Preliminary and Late Research
Project Reports (
1.The
Russian Transition to Democracy:
Alliison
Davis- Stalin and Lenin were
two powerful leaders of the
Sarah Boyle-- One main point I want to emphasize is the inevitability of equality, as laid out by Alexis de Tocqueville, and how it applies to the democratization of Russian society and government. Source: Richard Pipes' history, "The Russian Revolution," which has shed some light on the social pressures leading up to the fall of Russian monarchy and raises interesting questions about why this particular revolution (though successful) resulted in an oppressive oligarchy rather than democracy.
Lindsay
Straley—
Steve
Mcgowen, Gene Sveum
2. Democracy in Post-Communist Eastern
Kathleen
Berry – Estonia - I will
show the transition
Laura
Polcha – Hungary-- One point my report will
emphasize about the Hungarian Revolution is that diplomacy stopped the
Rachelle
Price –
Michael
Wales –
Kelly
Gastoukian –
Andrew
An –
Chase
Courington –
3. Democratic Success in
Elizabeth
Hope – France--Presently my research
paper has been revolving around the ideas of the French government and how
their changes leading to democracy has mirrored some of the philosophers ideas
of how government will eventually lead to democracy because of the freedom of
the people. I have been reading a lot of Tocqueville and his theory, as well
as, reading the governmental history of
Christopher
Phelps –
Meredith
Haggard-- One of the main points I have realized throughout my
research is fascism was able to take over after World War I because of the
overall decline in most aspects of Italian life. The government was weak,
and not able to control the various factions that were rising up when the
government was unable to deliver on the promises of better times after their
victory in WWI. The people lived in fear and society was chaotic, which
allowed Mussolini to manipulate the masses under the guise of nationalist
intentions. Therefore, fascism was a reactionary movement appealing to
the public's desire for order, which is exactly how Mussolini was able to come
into the picture and gain support for that level of control. Without the
chaos, and general dissatisfaction with the current government, Mussolini and
fascism might never have taken hold. Sources: Ball, T. and Dagger, R. Ideals
and Ideologies: A Reader. 5th ed.
Omar
El Sha—My paper is emphasizing the role of economic, social,
and political conditions to establish a democracy. Post WWI Italy was left in a
tough situation in all three of the latter, and with a notion of hopelessness,
fascism seemed to have been the answer to their problems. The paper stresses
the role of pre-fascism
Christina
Strahan, --Fascism failed in
Louise Woolridge, Elizabeth Flanagan
5. Democratic Failure in
Erin
Stokes—the first World War devastated
the German economy to the point where inflation was out of control leading
coupled with the new form of government that had been created hastily following
the loss of the war left a power vacuum for Hitler to fill. Source: The
Collapse of the
Jared
Lieberher-- My paper will emphasize
that both Hitler and Mussolini had risen to power by mostly separate
forces. I had asked the question, did Hitler rise only occur because of
Mussolini's success? and just about all of my research has found that no that
was not the case for more reasons than just different definitions
fascism. Although Nationalism was a big reason for both, the unity of
Italy and Germany (or more specifically Mussolini and Hitler's
relationship) was not strong enough to really draw a teacher-apprentice
relationship. A resource that I could NOT do without would be a book
called Fascism by Kevin Passmore and it is actually a part of the
"A Very Short Introduction" series but I think it does a great job of
combining the many confused aspects of Fascism.
Sabri
Math—The causes for the rise of
Fascism in Germany after the 1920’s were attiributed to the economy, the
unstability of the country, and political corruption. The German people
needed a change and the ideals of Fascism appealed to the people. Bessel,
Richard, Germany After the First World War. (Clarendon Press:
Oxford 1993.)
Lauren
Vessey—Three major lessons can be
extracted from studying the Weimar Republic; the first one being that peace
treaties should be constructed to help even the loosing countries of the war,
not just to punish them. Additionally a democracy created by force brews the
potential for its own downfall, especially when such a democracy is faced with
enormous economic tribulations. Finally citizens should always be wary of
political promises, whether they come from democratic or any other time of
political leadership. Danhrendorf, Ralf. Society and
Democracy in Germany. Garden City: Doubleday and Company, Inc.,
1967.
