The George W. Bush jr administration explicitly declared its aim to spread democracy militarily. Is such an intention legal under current international law, norms and institutions? If one proves it to be at odds with the criterion of legality – since it clearly contradicts one of the main pillars of the UN Charter, i.e. the principle of non-interference –, can it be justified with recourse to t...

This paper reports an explorative analysis on the development of legitimacy across 20 European democracies. I contend that processes representing democratic performance are conducive to changes in legitimacy. A conceptual and empirical discussion is presented to establish this relationship. Democratic performance appears to change due to less trust in parties as representatives and variations i...

Bicameralism remains a common legislative arrangement, providing a classic potential check on political executives. But this potential is not always realised, leading scholars to ask which factors contribute to bicameralism that is ‘strong’. One well-established analysis is that of Arend Lijphart, in his account of majoritarian and consensus democracies. This bases bicameral strength on two dim...

Trust matters profoundly for many dimensions of political life. In this article we focus on political trust: how the trust or mistrust citizens have toward the political process, politicians and government affects politics. Prior research has shown that political trust influences such crucial dimensions of politics as the basic legitimacy of government, political participation, voting behavior,...

this article contends that legitimacy in the exercise of power comes from the consent of those subject to it. in global health, this implies that the participation of poor country citizens is required for the legitimacy of major actors and institutions. but a review of institutions and processes suggests that this participation is limited or absent. particularly because of the complex political...

Present-day discussion of corporate governance is mainly centered on finance-related issues and the relation of shareholders and management. However, this view neglects the fundamental changes of the operating conditions of business due to globalization and the weakening of regulatory frameworks, not only changing the role of business, rendering it a political actor in part. Furthermore, the ve...

Yuri Pines – the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Prepared for the SSEC-AAS conference, Chicago, March 2009 The Rong Cheng shi is one of the largest and relatively well preserved texts from the Shanghai Museum collection of Chu state bamboo manuscripts. This previously unknown text is the only recently unearthed work that presents a systematic account of the earliest stages of China's history, be...

the counseling system is the one of the basis on which all social and political affairs are presented and investigated through public and political consultation in the form of discussions and free conversations. in the counseling system, it is the public wisdom and agreement that leads to the selection and determination of rulers, social and political constructs and institutions, codifying and ...