Political Representation

This chapter explores the territorial dimension and its recent evolutions during the current European Parliament’s mandate. This territorial dimension is generally considered to be central to the process of representation at the national level but has been relatively neglected in the EP to date. Rather than assuming an electoral disconnection between MEPs and EU territories, authors take an inductive approach to empirically examine the extent to which territorial representation is reflected in members’ practices. To do so, they rely on an analysis of MEP’s written questions, which constitutes another understudied topic. The content of these questions is used as an indicator of members’ priorities, centres of interest, and conception of their mandate, as well as of their evolution in the recent period of time.

During the last few years in Bulgaria, as well as in other parts of the world, we are witnessing a proliferation of social movements. As far as the current global crisis is defined as predominantly economic and financial crisis, it puts to question neoliberalism as the doctrine with a minimalist vision of the state intervention and deregulation of public goods. What can be seen in social movements around the world, as well as in Bulgaria, are the demands for stronger state with citizen participation and restricted influence of privileged (financial) lobbies on political decision­making. The article presents data collected through in­depth interviews and anthropological observation of protest mobilizations in Bulgaria, analysed with the methodology of grounded theory, to form three core categories: representative democracy and political parties, participation, deliberation. The data show a strong preference for forms of citizen control and a return to established forms of representative democracy in a fraction of the protesters by the end of the studied period.

Der Mensch ist im Zeitalter des Anthropozän mit seiner globalen Wirkkraft zu einem dominanten Einflussfaktor auf den Planeten geworden. Industrialisierung und der darauffolgende Klimawandel, Atomenergie und -waffen mit den damit verbundenen kurz- und langfristigen existenziellen Risiken, Biodiversitätsverlust, Antibiotikaresistenzen, Schadstoffemissionen, demographischer Wandel, Desertifikation, Ressourcenabbau – vieles von dem, was der Mensch tut, ist irreversibel und hat massive Auswirkungen nicht nur auf uns, sondern auch auf zukünftige Generationen. Im Guten wie im Schlechten – nie hatte der Mensch so viel Einfluss auf die mittel- und langfristige Zukunft und zugleich ein solch umfassendes Wissen über die Risiken seiner Handlungsfolgen. Komplexe Probleme wie der Klimawandel, dessen Hauptauswirkungen erst in einigen Jahrzehnten am deutlichsten hervortreten werden, wären heute am wirksamsten zu bekämpfen.
Gestrige und heutige politische (Nicht-)Entscheidungen beeinflussen und binden demnach nicht nur uns, sondern auch zukünftige Generationen, insbesondere ihre Lebensbedingungen, Handlungsspielräume und damit auch Selbstbestimmungsmöglichkeiten. Unsere rechtlichen und politischen Institutionen scheinen jedoch noch nicht an das Zeitalter des Anthropozäns angepasst zu sein. In der Demokratie repräsentieren Abgeordnete das Volk; u. a. über Wahlen werden sie regelmäßig von den Wahlberechtigten verantwortlich gehalten. Entscheidungsberechtigte und Entscheidungsbetroffene sind so nur noch in Teilen identisch, da die ebenfalls betroffenen zukünftigen Generationen heute nicht am demokratischen Willensbildungsprozess teilhaben können. Die herkömmlichen Modelle politischer Repräsentation sehen Konstituenten wie zukünftige Generationen, die heute noch gar nicht existieren, schlicht nicht vor. Der Demokratie wird auch deshalb nachgesagt, sie sei in ihren Vierjahreszyklen zu gegenwartsfixiert und berücksichtige die betroffenen Interessen zukünftiger Generationen bestenfalls ungenügend.
In der politischen Philosophie wird dieser Umstand seit ca. vier Jahrzehnten zunehmend kritisiert. Dabei werden demokratietheoretische, menschenrechtliche, verantwortungsethische und gerechtigkeitstheoretische Argumente angeführt, warum die wohlverstandenen Interessen zukünftiger Generationen schon heute in den politischen Entscheidungsprozess eingebracht werden sollten. Auch wurden zahlreiche Vorschläge entwickelt, wie dies auf einer institutionellen Ebene aussehen könnte. Sie reichen von Parlamentssitzen für Repräsentanten zukünftige Generationen über Zukunftsräte und neue Verfassungsartikel bis hin zu dritten Parlamentskammern.
Nach einer kurzen Einführung in das Thema wird es im Vortrag vor allem darum gehen, real existierende Institutionen vorzustellen, die damit beauftragt wurden, die Interessen zukünftiger Generationen im politischen Entscheidungsprozess zu repräsentieren. Dazu gehören etwa der Ombudsmann für zukünftige Generationen (Ungarn, 2008–11, eingeschränkt bis heute), der parlamentarische Kommissar für zukünftige Generationen (Israel, 2001–06), die Zukünftige-Generationen-Kommissarin (Wales, seit 2016) und der parlamentarische Ausschuss für die Zukunft (Finnland, seit 1993). Als Grundlage für die anschließende Diskussion werden neben den Chancen auch die Herausforderungen der Institutionalisierung solcher neuen Repräsentationsmodelle besprochen, darunter ihre politische Realisierbarkeit und demokratische Legitimität.