Andrew
Diaz
Chandra Beene – Australia— Why is Australia still ruled by the British monarchy and not by a more democratic system? In my research up to date I have found that British was worried that Australia would over time become another America, which rejected the Monarch for a more Constitutional Federal system. So Britian found ways to protect Australia. A major themes within Australia which keeps it as a British ruled country is a sense of sovereignty to the Mother Country. Source: The Foundation of Australia (1786-1800): A study in English Criminal Practice and Penal Colonization in the 18th century, by O’brien, Eris
Gloria
Izquieta – Irish Republic— I plan to
discuss about the main phases that Ireland has gone through to be an
independent state. Source: Jacobsen, John Kurt, 1949- Chasing progress in
the Irish Republic : ideology, democracy, and dependent development.
Michelle
Salopek – Canada-- Recently the Canadian courts have become more
democratic with the creation of the charter democracy. History of how Courts became more democratic?
How did the Courts become such a pivotal player? How has becoming more involved
in the democratic process ensured more democratic participation in all aspects
of public decision-making? Source: The Charter Revolution and the Court
Party, F.L. Morton & Rainer Knopff
Brittany
Hertzog - Benin
7.
Colonial Stories Gone Bad:
Fatema Saker – Bangladesh- The question is what legacy has prier governments
established that might hinder the progress of this small nation. One fact
is, all these governing institutions were occupying, monarch force. They
all had absolute rule over Bangladesh and a long legacy of submission with
violence. This history may not be in the minds of ordinary people, but
looking at the present violent environment, there is no question that violence
had seeped into the culture. The government harbors most of the gangs to
influence their political believe. The gangs rampage the community and
the police is not able arrest them because they are under the protection of the
politicians. No one would go against politicians, primarily they have
power which is money and that is the law of the land. There are gangs in
the community, but who are they and why are they in this violent system?
The gangs are made of uneducated, unemployed and the poor. They are enticed
into this violent community because there are not .
Source: Macionis, John. Society the Basics.
New Jersey: Upper Saddle River, 2004.
Megan
Eckhart – Liberia -- Many of the
problems of Liberia right now are rooted in its troubled history. In order
to understand what is going on today, some of this history must be known, so a
portion of my paper will be devoted to a discussion of the past. A second
portion of the paper will be analyzing where the country is right now in its
process towards democracy. To do this, I will try to use some of the
materials we have been reading in class. Then, I plan to tie in some
experiences of the countries members of my group have. Source: an article
in the Journal of Asian and African Studies titled "Toward a theory
of peace agreement implementation: the case of Liberia."
Samia
Ravat – Zimbabwe-- I plan on focusing the paper
on Robert Mugabe and his 24-year rule as President. One of my main points
will be how he has allowed for the country to be less and less democratic, and
how he manages to run his dictatorship today. I hope to do this by
tracing the fall of democracy in Zimbabwe to the present time, as each year the
situation worsens. Source: Meredith, Martin. "Our Votes, Our Guns:
Robert Mugabe and the Tragedy of Zimbabwe". New York: Public
Affairs, 2002.This is a helpful source as it has information on the
presidential elections of 2002, so I can compare the most recent political
activity with the beginning of Mugabe's rule in 1980.
Rubina
Satar – Haiti, Jennifer Keener –
Sudan, Nana Jufuor – Ghana
8.
The Special Case of South Africa:
LaToya
Howard, In order to fully understand
the obstacles that South Africans were faced with when trying to establish a
more democratic form of government I will describe the historical significance
of -South Africa's beginnings as a Dutch colony;-Emergence of superior white
race;-Kaffir and Boer Wars;-Geography: artificial boundaries. I will then
consult Dahl's book, On Democracy, and describe what favorable conditions
existed in South Africa that allowed democracy to be established. Next, I will
describe the importance of the present day institutions on the survival of
democracy in South Africa: -new constitution 1994;-multiracial elections
beginning in 1994;-quasi-presidential system’-bicameral parliament’-political
parties. I will also look at the present day political culture within South
Africa. Leadership plays an important role in the successfulness of a
governmental structure. I will look at how the personalities and
excellent leadership of Nelson Mandela and Thebo Mbeki is significant.
Source: Michael G. Roskin Countries
and Concepts: Politics, Geography, Culture 8th ed, 2004
Radosveta
Valkova--South Africa like many
countries that experience transitons to democratic regimes faces major
problems one of which is political intolerance. It is essential for democracies
to have free-for-all competition among those who seek power. And it is
important that this search is peaceful. Political intolerance creates a
democratic deficit that is most urgent in this country. As Dahl and other
theorists have argued "the early stages of democratic transitions are
unlikely to be characterized by political tolerance" (see source). To what
extent has South Africa reached political intolerance after the start of its
democratization? Is it going in the right direction? Reference (one of many)
:Gibson, James L. and Amanda Gouws. 2003. "Overcoming Intolerance
in South Africa." Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Angie
Eppard, Steven Smith,
9.
