Piecing a Democratic Quilt?: Regional Organizations and Universal NormsKumarian Press, 2006 - 244 pages In recent years, a "democratic entitlement" doctrine, in which citizens have a universal right to be governed according to democratic standards, has begun to take form in international law. Acceptance of this doctrine is widely, but not fully, shared throughout the world. Developing a global consensus on democratic entitlement has been, and continues to be, a daunting task. While domestic factors, including the growth of civil society and the functioning of the state government, will always play a significant role in the level of democratization within a state, increasingly important components of this international factor are regional organizations. The role of regional organizations is a compelling and important, but as yet highly uneven and incomplete, story. McMahon and Baker fill in the gaps in this story by assessing the differing approaches that regional organizations are developing to promote and protect member state adherence to democratic principles. Timely, and written in an engaging and highly readable style, Piecing a Democratic Quilt provides essential insights and analysis of processes and organizations that affect the lives of everyone on the planet. |
Contents
Comparative Analysis | 163 |
Toward a Finished QuiltFuture Perspectives | 189 |
Notes | 199 |
Bibliography | 217 |
About the Authors | 233 |
Common terms and phrases
action adherence to democratic adoption African APRM Arab League Article ASEAN Asia Asian authoritarian available online backsliding challenges Charter civil society CMAG commitments Commonwealth Secretariat Community of Democracies concept concerns context cooperation Council countries coup critical CSCE CSOs demo democ democratic criteria democratic development democratic entitlement democratic governance democratic norms democratic principles democratic standards Despite economic ECOWAS elections Enlargement EU’s Europe European Commission European Union example Fiji focus Freedom House Freedom House Rankings global Harare Declaration Helsinki Accords human rights IADC Illiberal Democracy increasingly initiatives International Law international organizations issues Journal leaders leverage mechanisms membership ment military mocracy national sovereignty NATO NATO's NEPAD NGOs organiza OSCE participating Peace political post-accession pre-accession Press promote democracy promotion and protection prospective members protecting democracy racy regimes regional organizations Resolution 1080 role rule of law summit tion tional Treaty Univ universal Zimbabwe