Nation:
A large aggregate of people United by common descent, history, culture or language,
inhabiting a particular country or territory. This is related to the recorded history making
the nation to change in the same way that the society within constantly changes. Nations
are evolving and changing all the time. Some characteristics are :
1-Common postulated interrelationship
2-A shared cultural heritage (patrimony of the nation)
3-Linguistic coherence due to a national identity
4-A sense of identification by members of the nation
State:
Institutional structure charged with exercising authority within a definable jurisdictional
purview (territory). It is considered like an institution without sentiment. It is a legitimate
authority entrusted take force against a group of people to organice and regulate it. Some
characteristic :
1-Monopoly on exercise of force
2-Legitimacy as perceived by the governed
3-Institutional structures established to handle governmental tasks
4-Control over a territory (absolute or parcial)
Source : www.scholiast.org/nations/whatisanation.html
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Social contract: is the view that persons’ moral and/or political obligations are dependent
upon a contract or agreement among them to form the society in which they live.
Source: Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. http://www.iep.utm.edu/soc-cont/
Nation: A distinct group or race of people that share history, traditions and culture.
Source: Duhaime Learn Law. http://www.duhaime.org/LegalDictionary/N/Nation.aspx
Governance: The need for governance exists anytime a group of people come together to
accomplish an end. Though governance literature proposes several definitions, most rest
on three dimensions: authority, decision-making and accountability. Governance
determines who has power, who makes decisions, how other players make their voice
heard and how account is rendered.
Source: Institute of Governance. http://iog.openconcept.ca/en/aboutus/governance/governance-definition
Welfare State:
Concept of government in which the state plays a key role in the protection and
promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the
principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public
responsibility for those unable to avail themselves of the minimal provisions for a good
life.
(extract from Enciclopedia Britannica)
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Democratic Deficit:
There are various factors that can define a democratic crisis, such as:
(According to Arrow Therorem)
1. It is impossible to pass from individual preferences to the collective preferences in
a democratic way. This means that decisions are taken in an authoritarian or
hierarchical way, which contradicts the democratic theory.
2. Iron Law of Oligarchy: This law suggests that the growth of parties and
organizations requires the training of specialists or the professionalism of
politicians who, over time, will become key cogs, they will create their own areas
of influence and will to hang their party or organization, not the basis or
foundation of ideological principle, but their personal interests. (Von Beyme, 1995:
190)
3. People NOT represented by their politicians, because of personal interests or lack
of vision of the needs of the people.
4. Inactive citizens. (Not voting, for example).
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Representative democracy:
Form of democracy in which citizens allow others — usually elected officials — to
represent them in government processes and are not necessarily directly involved in any
of the processes of legislation or lawmaking.
This form of democracy has become especially popular in regions where the number of
citizens is so great that direct representation would have the potential of becoming overly
complicated or bogged down. Some people believe that one drawback of representative
democracy is that the representatives might not properly serve the people whom they are
supposed to represent. In representative democracies, the representatives typically serve
in a chamber such as a senate, parliament, house of representatives or similar
government body that is known by another name. In a direct democracy, the citizens
themselves would draft bills, debate them and vote to pass them into law. Representative
democracy instead allows the citizens to elect people who handle those responsibilities
and tasks for them. This might seem as though it creates unnecessary separation between
the people and the laws that are being made, but the intention is that the representatives
receive the education and training that are necessary to better understand the
complicated needs of their jurisdiction.
[http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-representative-democracy.htm]
This is where citizens within a country elect representatives to make decisions for them
[http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/representative_democracy.htm]
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Participative democracy:
Is the term for the active part played by the people in the working of democracy. It is the
willing contribution of citizens, individually or in groups and organisations making up
what’s called “civil society”, to the political and social life of their society. It is also the socalled the “horizontal” links in a society, as opposed to the hierarchical or “vertical” links
of representative democracy. It does not replace representative democracy, but it does
enrich it by restoring power of proposal to the citizens and organisations of civil society
(OCS).