Irom Sharmila, also known as the 'iron lady' of Manipur (India), has fasted for 16 long years, sustained through forced nasal feeding, making it one of the longest political fasts in the world. She struggled against the rule of emergency law in her land through the mechanism of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. In an attempt to explore the power of an image, the paper traverses the aspects of iconization of Irom Sharmila. The image of a woman, frail in structure and a tube attached to her nose triggers bodily pain in the spectator which comes from the innate violence in her image. The paper examines how the body of Sharmila has been actively transformed into a site of resistance and a ground on which politics is played out.

Action-­sentences about states, such as 'North Korea conducted a nuclear test', are ubiquitous in discourse about international relations. Although there has been a great deal of debate in IR about whether states are agents or actors, the question of how to interpret action-­sentences about states has been treated as secondary or epiphenomenal. This article focuses on our practices of speaking and writing about the state rather than the ontology of the state. It uses Hobbes' theory of attributed action to develop a typology of action-‐sentences and to analyze action-sentences about states. These sentences are not shorthand for action-­sentences about individuals, as proponents of the metaphorical interpretation suggest. Nor do they describe the actions of singular agents, as proponents of the literal interpretation suggest. The central argument is that action-­sentences about states are 'attributive', much like sentences about principals who act vicariously through agents: they identify the 'owners' of actions—the entities that are responsible for them—rather than the agents that perform the actions. Our practice of ascribing actions to states is not merely figurative, but nor does it presuppose that states are corporate agents.

The article addresses and critically interrogates the role of racism in the present and past crises of American democratic political representation since the American republic was constituted. By rethinking democratic political representation as a continuous ontological practice of recreating the American body politic in the form of a delimited American nation and by rethinking racism as a structural constitutive feature and phenomenon of the American republic, it demonstrates the exclusionary nature of American democratic political representation. In this context, it reflects on the central transformations of American democratic political representation, including the most recent one related to the Trump phenomenon.

Jelen tanulmány legfőbb célja rávilágítani a választójog mint alapjog, egyik aspektusa, a választójog egyenlősége szerepére a jogállamiság koncepciójában, felvázolva a tudomány jeles képviselőinek erre vonatkozó álláspontját. A magyar alkotmánybíróság választójog egyenlőségéhez kapcsolódó legfontosabb határozatai és a Velencei Bizottság kapcsolódó ajánlásai is felvillantásra kerülnek. A kérdés kapcsán kiemelésre kerül a magyarországi nemzetiségek országgyűlési képviseletének kérdése is, amelynek megoldására a rendszer-váltás óta igény jelentkezett, amely igény csupán 2010-et követően került kielégítésre. Megvizsgáljuk, hogy több mint két évtizedes mulasztásos alkotmánysértés állt-e fent a nemzetiségek országgyűlési képviseletére vonatkozóan. Fényt derítünk arra is, hogy sikerült-e kedvezményes országgyűlési képviseletet biztosítani a Magyarországon élő nemzetiségeknek, vagy éppen hátrányosabb helyzetbe kerültek a nemzetiségi választópolgárként nem regisztrált választóknál?