Islam and Democracy in the Middle East and North Africa:
Yassine
Abouelfaid – Morocco- this
will be the conclusion: The best alternative for morocco, then, may be
not to only to respond to the most urgent needs of the masses, but also to
allow an independent civil society to thrive and to form a counterweight to a
potentially hostile partisan opposition in parliamnent and in government.
Morocco can evolve peacefully and incrementally toward democracy because of
some favorable conditions such as an established associative life and
multi-partyism, a growing urban middle class, and international incentives for
economic and political liberalization. Constitutional reform can help bring
about such evolution if it leads to effective electoral processes and
association
Afrin
Khan – Iraq- Why democratic
experiments in post-colonial nations such as Iraq failed after WWII? 1.history
on the establishment of Britain in Iraq in the 1920s and it's political history
from the Ottoman Empire 2.the rise of
the Ba'th Party and the rise of Saddam HussainSource: Tripp, Charles. A history
of Iraq. Cambridge University Press.2000
Nadia Siddiqui – Saudi Arabia- With the research I have done thus far, I have come to
the conclusion that the teachings and ideologies of Sha'riah are democratic. I
will bring out broad teachings of the Prophet Mohammad and the Qur'an that
stresses Muslims to act in a very "democratic" manner within society.
Secondly, I will prove that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is inherently not
Sha'riah compliant due to their inability to follow a lot of the basic
teachings of what Islamic Law mandates. One of my proofs will be the manner of
which Saudis obtain a king, which is through a bloodline and Sunni Islamic Law
does not believe in such methods of electing a leader. One source that has been
extremely helpful in the first question of my paper is the confrence I attended
during Winter Break. The American Learning Institution for Muslims had a 4 day
intense lecture series over the concept of Islamic Law and it's teachings. I
have been able to use my notes from those respected lectures within this paper
many times.
Emily
Burciaga – Iran-- The Iranian
government is a theocracy that gained its power by cloaking itself in the principles
of democracy. It continues to justify itself in democratic principles (e.g.
constitution, presidential elections). The public is questioning the validity
of Khomeini's power and continues to hope that in time, the country will be
ready for a democracy to rise. They are beginning to question the clergy and
why they live like kings and many Iranians are jobless and live in
poverty. Sources:"Creating and
Islamic State" by Vanessa Martin; "My Name is Iran" radio
program broadcasted from American University Radio
Marie-Therese
Rancourt – Palestine--I want to know
why democracy failed despite the strong Palestinian popular movement, despite
the high level of education of the diaspora, etc. Some of the main reasons are
the double struggle the Palestinian people had to face: Inside (the
Occupied Territories), against the gardienship of the Palestinian
Authority; Outside against the
guardianship of the Israeli army of occupation. I cannot talk
about the Palestinian people without mentioning thehistory of the Palestinian
territories, as well. Source: As'ad Ghanem,
(2001). The Palestinian regime: a "partial democracy, Sussex Academic Press: Portland and the book
of the french reporter Charles Enderlin, (2003). Shattered dream: the
failure of the peace process in the Middle East. New York: Other Press.
Fattema Obiad—Egypt --The president in Egypt has complete control of the Policy-making process unlike the united states which has a congress, and supreme court to help those decisions. In the Egyptian constitution a presidents term can last up to six years and can be re-elected where as in the united states, a president cannot be relected, leading to presidents never ending term in office. In Egypt the votes are not based on Majority vote but on Unanimous vote since it has a two-thirds count system, leading a winning election based on two-thirds of certains votes instead of every vote counted. Kassem, May "In the Guise of Democracy, Governance in Contemporary Egypt" Garnet Publishing Limited, United Kingdom 1999.
Jacob
Weiman – Israel --My paper will
analyze the progress of Israel’s government by seperating democratic practice
from theocratic practice and placing a
special focus on the last two decades. In order to do this, sub-topics will
include the Americanization of Israeli politics and government, the effect of
war on the Israeli government, an analysis of religion and religious influence
in democracy, and the effect of Israel’s cultural diversity and conflict
on it’s government. The Americanization of Israeli Politics and Realignment
of the Party System by Myron Joel Aronoff is one valuable source that I
have to date.