To guarantee this enrichment of representative democracy, it is necessary to improve five
main processes of dialogue between citizens and OCS
• conducting the reflection
• listening to and debating
• deciding.
• accounting for
• checking and evaluating
[http://www.aede.eu/53_participative_dem.html]
Participatory democracy implies that the power to make decisions should not be left to a
small number of people, but that power should be more equally shared among all citizens,
so that everyone has an opportunity to influence collective affairs. The concern of
participatory democrats is to achieve more egalitarian redistribution of power and greater
democratisation of the political process at both national and local level.
[http://www.kildare.ie/localdev/CWC/particip.htm]
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Direct Democracy:
is a form of government that is said to be by the people, but also for the people. It is a
type of government that the people will make the decisions for themselves rather than to
have the decisions made by representatives. Another term used to describe Direct
Democracy is pure democracy or “true” democracy. Some like to argue that democracy is
empowering in a sense that it enables one to exercise control over their own life and act
together with others to change the direction it is going in. Democracy also requires one to
be accountable. The politician that is elected must be accountable for their decisions. It
also requires them to have effective representation.
Reference: http://direct-democracy.co.uk/
Impunity:
Impunity is the exemption from punishment of the guilty.
Dictionary.com. Consult on June 7 2012:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/impunity
For example, figures from Turkey show that impunity for torturers is the rule rather than
the exception. Since 1980, an estimated one million persons have been tortured in Turkey,
but only a few thousand perpetrators have been convicted. And in nearly all cases
punishment was either postponed or converted into a fine.
Preventing Torture. Fighting Impunity. Consult on June 7 2012:
http://www.irct.org/investigation---documentation/fighting-impunity.aspx
Legitimacy:
Legitimacy is the justification of coercive power and with the creation of political
authority. Others associate it with the justification, or at least the sanctioning, of existing
political authority. "In accordance with law." "To follow the established rules."
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/legitimacy/
For example, lack of legitimacy when AMLO proclaimed himself as a legitimate president
of Mexico.
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Nationalism:
Nationalism was the most successful political force of the 19th century. It emerged from
two main sources: the Romantic exaltation of "feeling" and "identity" [see Herder above
all on this] and the Liberal requirement that a legitimate state be based on a "people"
rather than, for example, a dynasty, God, or imperial domination. Both Romantic "identity
nationalism" and Liberal "civic nationalism" were essentially middle class movements.
There were two main ways of exemplification: the French method of "inclusion" essentially that anyone who accepted loyalty to the civil French state was a "citizen". In
practice this meant the enforcement of a considerable degree of uniformity, for instance
the destruction of regional languages. The US can be seen to have, eventually, adopted
this ideal of civic inclusive nationalism. The German method, required by political
circumstances, was todefine the "nation" in ethnic terms. Ethnicity in practice came down
to speaking German and (perhaps) having a German name. For the largely Germanspeaking Slavic middle classes of Prague, Agram etc. who took up the nationalist ideal, the
ethnic aspect became even more important than it had been for the Germans. It is
debatable whether, in practice, all nationalisms ended up as Chauvinistic and aggressive,
but the very nature of nationalism requires that boundaries be drawn. Unless these
boundaries are purely civic, successful nationalism, in many cases produced a situation in
which substantial groups of outsiders were left within "nation-states".
State:
Political organization of society, or the body politic, or, more narrowly, the institutions of
government. The state is a form of human association distinguished from other social
groups by its purpose, the establishment of order and security; its methods, the laws and
their enforcement; its territory, the area of jurisdiction or geographic boundaries; and
finally by its sovereignty. The state consists, most broadly, of the agreement of the
individuals on the means whereby disputes are settled in the form of laws. In such
countries as the United States, Australia, Nigeria, Mexico, and Brazil, the term state (or a
cognate) also refers to political units, not sovereign themselves, but subject to the
authority of the larger state, or federal union.