Disability Beyond Fabrication. Representation, Embodiment, and the Strategies of "Staring Back" The article analyzes the ways of producing cultural representations of disability in theatre, film, literature and society. It draws attention to their dialectical structure, which problematizes-as in the case of the figure of the disabled avenger from Malina Prześluga's drama "Debil"-a positive going beyond the oppositions of good and evil, agency and passivity. The author emphasizes the need to perceive not only metaphorical but also materialistic dimensions of disability in order to deconstruct and dislocate (and not only duplicate) ableist clichés. The key role in this process is played by the categories of embodiment and lived experience, as well as the strategies of "staring back" (R. Garland-Thomson) used by contemporary Polish artists with disabilities.

Chile enfrenta un proceso electoral con nuevas reglas pero también con una crisis de la representación sin precedente en su historia reciente. Mientras la confianza en los partidos y en los parlamentarios cae, surgen movimientos sociales y nuevos referentes políticos en todo el espectro ideológico que intentan ofrecer caminos alternativos para canalizar las demandas ciudadanas. En este escenario se realizarán el 19 de noviembre las elecciones presidenciales, parlamentarias y de consejeros regionales. En la capacidad que tengan los partidos de superar el grave déficit democrático que aqueja al sistema político chileno se juega hoy su supervivencia como articuladores de demandas sociales en la esfera pública.

The chapter will introduce the basic component parts of a key political insti- tution, the electoral system, with attention to the franchise, districting, and the voting system, while setting out both the explicitly gendered definitions and implications of said rules. This will involve reviewing gendered struggles over inclusion/exclusion from the political process and the campaigns waged over them, as well as the arguments proffered on different sides. But it will also involve an examination of the gendered processes and results of electoral insti- tutions, specifically the way in which unequal power rooted in distinctions of gender are brought to bear on political contests institutionally.

Artistic expression frequently engages with the question of suffering. In so doing, it confronts the gravity and complexity of the human condition. This volume investigates the relationship between art and suffering. In short, the contributors to this volume collectively demonstrate that suffering is an undisputed and shareable motivating experience.

The special authority invested in the war artist and the image had become denuded by the mid-1980s. Although an independent artist working to commission, Peter Howson’s work in the Balkans was considered to have crossed the line that distinguished between impersonal witness and overzealous artist. Unlike William Orpen’s impartial rendition of gross personal violation, Howson was deemed to have become both judge and jury, an advocate not an artist, corrupted by circumstantial evidence rather than remaining vigilant as an uncorruptible viewer. For his part, Howson was clear that the terms of engagement had fundamentally changed since the Great War: it was no longer simply about what could be seen or not seen, but also what was known and could not be denied.

This article explores the composition of Utrecht’s city government after the introduction of the guild ordinance of 1304, and the representation of craft guilds and socioeconomic interests in local government, in particular. For the analysis, the yearly lists of magistrates between 1402 (the year in which they first appear) and 1459 are used. It is argued that a relatively stable system of power distribution between the 21 ‘common guilds’ (the political guilds) developed in Utrecht before the fifteenth century. This system or ‘guild hierarchy’ worked to the advantage of the more well-off merchants, retailers and producers of luxury goods, active in (inter)regional markets, and to the disadvantage of craftsmen and retailers who were primarily active in the local market. At the same time, it is argued that a relatively small ruling elite, similar to those of neighbouring ‘oligarchic’ towns, emerged in Utrecht within the framework of guild government. Even though the factual power distribution in the city government thus undermined the representative
character of the city government, the constitutional framework of open elections and representation from the guilds, as well as occasional consultation of the guild membership, remained largely intact.