Traci
McVey – Algeria & Iraq; Hellia Kanzi – Iran; Kira Camargo – Iraq; Nick Zinzer – Saudi
Arabia
10. Democracy
in Asia:
William
Autrey – Japan--In my examination of Japan's rise from an
Imperialistic regieme, to a shining-example of progressive-democracy, I
examined some of the methodology behind the 'Occupation' and the subsequent
results of it. I have determined that one of the Occupying-Force's greatest
tools in democratizing Japan was the simple use of radio transmission. At the
time, it was "the" way to speak to the masses. I'm also examining the
effects of Japan's eventual financial prosperity in the early eighties, up
until the "burst" of the bubble economy, on their current financial
situation. This abrupt "burst" led towards a cautuous attitude in
Japanese spending, but also a bit of "steady" growth, showing that
their efforts to democratize were not necessarily in vain. My most valuable
source has been Schaller, Michael.
“Securing the Great Crescent: Occupied Japan and the Origins of
Containment in Southeast Asia.” The Journal of American History
69.2 (1982):
Alec
Bugg – Japan-- The main points I
would like to explore are Japan’s established democracy after World War 2 as
just a façade of a democracy with no real competition between political parties
and how this false democracy has led Japan to economic problems in the present
day. I also would like to investigate the correlations between Iraq and
Japan, involving the differences and similarities between the two situations
incorporating how japan can be viewed as a prime example for policy makers
today to view their options in Iraq. Source: Tamamoto, Masaru: World Policy
Journal: The Privilege of Choosing: The Fallout from Japans Economic
Crisis
Nadia
William – Hong Kong--The two main
points of my paper will focus on the opening of Japan to the rest of the world
and how this has facilitated democracy: 1st opening-Tang Dynasty;2nd-Meiji
Restoration;3rd-American Operation. My second most important point will focus
on the details of the American Occupation of Japan and if it’s an appropriate
model for Iraq. In my conclusion I want to give a descriptive analysis
for the future of Democracy in Japan and if Japan will become more aggressive
to break away from its norms. Japanese norms: Anti-military, Developmentalism,
Bilateralism, Asianism, Internationalism, Nationalism. Source:Glenn Hook, et al., Japan’s International
Relations: Politics, Economics and Security (London: Routledge,
2001). This is the article I am going to rebuttal: Iokibe Makoto, “The
Occupation of Japan: A Model for Iraq?” Japan Echo 30, 4 (August
2003), P. 25.
Samantha
Kaisen – China--I plan on focusing
mainly in the events of Tiananmen square and how that one event may have led to
ultimately leading to the collapse of fascism in the Soviet Union and Eastern
Germany in the early 90's. My main sources: Black hands of Beijing : lives
of defiance in China's democracy movement by George Black and Robin
Munro.
Cynthia
Bubniak – South Korea-- South Korea has failed to
transition to a democracy because of traditions, economic crisis, competing
factions, and outside interests. Source: Institutional Reform and
Democratic Consolidation in Korea. Diamond, Larry and Doh Chull
Shin. Stanford: Hoover Inst. Press, 1999.
11. Democratic Success and Failure in South and Central America:
Lauryn
Ellisberg – Chile Some important points I would like to emphasize in my
paper would be the election of Salvador Allende, and then the coup de tat that
included Augusto Pinochet. I feel this is necessary information to
further explain how a country practicing democracy could be taken over by a
dictatorship. I would then like to point out for the interest of myself
and the paper the U.S governments involvement with the situation. (i.e
CIA)
Sean
McCorkle – Ecuador- The
phenomenon of Ecuadorian regionalism, which divides Ecuador's Costa and Sierra
regions politically, socially, and culturally has historically been an obstacle
to democratic progress. in Ecuador. Due to Ecuadorian regionalism Dahl's
six democratic institutions are only slowly being realized as the competition
for political dominance of Ecuador's conservatives and liberals has undermined
the development of Ecuadorian democratic institutions. An analysis of
Ecuadorian regionalism thus demonstrates the current tentative state of
Ecuadorian democracy. Source:
"Anatomy of a Coup D'etat: Ecuador 1963" Martin C. Needler
Peter
Dorsey – Costa Rica-- My major focus, and difference between Costa Rica and
its neighbors, is the Ticos faith in education and distrust of militarism. I
learned that 1/3 of the government's budget is spent on primary and secondary education.
