This paper argues that energy democracy could manifest in terms of public engagement at the community level, free of state intervention, government fostering, and donor support, even in locations where governments have been in flux from a democracy to a non-democracy. In currently non-democratic Thailand, for example, public engagement on community energy transitions had occurred, were sustaine...

Governments, international agencies and corporations are increasingly investing in traditional herbal medicine research. Yet little literature addresses ethical challenges in this research. In this paper, we apply concepts in a comprehensive ethical framework for clinical research to international traditional herbal medicine research. We examine in detail three key, underappreciated dimensions ...

Mature democracies increasingly confront the dilemma of apathetic citizens who have become disenchanted with traditional channels of participation in democratic governance procedures. In representative democracies in particular, this apathy is exemplified by falling voter turnouts, party memberships and participation in community association. To counter apathy, e-governance techniques including...

In recent years, many governments have shown a keen interest in “nudges” — approaches to law and policy that maintain freedom of choice, but that steer people in certain directions. Yet to date, there has been little evidence on whether citizens of various societies support nudges and nudging. We report the results of nationally representative surveys in six European nations: Denmark, France, G...

The 564-page annual review of human rights practices around the globe, summarizes major human rights issues in more than 90 countries(1). The report documents ongoing human rights abuses by states and non-state armed groups across the globe, including attacks on civilians in conflicts in Afghanistan, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Georgia, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territ...

Although a number of studies have examined the influence of public opinion on government policy, few have considered the influence of public opinion on social conditions. These are separate questions, since government policies may not have their intended effects and opinion may influence some outcomes independently of government action. This paper examines the relationship between public suppor...

The article describes the international cooperation of local governments, which are a form decentralization democratic states. This developed massively after Second World War. Today more than 200,000 and regional communities participate in it, cooperating not only by direct contacts, but also through various types organizations networks. is new growing phenomenon environment. On selected exampl...

This article assesses land ownership patterns among small-scale producers of non-traditional fruit exports (NTAX) in El Palqui, Chile, in the context of the country’s extensive neoliberal reforms during dictatorial rule from 19731989 and their continuation under successive democratic Concertación governments since 1990. It reports on work that revisits an export boom locality ten years after an...

Against welfare dependence models, this paper argues that in the ’70s Americans flooded the labor market, helping to suppress wages and make more people poor. It also argues that capitalist markets normally generate unemployment, which sustains poverty; capitalist nations in Europe with less poverty don’t have better free markets but their governments pay needy people more. These facts were inv...

Studies have shown that complex institutional structures often impede democratic accountability by obscuring 'clarity of responsibility'. As an emerging federal system, the European Union (EU) divides decision-making powers between multiple levels of government. Yet little is known about whether European citizens attribute responsibility accordingly. In other words, do they hold the European Un...