O artigo a seguir pretende apresentar, de maneira breve, a noção de democracia do filósofo Cornelius Castoriadis, bem como sua crítica às “democracias” contemporâneas – que ele não admitia como tais – dividindo-se para tanto em duas partes, correspondentes a cada um de seus objetivos, acrescidas de considerações finais. Para apresentar a democracia pela visão castoriadiana, aborda-se também a distinção feita pelo autor entre “política” e “político” e entre público e privado, bem como do que ele entende por “autonomia”, objetivo da política, chegando tão próximo de uma definição de democracia quanto o autor se permite. A segunda parte segue os argumentos de Castoriadis contra o sistema representativo corrente, atacando-o tanto nos princípios quanto em seu funcionamento mais específico. Por fim, as considerações finais tentam apontar alguns dos caminhos aos quais esta crítica pode nos levar hoje, inclusive fazendo uma breve relação com as manifestações ao redor do mundo desde 2011.

The article discusses the life and work of Mitropane Lagidze, a
well-known Georgian non-alcoholic beverage specialist, prominent
industrialist and philanthropist, creator of the famous brand of Lagidze
Waters during the Soviet period.

Prior to the Bolshevik occupation of Georgia and the establishment
of the Soviet regime in the country, Mitropane Lagidze
owned two lemonade factories (in Tbilisi and Kutaisi), several shops
and a pavilion, as well as a well-maintained power plant (in Kutaisi).
He achieved great success in the production of fruit waters in the
1900s and also won the honorary title of a supplier of lemonade to the
Russian Imperial Court. M. Lagidze also received high awards at
international exhibitions for the best product.

Mitropane Lagidze's property was nationalized in the spring of
1921, but as soon as a new economic policy (NEP) was introduced, he
was allowed to continue rent the production. After the completion of
NEP, the factories of the businessman were finally taken over by the
state, and Mitropane himself and his brother Mikhako were appointed
as specialists at the Tbilisi Lemonade Factory.

During the years of the NEP, Mitropane Lagidze was also
deprived of real estate in Kutaisi - two plots of land, and the state
Political Directorate also held him criminally liable. The two sons of
the businessman, who went to study in Germany remained in emigration.
In 1937, Mitropane's brother Grigol Lagidze was arrested and
shot, and another brother, Mikhako, was fired from the job. Mitropane's
son Vakhtang Lagidze was released from prison only after two
years of imprisonment.

After World War II, the attitude of the Soviet authorities towards
M. Lagidze changed for the better. In 1952, he was appointed a
chief consultant for “Glavfructovod” in Moscow and was tasked with
the monitoring the quality of soft drinks throughout the Soviet Union.

From 1921, Mitropane Lagidze was forced to stop the most
important work of his life - charity, because the private charity was
banned throughout the Soviet period.

Buscamos responder a la pregunta sobre cómo funciona el método de elección de “delegados penitenciarios” en Lurigancho, el penal más antiguo de Perú. Nos interesa explicar aquellas prácticas que en espacios como este emergen en clave de democracia procedimental y que no son solo coyunturales o atípicas. La investigación explora las interacciones políticas y formas de representación y aporta así evidencia actual sobre su funcionamiento interno. Los resultados muestran que la reforma electoral penitenciaria agenciada por los propios internos favorece la fiscalización interna y ha permitido disminuir la violencia existente en años anteriores.

