Archive for the ‘Democracy’ Category

Local elections point up UK’s democratic crisis – The Guardian

The collapse of Ukip has reinforced Conservative dominance. No wonder they love the current voting system, writes one reader. Photograph: Robert Perry/EPA

Your map (Council control, 6 May) sums up very neatly the basic problem with politics in Britain today.

Contrast the position in Scotland with that in England. North of the border, apart from the islands, where independents dominate, no party has overall control in a single council. Thanks to a sensible voting system for Scottish council elections, all parties are fairly represented and have to work together. In England, the limitations of first-past-the-post are clearly demonstrated by vast areas of one-party control. Yet in very few cases does that party represent more than half of those who voted.

The collapse of Ukip has reinforced Conservative dominance. No wonder the Tories love the current voting system. Nothing is going to change until the Labour party remembers what democracy is really all about and realises that it needs PR just as much as the other, smaller parties. Richard Carden Denton, Norfolk

Though Polly Toynbee offers cogent observations on the vagaries of voting, her prescription runs into an obvious objection encountered (and dodged) by all arguments for compulsory voting (Opinion, 4 May). Compulsion denies the individual freedom of choice, a denial that is at the very least paradoxical, given the democratic principles it seeks to preserve. A much better way to address the democratic crisis of a declining vote would be the inclusion on the ballot paper of a formal option to abstain.Spoiling the ballot paper simply confuses the interpretation of results and robs the individual of the opportunity to register an explicit rejection of the choices on offer. It also inducts the young into making the kind of cheap compromise with unsatisfactory processes that they already find meaningless, if not farcical.

Until proportional representation is taken seriously, formal abstention would at least be advantageous. As abstentions are likely massively to outweigh the number of spoiled papers, politicians would have to take seriously the sheer quantity of voters wholesale rejection of them. It would also provide a much better premise for compelling individuals to surrender their right to ignore a process so evidently rotten and derelict. Paul McGilchrist Colchester, Essex

Forget the polls last weeks elections provided a real-time update of the state of British politics, just five weeks before a general election. For the parties, it was illuminating: the Conservative vote grew, Labour made losses, the Liberal Democrats flatlined and Ukip looks finished.

But if there was one loser, it was democracy. Less than 28% of the electorate turned out to vote in the mayoral elections. In Tees Valley, Conservative Ben Houchen won with just 21% of people turning out. We are still awaiting the final turnout figures for the council elections, but they are unlikely to paint a better picture. Predictions are currently at about 33%.

With turnouts like this, it is laughable for politicians to proclaim that Britain is the home of democracy. Our democracy is on life-support, and action needs to be taken.

There is no simple solution, but we must consider all the options including how to harness the benefits of technology by integrating it into our democratic process. Unveiling the governments Transformation Strategy this year, Ben Gummer, minister for the Cabinet Office, promised to use digital to transform the relationship between the citizen and the state. Reforming the democratic process should play a central part of this. Areeq Chowdhury Chief executive, WebRoots Democracy

Why is no mention made in your front-page report (6 May) of the fact that 40 Green party councillors were elected, including several net gains? I looked in vain for this information in your table headed Councillor net gains. Presumably it was hidden under other. Chris Gooch Teddington, Middlesex

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Local elections point up UK's democratic crisis - The Guardian

Dionne: How Macron’s victory gives democracy a reprieve – The Mercury News

WASHINGTON The voters of France acted responsibly and decently on Sunday. But they also sent a warning.

Frances new president-elect is Emmanuel Macron, a 39-year-old centrist whose 2-to-1 victory over the National Fronts Marine Le Pen offered yet another sign that the rise of President Trump is not the harbinger of a new and unhinged form of nationalism. For now, the center is holding, pluralism is hanging on, and the far right is being held in check. As they had in recent elections in Austria and the Netherlands, the friends of liberal democracy prevailed while Trump, who publicly tilted toward Le Pen, suffered another rebuke.