Other key differences between Costa Rica and other Central American countries
are Costa Rica's colonial heritage and the relative homogeneity of its
population. Sources: Costa Rica: Politics, Economics, and Democracy by
Bruce M. Wilson, Democracy in Costa
Rica by Charles D. Ameringer. I have
also found some useful articles such as, "Guanacaste Days -
Celebrating Democracy's Heritage in Costa Rica." by Tess Gadwa.
Cora
Widmayer – Chile--One of the main
points that I will be emphasizing in my paper is whether or not Chile was
considered a democracy and I'll be using Dahl's book and other works from class
to help determine it. Also, if Chile was a democracy during the time of
Allende, why would the U.S. go in and overthrow him and replace him with a
dictator. A main source that has helped me so far is Paul Sigmund's book The
Overthrow of Allende and the Politics of Chile, 1964-76.
Wendy
Caceres—Chile
--The main argument of my paper will
discuss how the exensive military rule in chile had stopped its traditionally
democratic ways by prohibiting social movements, elminating any type of
political opposition, and ultimately changing chile's social and political
structure. I've found a great website on Latin America called LANIC. Other
sources Lucia Newman, "Chile's
Pinochet moving from army to state" Cnn World News 1998; Lucy Komisar,
"Kissinger Encouraged Chile's Brutal Repression" http://www.monitor.net; Tina Rosenberg,
"Searching for justice in Chile" The New York Times 2000.
Rosana
Heraud – Peru--in 1992 Alberto
Fujimori revised the Constitution, called new congressional elections, and
started an economic reform. Peru is divided into 24 departments, and the
departments are subdivided into provinces, which are made up of
districts. The authorities below the departmental level are
elected. The Government of Peru is currently in a state of
democratization. Source: Ellicott, Karen. Countries of the World and
their Leaders Yearbook 2004. Thomas Gale. Detriot, 2003.
Stacey
Parker – Costa Rica; Chavon Rogers –
Venezuela;
12. The Special Case of Cuba:
Allison
Millward--My biggest point that I want to emphasize is that the
United States is going to play the biggest role in helping Cuba transition into
a democracy. I want to really push that Cuba was an American colony previously
and that we will not just stand idle and watch another Castro-like government
take place, just because we have a very big history with Cuba...I want to
include some refrences to present day Haiti as well because theres a myth going
around that the Bush administration siezed the oppertunity of corruption in
Haiti to push the dictator out and theres no doubt in my mind that any
president will do the same! Source: Falcoff, Mark. Cuba, the Morning After:
Confronting Castro's Legacy. Washington, AEI Press: 2003
Anthony
Budny, Barbara Chauncey, Ashley Purchell
13. The United States as a Democratic Influence:
Brooks
Lacy – the Philippines--The history
of political instability in the Phippines has proved to have a lasting effect
on the country to this day. The turbulent transitional period that the
Philippines went through during the 80's and early 90's, with the fall of the
Marcos regime and the problematic rule of Aquino, left a scar on the
Philippines that will take a long time to cure. Source: Mark R. Thompson,
"Off the Endangered List: Philippine Democratization in Comparative
Perspective." I found this source in the JSTOR database.
Elizabeth
Lundberg – Native Americans-- The gist of my paper will be
that, while some of the reservation governments work closely to what we want
them to, the simple fact is that the ideas that define American democratic
thought just are not part of the cultures as a whole. The two tribes I am
comparing in particular will show the differences in the magnitude of
idealistic friction. Source: Tribal Government Today; Politics on Montana
Indian Reservations by James Lopach, Matgery Brown, and Richmond Clow.
Another source of information comes from papers by Harvard University professor
Joseph Kalt.
Jeremy Beales – US foreign policy Jessa Farquhar – domestic democracy
14. Overviews:
Annabelle
Osei-Bonsu – Plato versus Tocqueville on democracy-- I came to conclude that democratic regimes are
particularly fragile in many ways, however it rests on the powerful idea that
all me are equal. Whiles Plato argues that, a republic “contemplate all truth
and all existence” because there was another world beyond this changeable and
destructible world one in which we live, one consisting of unchanging eternal
forms. One important piont is that , democracy even though it is a great
source and foundation of any country, however, it is also fragile
and if not handled well could lead to anarchy a tyranny of some sort
which could cause great harm to a growing democratic nation. Sources:Tocqueville"Democracy
in America"; Plato. "Roman Republic"
Allison Harper – free trade, the WTO and democracy