¿Cómo pensar el sorteo con eficacia? Mi propuesta es construir una teoría general del sorteo, abordándolo de forma comparativa, para averiguar cuáles son las constantes teóricas entre la gran diversidad empírica de sus usos particulares. En primer lugar, comparo el sorteo a los otros tres modos de selección: elección, nombramiento o cooptación y certificación. En segundo lugar, analizo los marcos deliberativos, es decir, “quién decide qué y cómo”. Tercero, distingo cuatro principios democráticos del sorteo: igualdad, imparcialidad, representatividad y legitimidad. Mi primera hipótesis es que el sorteo amplía considerablemente la igualdad, imparcialidad y representatividad. La segunda de mis hipótesis radica en que el sorteo es el único método de selección con una forma específica de humildad-legitimidad, mientras que los tres restantes modos de selección producen una superioridad-legitimidad que declara superior al representante por encima del representado a través del proceso de selección.

https://revistas.um.es/daimon/article/view/295921

The standard opposition between political representation and participation is based on an exclusive conception of representation (excluding those represented). But a concept of representation that is inclusive can be understood, most notably through the history of representation before representative government succeeded in nineteenth-century France. Instead of preventing the direct participation of those represented, inclusive representation stimulates it. Inclusion through representation may first appear through the politicization of citizens, by their judging the action of representatives inside the institutions of representative government, or through the constructing of alternative representative devices outside these institutions. Inclusive representation may also specifically include dominated groups, inside or outside representative government institutions. Finally, inclusive representation may rest on processes of subjectivation, through which excluded social groups become political subjects.

Feminist studies of the European Union seek to make sense of a field that has become enormously complex. Gender equality has been an issue in the EU since the inclusion of Article 119 on equal pay in the Treaty of Rome 1957 but has since widened to the recognition of equality between women and men as a fundamental principle of democracy for the whole EU. Gender equality is present both in gender-specific policies, such as women’s participation in the labour market, sexual harassment and reconciliation of work and family, as well as informing the basic principles and functioning of the EU institutions wherever gender mainstreaming is implemented. Feminist explorations of the EU have tended to overlook one aspect of EU gender policies: women’s political representation in the EU institutions. This article seeks to address this gap.

Digital transformation changes the relationship between citizens and politics. The observation of this nexus is highly relevant for representative democracy. After the successful 2008 Obama campaign, a vast body of research that explores how and why politicians use social media has emerged. However, we still know very little about how social media are being adopted and used in-between elections, and still less yet about what this means for political representation. Therefore, this Special Issue brings together innovative research that focuses on how the use of social media is impacting upon the relationship between politicians and political parties, and citizens. First, we discuss some pros and cons of this transformation in the context of the relevant literature and, especially, in relation to Stephen Coleman’s concept of ‘direct representation”. Finally, we discuss the findings and merits of the contributions and what the issue adds to our understanding of the phenomenon, to the state of research.

In her chapter, Anthoula Malkopoulou examines the history of compulsory voting in Europe by specifically revisiting the debates over the practice in Belgium and France at the turn of the twentieth century. Malkopoulou especially focuses on two principal arguments advanced in favour of compulsory voting in these historical debates: the ideas of ‘true’, ‘exact’, ‘accurate’ and ‘mirror’ representation, to which compulsory voting allegedly contributes; and the view that compulsory voting brings out the moderate vote. Furthermore, Malkopoulou argues, these arguments can also provide valuable conceptual resources for thinking about ways of countering the crisis of contemporary democracies.