Macron ran as a confident and unflinching advocate of pluralism and openness, and he will become, instantly, a major global voice for those values. But he will have to govern a deeply torn nation in a surly mood. Le Pens share of the vote, while not as high as her supporters had hoped and her detractors had feared, was still a major breakthrough for what had once been a pariah party long dismissed as a neofascist movement rooted in unsavory aspects of French history. Like Trump, Le Pen rallied voters in once prosperous but now ailing industrial towns. Macron swept Frances prospering and cosmopolitan big cities.

The creator of a political party that is only a year old, Macron faces significant challenges reflected in the unusually large number of blank protest ballots. He will have to take on or work around the countrys established parties in Junes legislative elections. He will also have to square the many circles of his neither-left-nor-right campaign platform. He promised both a more flexible regulatory climate for business and solid social protections for a 21st-century economy. Macron is both a former investment banker and a moderate social democrat. Demonstrating how these two sides of him fit together will define the drama of his presidency.

A particular test will be whether he is willing and able to nudge Germany toward a less austere and constraining economic approach to southern Europe. Macrons election could signal a renewed Franco-German alliance. This would be a tonic for the E.U., but only if it becomes the engine for both reform and more widely shared growth. German Chancellor Angela Merkel quickly expressed her pleasure over Macrons victory.

None of this will be easy, and if Macron is unsuccessful and the mainstream French right fails to revive itself, many in France fear that Le Pen (who is only 48 years old) could win the next election five years from now.

Macron was endorsed by former President Barack Obama, and their similarities are striking: youth, a hopeful attitude toward the future, a vaguely progressive spirit of moderation and a well-advertised desire to overcome traditional divides.

Less remarked upon is their shared political luck. When Obama ran for the U.S. Senate in Illinois in 2004 the job that, along with his Democratic National Convention speech that year, propelled him to the national stage two of his strongest rivals were forced out of the running by sex and marital scandals.

Macron would likely not even have made it to Sundays runoff but for the troubles of two key competitors: Franois Fillon, the candidate of the mainstream right, was caught in a scandal involving paid no-show jobs for his family. The more moderate Socialist alternative, former prime minister Manuel Valls, lost his partys primary, opening new room in the political center.

But it took more than luck for the new French president to accomplish something most students of French politics thought impossible: From scratch, he built his own political party of the center, En Marche! Its name can be roughly translated as Onward, though it might best be seen as a compact Gallic version of John F. Kennedys Lets get this country moving again.

While presidents of both the left and the right in France have often pursued moderate policies, the loyalties to political tribes and to the very concept of left vs. right a French invention, after all have typically stranded centrist politicians in a nowhere land.

Macron grasped that the old left/right divide is an increasingly imperfect construct for the new fissures in a Western politics organized around openness, pluralism and a transnational approach on the one side, and nationalism, more closed economies and a rejection of pluralism on the other.

In the 1990s, President Bill Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair spoke of creating a Third Way in politics between an old left and a new right. Under far more trying circumstances, Emmanuel Macrons victory gives the Third Way a second chance and liberal democracy a much-needed reprieve.

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Dionne: How Macron's victory gives democracy a reprieve - The Mercury News

Rutgers Student Activist & "DREAMer" Speaks Out While Facing Possible Deportation – Democracy Now!

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

JUAN GONZLEZ: We turn now to 21-year-old Carimer Andujar, who came to the United States from the Dominican Republic with her family at the age of four. Shes in her third years studying chemical engineering at Rutgers University, where shes been an outspoken advocate for undocumented students. Andujar is the president of UndocuRutgers and a recipient of DACA, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, under President Obama. She was waiting for renewal of her status when she received a letter from federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, ordering her to report for a check-in on Tuesday morning. Immigrant rights advocates say Andujar may now face deportation.

Carimer Andujar, welcome to Democracy Now!

CARIMER ANDUJAR: Thank you.

JUAN GONZLEZ: Tell us about your situation, when you received this notice to report.

CARIMER ANDUJAR: So, I received the notice about seven to eight weeks ago. And the notice said that I had to report for an interview with the deportation officer at the federal ICE building in Newark.

JUAN GONZLEZ: And youve been very active in theat Rutgers University among the undocumented students. Talk about your work there.