(for historic and contemporary views on this concept, visit http://0www.britannica.com.millenium.itesm.mx/EBchecked/topic/563762/state)
Bibliography:
"Internet History Sourcebooks." Nationalism. Fordham University, 22 Sept. 1997. Web. 07
June 2012. <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook17.asp>.
State. (2012). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from http://0www.britannica.com.millenium.itesm.mx/EBchecked/topic/563762/state
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Transparency:
1. See-through, clear piece of acetate used for projecting data, diagrams, and text onto a
screen with an overhead projector.
2. Lack of hidden agendas and conditions, accompanied by the availability of full
information required for collaboration, cooperation, and collective decision making.
3. Minimum degree of disclosure to which agreements, dealings, practices, and
transactions are open to all for verification. <--- this is the one i like the most.
4. Essential condition for a free and open exchange whereby the rules and reasons behind
regulatory measures are fair and clear to all participants.
Source: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/transparency.html#ixzz1x7wxFnIf
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Democracy:
The Greek ruths of the word cames from: Demos= People Kratein= to govern. Democracy
is the goverment of the majority. “…It is the power of the people, the power of the
citizents…”
All people should be able to have their say in one way another in everything that affect
their lives.
Democracy consists of four basic elements:
1. A political system for choosing and replacing the government through free and fair
elections.
2. The active participation of the people, as citizens, in politics and civic life.
3. Protection of the human rights of all citizens.
4. A rule of law, in which the laws and procedures apply equally to all citizens.
Source:
1- Manual del poder ciudadano: lo que México necesita, Ulrich Richter Morales,
Estado y democracia, ¿Qué es democracia? , pág. 100
2- Lecture at Hilla University for Humanistic Studies, January 21, 2004,
http://www.stanford.edu/~ldiamond/iraq/WhaIsDemocracy012004.htm
3- http://www.america.gov/st/democracyenglish/2008/May/20080619223145eaifas0.5311657.html
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Rule of Law:
That individuals, persons and government shall submit to, obey and be regulated by law,
and not by arbitrary action by an individual or a group of individuals. (From
http://www.duhaime.org/LegalDictionary/R/RuleofLaw.aspx)
Rule of law has at least three meanings: First, rule of law is a regulator of government
power. Second, rule of law means equality before law. Third, rule of law means procedural
and
formal
justice.
(From
Overseas
Young
Chinese
Forum
in
http://www.oycf.org/Perspectives2/5_043000/what_is_rule_of_law.htm)
Civil Society:
Refers to the so-called “intermediary institutions” such as professional associations,
religious groups, labor unions, citizen advocacy organizations, that give voice to various
sectors of society and enrich public participation in democracies. (From Civil Society
International in http://www.civilsoc.org/whatisCS.htm)
Diverse units of social identity and interest, independent of the state, that not only can
restrain the arbitrary actions of rulers, but can also contribute to forming better citizens
who are more aware of the preferences of others, more self-confident in their actions,
and more civic-minded in their willingness to sacrifice for the common good. (Prof.
Gordon
L.
Bowen,
Mary
Baldwin
College
in
http://www.mbc.edu/faculty/gbowen/civilSociety.htm)
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Democratic Deficit:
This is the perception, or reality, of an accountability gap between the major international
institutions driving globalization and the people and nation states they affect. There are
currently efforts to reform the decision-making processes of major international
institutions so that the interests of poorer countries are better reflected and individuals
and governments are better able to access information and hold accountable these
institutions of the new global architecture.
The Human Development Report 2002 published by the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) focuses on the impact of democracy deficits at a local and global level.
The report is concerned about the lack of influence of the world's poorest countries and
points out that nearly half of the voting power in the World Bank and International
Monetary Fund (IMF) rests in the hands of seven countries. Although all countries have a
vote and a seat in the World Trade Organization (WTO), in practice decisions are made in
small group meetings and heavily influenced by the United States, the European
Union, Canada, and Japan. In many of the poorer countries state capacity is so low that
they cannot afford representation in these institutions; in 2000, 15 African WTO Member
States did not have an office in Geneva to represent them at the WTO.