Сажетак: Захтеви за освајањем, стабилизацијом и продубљивањем демократи-је давањем веће улоге организацијама цивилног друштва (ОЦД) који се често појављу-ју у политиколошкој литератури налажу да се испита у каквом су односу ови актери и теорија која их промовише са идејом која се изворно преводи као владавина народа. Овај рад представља сложен однос између цивилног друштва и његових организација и демократије кроз различита схватања теоретичара, укључујући и њихова поимања демократије која су од значаја за улогу организација цивилног друштва у њеном разво-ју на локалном и националном нивоу, као и критику њихових аргумената, док је широ-ка дебата о глобалном цивилном друштву изостављена. Структура рада прати најпре кључне демократске функције цивилног друштва, да би се након тога оне критички размотриле заједно са потенцијалним слабостима. У завршном делу указано је на ре-ално место које ОЦД имају у развоју демократије и критеријуме које у том циљу мора-ју да испуне. Као најбитнији услов демократског доприноса наведено је да оне, у це-лини, уз извесне изузетке, морају да одговарају на потребе друштва, изражавају ставо-ве раширене у друштву и развијају позитиван социјални капитал. Иако ове критерију-ме не прате прецизни механизми остваривања они могу послужити као општији ста-ндарди. Кључне речи: организације цивилног друштва, невладине организације, демо-кратија, представљање, одговорност, социјални капитал.

Battus dans les urnes et dans la rue au printemps 1848, les « démocrates-socialistes » entendent faire entendre leur voix à l’élection présidentielle de décembre. S’ils refusent le principe même de la présidence, ils se divisent sur la stratégie à adopter. Une partie d’entre eux, réunis autour du journal Le Peuple, entendent promouvoir un candidat impossible, qui incarne par sa personne leur protestation. Ils choisissent François-Vincent Raspail, un chef clubiste, savant et médecin des pauvres, alors en prison. Cette candidature donne lieu à une controverse au cours de laquelle deux conceptions de la politique s’affrontent. Malgré un faible score national, Raspail cristallise un vote de classe, faisant de cette candidature une étape dans la construction du mouvement ouvrier français.

A hatvanas években mennyire volt messze a múlt? Hol kezdődhetett a jelen idő?
A szocialista tudatra nevelés, a város lakosainak szórakoztatása, vagy esetleg a turizmus fellendítése adta a motivációt? A szocialista hazafiság eszményei, az osztályharc-elmélet tetten érhető-e a Karneválról szóló sajtótermékekben, esetleg a visszaemlékezők elbeszéléseiben?

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The Savaria Carnival is the prominent summer program of present-day Szombathely. it has its
roots in the 1960s. the essay here deals with these roots. after presenting the venue and participants
of the Carnival, the essay deals with the manifestations of the local patriotism during the Carnival,
presenting the historical view and the time perceptions as suggested by the Carnival, with particular
reference to the horthy era and the post-World War ii period.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has recently made numerous commitments to engage civil society organizations (CSOs) in its governance practices. However, the opportunities created offer limited means for CSOs to contest policy as a result of strict controls over who can participate and the forms of participation permitted. Activists have consequently pursued their agendas outside of spaces sanctioned by ASEAN through ‘created spaces,’ such as conferences organized parallel to official summits. However, this form of political participation has limited potential to influence official processes because despite its independence, these activities are still structured in relation to ASEAN practices. The ineffectual nature of CSO advocacy despite ASEAN’s people-orientated shift has been documented, however explanations for this trend remain limited. This article applies the modes of political participation framework that acknowledges the role of intergovernmental organizations in structuring spaces for civil society participation and, in doing so, shaping the contribution that CSOs can make. Through an examination of the regulations and practices that govern CSO participation in both ASEAN-sanctioned and independent spaces, it argues that spaces for CSO participation are structured to prevent CSOs from contesting policy, suggesting that ASEAN’s shift to widen participation is directed towards legitimating its reform agenda. Hence, ASEAN’s claim of becoming ‘people oriented’ must be considered in recognition of the limiting effect its engagement practices have on CSOs’ ability to advance alternative agendas.

Le régicide de Bamberg au début du XIIIe siècle a longtemps été expliqué par les théories du complot et d’une vengeance. Cet article propose, cependant, une relecture des sources contemporaines par une approche constructiviste permettant de reconstituer les différentes perceptions des auteurs. Il en ressort qu’une double lecture peut être faite de la représentation contemporaine de l’assassinat de Philippe de Souabe. Premièrement, malgré les récits divergents, tous leurs auteurs s’accordent à reconnaitre que le crime, au-delà de l’affront personnel, participe étroitement d’un conflit d’honneur. Deuxièmement, les partisans
comme les opposants de Philippe ont condamné unanimement l’assassinat. La raison en est simple : aux XIIe et XIIIe siècles, dans le Saint-Empire, le régicide ne faisait pas partie de la pratique politique, parce qu’il n’était pas une composante légitime de la culture politique.