CARIMER ANDUJAR: So, my advocacy first started by starting Rutgers first student organization for undocumented students. I started the organization with the objective of providing resources, as well as support, to undocumented students, to improve the graduation rates and as well as retention rates for undocumented students, because theyre currently very low for higher education.

JUAN GONZLEZ: And what is your fear of deportation? Have you seen other students, either at Rutgers or students that you know, who havewere initially granted DACA, who then have subsequently been deported?

CARIMER ANDUJAR: Yes. There was a national case a couple of weeks ago of a DACA recipient who was actually either out to lunch or out to dinner with his girlfriend, and then ICE officials started to ask him questions. That very same day, he was later deported to Mexico. So thats a direct violation of the regulation set forth by DACA, because DACA is supposed to be deportation protection for early childhood arrivals.

JUAN GONZLEZ: And tell us a little bit about your story. You came from the Dominican Republic when you were 4 years old. And you lived and studied where? In New Jersey all of your life?

CARIMER ANDUJAR: Yes.

JUAN GONZLEZ: And tell us a little bit about what its been like being here undocumented for so many years.

CARIMER ANDUJAR: Well, first and foremost, I consider America my home, without a doubt. Ive been living in the same house for 15 to 16 years. So, undoubtedly, I do consider this my home. Growing up undocumented was challenging because there is a lot of fear, and theres also a lot of uncertainty. And it also poses a lot of challenges trying to obtain a higher education degree. So, some of those challenges include not being able to get federal financial aid or any form of financial aid, as well as it does poseit does make it more difficult to also apply for like loans. So, financially, its a lot of strain.

JUAN GONZLEZ: Well, during a February news conference, President Trump was asked if he planned to continue or end the DACA program. This was his response.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Were going to show great heart. DACA is a very, very difficult subject for me, I will tell you. To me, its one of the most difficult subjects I have, because you have these incredible kidsin many cases, not in all cases. In some of the cases, theyre having DACA, and theyre gang members, and theyre drug dealers, too. But you have some absolutely incredible kidsI would say mostly. They were brought here in such a wayits a veryits a very, very tough subject. We are going to deal with DACA with heart. I have to deal with a lot of politicians, dont forget, and I have to convince them that what Im saying isis right. And I appreciate your understanding on that.

JUAN GONZLEZ: Your reaction to President Trumps statements and also to his general approach so far to the immigration issue in the country?

CARIMER ANDUJAR: Well, the statement comes after a lot of dehumanizing rhetoric, mainly targeting not only immigrants, in general, but also specifically undocumented immigrants. So it came as a bit of surprise, just because perhaps he didnt realize, when he was first speaking, that when he speaks about undocumented people, hes also speaking about DACA recipients, because its not only a DACA recipient versus non-DACA recipient, because, you know, non-DACA recipients are our parents. Theyre alsoyou know, theyre in the same struggle as us. Wereour struggle is one and the same.

JUAN GONZLEZ: Now, at Rutgers, the university officials have declared the university a safe space for undocumented students. Theres sort of an equivalent to sanctuary cities that have developed around the country. Your response to how the university has dealt with your case? And theI know the faculty union has been very supportive and is mobilizing people to appear with you Tuesday morning at the federalat the federal building there.

CARIMER ANDUJAR: So, I have received incredible support, as you said, from the faculty union, as well as various professors at the university. I have heard that some students have been reaching out to Barchi, which is the president of the university, forto get him to voice his support for not only myself, but also other undocumented students in my situation. I have not heardI have not heard feedback from that, but I do know that the Senate approved a motion in support of undocumented students. So, as of right now, what we have seen from the administration is a lot of emails by supportsorry, support from emails. So weve received a lot of emails stating their support for undocumented students. But, you know, this is a case where now is the time for them to prove and demonstrate their support, not only in emails, but, you know, when an actual case arises, are they willing to kind of go against the national rhetoric and support an undocumented student?

JUAN GONZLEZ: So youll be going to your ICE check-in Tuesday morning, tomorrow morning, at 8:30 in Newark, New Jersey. Youll be accompanied by who? And what do you expect to happen?

