamentary systems, the government depends on parliamentary confidence.

Elections prioritise winning majorities in constituencies (geographical area whos people is represnted by elected official) or distribute seats more proportionally to votes received.

What is democracy concerned with in terms of the goals to make it a good democracy?

1. Groups required collective decision and group members often disagree

2. Democracy is inclusive and reason oriented regarding members as equal in decision making.

3. Equal participation of members which have equal opinions regarding interest. Arguments must be open to public. Decisions and elected representatives must be periodically reviewed.

What is a democratic society, democratic political community and democratic way of life.

Society: Equal participation and rights of groups within society

Political: Citizens have the right to decide political decisions and oversee political authority ie president etc

Way of life: A society valuing equality, fairness and freedom.

What is the input, throughput and output of democracy?

Input: Establishing rules whilst ensuring equal inclusion of all members.

Throughput: Procedures that make sure decisions are justifiable or resonable

Output: System of government in which binding rules serve to ensure the common good (whats believed to be good)

Why is democracy needed or done?

Instrumental reasons like propserity and peace/security

Intrinstic reasons like having a say or intrinstic value of collective autonomy.

Overall: Dignity, freedom, autonomy, equality

What are the limits of democracy

Democratic majority cant decide anything.

Like changing basic rights enabling democracy and it has to have respect for fundamental rights of non-members

What are the four forms of scientific influence on political decision making? State their pros and cons and order them from least influence to most.

Mapping: Reports like IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). Has shared factual basis but value related assumptions are hidden

Advising: Scientists advice policymakers. Has evidence based decisions but politicians may avoid responsibility by relying on scientists

Mobilising: Scientisits publicily advocate plans for the future. This means that governments are pressured to act but scientific authority can lead to one value outweighing another equal one.

Legislation: Scientific findings used in court to challenge government policies or protect rights. Courts can protect fundamental rights even when majority disagrees. But this leads to decision shifting from the people to the courts.

What are the three strategies for how scientific expertise enter into the implementation of policies.

Strategy 1: Activism - Follow the science

Scientists call publicly for call to action based on findings. Scientific consenus becomes politcal. Helps future generations by not only focusing on the people now.

Strategy 2: Co-production

Researchers write reports and governments approve summaries. Politicians decide on the basis of a jointly based framework.

Strategy 3: Seperation of roles - netural experts

Scientists present findings like options and consequences without talking about political decisions.

What is role accumulation or a totalised expert in other words? What are contradictions for strategies: activism, co production and seperation of roles

If a scientist simultaneously researches, advises, protests and governs, scientific expertise and political authority can become difficult to distinguish.

Activism: Scientists may demand that policy follow the IPCC, even though the IPCC itself is not supposed to promote political policies.

Coproduction: Governments participate in shaping the knowledge framework that is later presented as a neutral scientific basis

Seperation: requires sacrifice like experts must give up the special authority attached to their scientific status when they speak as political actors.

How can democracy be expanded?

More intensive involvement: existing memebers participate more deeply

Extension of equal status: More people are included as equal members

Extension to further area: democracy is expanded to different settings beyond where they are eg workplace.

What is outcome oriented and process oriented democracy.

What problems arise from outcome oriented democracy and how does process oriented democracy fix them.

Outcome-oriented democracy: decisions promoting the common good

Process-oriented democracy: equal participation of input and fair reasonable procedures as throughput

The common good is contested. Process oriented democracy enables fair procedures letting equals decide

Input, because it concerns the issue of inclusion.

Output, because it is results-oriented.

Throughput, as it involves an intervention in the decision-making process.

Input, because it concerns the issue of inclusion.