    The regicide of Bamberg in the early thirteenth century has long been explained by conspiracy and revenge theories. This article, however, proposes a re-reading of contemporary sources through a constructivist approach that allows the reconstruction of the different authors perceptions. It was found that the contemporary representation of Philip of Swabia’s murder can be read in two ways. Firstly, despite the divergent accounts, all the authors agree that the crime, beyond the personal affront, is closely related to a conflict of honour. Secondly, both supporters and opponents of Philip unanimously condemned the murder. The reason for
this is simple : during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, in the Holy Roman Empire, regicide was not part of political practice, because it was not a legitimate component of political culture.

The Tweed Ring spawned a vibrant financial sector that was integral to its brief success but has never been previously examined. William “Boss” Tweed and his allies employed banks controlled or comanaged by Tammany politicians to embezzle funds, build political alliances, and invest in a wide array of business ventures. The capital of these savings and commercial banks—city money, deposits from Catholic charities, and the savings of immigrant laborers—was accumulated through political channels. During their operation between 1867 and 1871, politician-bankers engaged in a mix of patronage deals and profit-driven financial speculation. In effect, Tammany banks were ground zero for the Ring's conversion of political hegemony into a windfall of economic capital that fueled party activities and buoyed personal fortunes. Importantly, the anti-Ring mobilization by upper-class reformers was more than a revolt of wealthy taxpayers concerned with abstract goals of good government or rescuing city credit; it was also a reaction by old-line bankers in direct competition with Tammany upstarts. A dramatic bank run catalyzed by reformers in November 1871 drove them into bankruptcy, bringing this novel experiment in political capitalism to an end.

Il est des livres en sciences sociales qui sont remarquables : non seulement ils nous apportent avec élégance et précision de nouvelles connaissances, mais ils transforment aussi notre regard sur l'objet étudié. Tel est le cas de l'ouvrage de Marieke Louis. Depuis près de deux siècles, [les organisations internationales] ont forgé les principaux points d'ancrage de l'action collective au plan international et se sont confondues avec l'activité multilatérale qui occupe, désormais, l'essentiel des politiques extérieures. Le paysage international en a été profondément transformé. Pourtant, les organisations internationales sont toujours restées suspectes d'insignifiance : mauvais fonctionnement, défaut de capacités, manque de résultats. De manière récurrente, les critiques portent sur ce que nous pourrions appeler « le triangle de fonctionnalité » des organisations internationales : la relation entretenue entre leur légitimité, leur efficacité et leur représentativité. Rares sont les études à s'être penchées sur la signification et le contenu pratique de ce socle fondateur, régulièrement transformé et contesté au cours de l'histoire des organisations internationales. Le grand mérite du livre de Marieke Louis est d'en dévoiler les ressorts en suivant la façon dont l'Organisation Internationale du Travail (OIT) a construit et réformé sa représentativité. On apprendra ainsi que loin d'être immuable, la représentativité varie selon les contextes, les enjeux et les rapports de force au sein de l'organisation. Entendue comme un certain état de la représentation à un moment donné, elle apparaît comme une convention entre les membres de l'organisation qui rend possible leur coopération. Elle s'ajuste continuellement aux conditions de cette coopération dans une double logique indissociable d'inclusion-exclusion. Ce point suffirait à lui seul à montrer toute l'originalité du regard de l'auteure et à justifier pleinement la lecture d'un livre qui rappelle que les organisations internationales doivent être pensées dans la durée, et que le sens de leurs arrangements ne se comprend que dans une perspective dynamique et relationnelle. Servie par une enquête d'une ampleur assez considérable et par une démarche rigoureuse, la démonstration est non seulement inventive, mais aussi minutieuse et convaincante. On tient là un livre important sur les organisations internationales.