Bibliography: Democratic deficit. World health organization. Obtenido el 1/06/12 de
http://www.who.int/trade/glossary/story037/en/index.html
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Accountability: is the responsibility to give account and answer for the accomplishment
and services in public management. In the public and also privet exist the necessity to
clear the actions and decisions about administrative policy, government and government
functions to the society.
Simon Zadek defined as the process of “make responsible the people who have the power
on the life of the people”. Also Alnoor Ebrahim defined the concept of accountability as
“the responsibility to respond for the performance on particular expectations of different
stakeholders”.
Source:
(2008). Rendición de cuentas o accountability: una máxima democrática. Recuperado el 7
de junio de 2012, de http://www.bcn.cl/carpeta_temas_profundidad/rendicionde-cuentas-accountability
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Self-Determination:
Self-determination is the principle in international law that nations have the right to freely
choose their sovereignty and international political status with no external compulsion or
interference. The principle does not state how the decision is to be made, or what the
outcome should be, whether it be independence, federation, protection, some form of
autonomy or even full assimilation. Neither does it state what the delimitation between
nations should be — or even what constitutes a nation.
By extension the term self-determination has come to mean the free choice of one’s own
acts without external compulsion.
Self-determination is a concept that can be traced back to the beginning of government.
The right has always been cherished by all peoples, although history has a long record of
its denial to the weak by the strong.
The historian Alfred Cobban has said that not every kind of national revolt can be included
under the description of self-determination. The movement for national independence, or
self-determination, falls into the same category as utilitarianism, communism, or
Jeffersonian democracy.
Source: “Self-Determination by Betty Miller Unterberger” Business Library
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_gx5215/is_2002/ai_n19132482/
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Legal culture:
According to Lawrence Friedman, legal culture “refers to ideas, values, expectations and
attitudes towards law and legal institutions, which some public or some part of the public
holds.” Legal culture it’s divided in two sub-terms: internal and external legal culture.
Internal legal culture refers to the attitudes and behaviors of legal professionals, while
external legal culture refers to those of lay people
-
Cultura de la Legalidad: en una sociedad determinada, “es el conjunto de creencias,
valores, normas y acciones que promueve que la población crea en el Estado de derecho,
lo defienda y no tolere la ilegalidad”. Sirve como criterio para evaluar el grado de respeto
y apego a las normas vigentes por parte de sus aplicadores y destinatarios.
Political Community: Political community means to enhance the wellbeing of all citizens
through legislated measures covering everything from social security to government-run
education to universal health care—all funded by general taxation or by other means
mandated by government.
At the same time, the constitution of a political community must ensure that all citizens
can participate freely in the political process through effective democratic representation.
All citizens should also enjoy equal treatment in the rights, privileges, and benefits of the
republic’s commonwealth, for the sake of the common good.
Bibliography:
Political Community | The Center for Public Justice." The Center for Public Justice | The
Center for Public Justice. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 June 2012.
http://www.cpjustice.org/content/political-community
Adaptado de Godson, Roy. (2000). Symposium on the Role of Civil Society in Countering
Organized Crime: Global Implications of the Palermo, Sicily Renaissance. Palermo,
Italia.
"Cultura de la Legalidad. ¿Qué es Cultura de la Legalidad?." Cultura de la Legalidad.
Cultura de la Legalidad. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 June 2012.
http://www.culturadelalegalidad.org.mx/Qu%C3%A9-es-Cultura-de-la-Legalidadc53i0.html
Criteria, the Copenhagen. "THE CONCEPT OF LEGAL CULTURE WITH PARTICULAR
ATTENTION TO THE TURKISH CASE « CIVIL LAW NETWORK." CIVIL LAW NETWORK.
N.p., n.d. Web. 7 June 2012.
http://civillawnetwork.wordpress.com/2010/02/02/the-concept-of-legal-culturewith-particular-attention-to-the-turkish-case/
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