CARIMER ANDUJAR: Well, my interview is at 9:00, but I do expect to get there early, so around 8:30. So, because of the support that I have been receiving, as I said, not only from my university, but also communities and local officials, I dont think that they are going to deport or detain me, because several senators as well as congresspeople have been in contact with ICE, letting them know that there is

JUAN GONZLEZ: U.S. Senator Cory Booker has

CARIMER ANDUJAR: Yes.

JUAN GONZLEZ: is supporting you?

CARIMER ANDUJAR: Yes, U.S. Senator Cory Booker, as well as Senator Bob Menendez. They have alsoI have also been in contact with them, and they have been supporting me, as well as Congressman Pallone and Congressman Pascrell. So, because of the support that I have received, the tremendous amount of support that I have received, I dont think that they will be deporting or detaining me.

JUAN GONZLEZ: Well, best of luck to you in your hearing, and well continue to follow the work of the UndocuRutgers students, as well as the DACA students across the nation, in their fight to assure that they are able to stay in the country legally.

CARIMER ANDUJAR: Thank you.

JUAN GONZLEZ: Thanks very much for being with us, Carimer Andujar.

CARIMER ANDUJAR: Thank you.

Continued here:
Rutgers Student Activist & "DREAMer" Speaks Out While Facing Possible Deportation - Democracy Now!

Democracy Needs Storytellers – The Atlantic

Technology can both centralize power, and it can subvert it. It can broadcast one voice, or it can cultivate a multitude of voices. It can foster opposition, and it can bring empathy.

But instead of describing how technology can improve our democratic process in the future, Ill highlight a social action thats already building momentum toward such an improvementand consider how technology can support that.

The 2016 election cycle demonstrated what happens when media outlets favor views over integrity, and audiences favor validation over depth. Outlets subsidized by ad impressionscoupled with audiences willing to share articles that confirmed their biasesprovided feedback loops to push some outlets to cater to bias. The walls between points of view thickened. There now seem to be multiple realities, each with media outlets to support them with fragments of a story instead of the full picture. Because of this divisiveness, people cannot understand each other, and even choose to ignore each other.

Post-election shock among those who did not believe Donald Trump could win the presidency appeared online, followed by organizing and action across a range of expressive outlets. In this, a new form of media emerged. Sticky notes placed on subway tiles revealed fear, love, and hope. Posters were made for protests, and then displayed publicly afterwards. For many, this public expression offered a renewed sense of purpose and confidence around activism.

Interactive and participatory media allows viewers to get involved, to become expressive, and give voice. It is inviting and contagious for those who share viewsseeing enough notes and posters in public makes it more welcoming to add your own. Visible support for a cause can translate into momentum. The communication is both digital and physicalexemplified by handmade posters and stories, which are then shared online. These stories build solidarity among those who share a vision for the future of the country, and they remind people that they arent alone. Stories can be personal, and convey vulnerability. They can also cultivate empathy to thin the wall between dissonant points of view. While most of the stories may not resonate across different opposing views, even just a few can start building bridges of understanding.

This kind of public participatory media encourages civic action. It moves from digital support to public support only when it is clear that such actions have an impact.

My tech suggestion isnt a shiny new product or algorithm. Its something simpler and familiar, but essential. People must document recent victories to give them visibility. When there is no sense of impact, people can feel jaded. Document the legislation that comes from public action. This isnt a complex tech solution, but with the proper attention it can have a wider lasting impact. It can celebrate public creativity, voice, and civic action.

Exploring interactive and participatory media encourages public expression and builds momentum. Documenting the impact closes the feedback loop. When purpose and momentum wane, these narratives show that participation can create change, and build a stronger democracy.

This article is part of a collaboration with the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.

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Democracy Needs Storytellers - The Atlantic

Poland march: Thousands protest against ‘curbs on democracy’ – BBC News


BBC News
Poland march: Thousands protest against 'curbs on democracy'
BBC News
Thousands of Polish opposition supporters have been marching in Warsaw to protest against what they see as curbs on democracy imposed by the governing party. The opposition Civic Platform (PO) has accused the Law and Justice Party (PiS) of trying to ...
Trump Slogan Turned on Head in Poland's Pro-Democracy RallyBloomberg

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Poland march: Thousands protest against 'curbs on democracy' - BBC News