La partecipazione delle donne alla vita politica e la loro presenza all’interno delle istituzioni, dopo decenni di ostacoli giuridici e socio-culturali, lungi dall’essere un dato meramente quantitativo, rappresenta a tutti gli effetti una questione di qualità della democrazia: un’assemblea elettiva o un organo di governo che, nella loro composizione, non contemplino la presenza equilibrata di entrambi i generi non possono dirsi realmente democratiche, poiché non consentono di attuare pienamente il concorso di uomini e donne alla res publica di cui condividono la cittadinanza. Dopo aver analizzato il percorso travagliato tra il XIX e il XX secolo attraverso il quale le donne hanno ottenuto l’elettorato attivo e passivo, il volume si concentra sulle norme costituzionali e primarie (nazionali e regionali) in materia di democrazia paritaria, approfondendo soprattutto la loro genesi attraverso un attento esame dei lavori parlamentari preparatori; molto spazio viene dato alle sentenze della Corte costituzionale che hanno contribuito all’evoluzione della sensibilità dell’ordinamento in materia di pari opportunità nell’accesso alle cariche elettive. Specifici approfondimenti sono dedicati all’equilibrio di genere all’interno degli organi esecutivi e al ruolo dei partiti politici (e delle loro regole interne) nella costruzione di una democrazia realmente paritaria.

This volume is an edited compilation of the electoral legislation of Somalia between 1953 and 1969 - the only period in Somalia's history during which country-wide multi-party elections were held. In the course of these sixteen years, a combined total of nine electoral events took place in the British Protectorate, the Italian Trust Territory and subsequently in the independent Somali Republic. For practically each event, a new legal document was issued, addressing issues of political representation (the electoral system) as well as voting procedures. The sources for these laws, decrees and ordinances have become very scarce, particularly in Somalia itself.

Ο όρος πολιτικές ελίτ, μολονότι κυρίαρχος στον σύγχρονο πολιτικό λόγο, στερείται μιας ξεκάθαρης ερμηνείας. Οι θεωρίες για τις ελίτ για ένα μεγάλο χρονικό
διάστημα δεν έτυχαν της δέουσας προσοχής ως αποτέλεσμα μιας σειράς ιστορικών, κοινωνικών και πολιτικών παραγόντων.

Τι εννοούμε με τον όρο ελίτ; Σε ποιους τομείς της κοινωνίας εντοπίζονται και πώς επηρεάζουν τις πολιτικές αποφάσεις; Πώς αναδεικνύονται και πώς αναπαράγονται; Και, τέλος, τι υποδηλώνει η ύπαρξή τους για τη λειτουργία των σύγχρονων αντιπροσωπευτικών δημοκρατιών;

Σκοπός του βιβλίου είναι να παρουσιάσει τις κυριότερες θεωρίες για τις πολιτικές ελίτ, έτσι όπως διαμορφώνονται από τα τέλη του 19ου αιώνα έως τις μέρες μας. O αναγνώστης θα έρθει σε επαφή με το έργο θεωρητικών στοχαστών όπως ο Mosca, o Pareto, ο Michels, o Lasswell, o Mills, η Keller κ.ά.

Αυτό το σύγγραμμα επιδιώκει να καλύψει ένα κενό που υπάρχει στην ελληνική βιβλιογραφία αναφορικά με τις θεωρίες για τις πολιτικές ελίτ και παράλληλα να συμβάλει στην επιστημονική συζήτηση για τον ρόλο που διαδραματίζουν οι σύγχρονες πολιτικές ηγεσίες στη διαμόρφωση του πολιτικού φαινομένου.