EXPLORING THE CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS OF DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY
Abstract
Democratic governance faces numerous complex challenges that undermine its effectiveness and integrity. Political polarization has fragmented societies impeding decision-making. Rapid technological advancement had enabled the spread of disinformation, eroding public trust in democratic institutions. The rise of authoritarian regimes threatens democratic principles and values. To address this crisis, scholars and policy-makers must reassess and adapt strategies to safeguard democratic norms; this paper examines the challenges facing democratic governance, including populism’s impact on democratic systems. It analyzes the drivers of societal fragmentation and political discontent, highlighting the need for mechanisms to combat disinformation and promote media literacy. This paper explores ways to revitalize democracy, emphasizing the importance of strengthening democratic institutions to withstand external and internal pressures; it provides actionable insights for policy-makers to foster a more resilient democratic society.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Bakshy, E., Messing, S., &Adamic, L. A. (2015). Exposure to Ideologically Diverse News and Opinion on Facebook. Science, 348(6239), 1130-1132.
Carothers, T., &Brechenmacher, S. (2014). Closing Space: Democracy and Human Rights Support Under Fire. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Chenotweth, E., & Stephan, M. J. (2011). Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict. Columbia University Press.
Diamond, L. (2008). The Spirit of Democracy: The Struggle to Build Free Societies Throughout the World. Times Books.
Diamond, L. (2015).Facing up to the Democratic Recession. Journal of Democracy, 26(1), 141-155.
Flaxman, S., Goel, S., &Rao, J. M. (2016). Filter bubbles, echo chambers, and online news consumption. Public Opinion Quarterly, 80(S1), 298-320.
Graves, L., Abdul-Mageed, M., Diakopoulos, N., Friedenberg, M., Gweon, G., & Hansen, D. (2019).The effect of automated fact-checking on political misperceptions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(25), 12207-12212
Guess, A, Nyhan, B,.&Reifler. J (2019), “Choosing Exposure to Misinformation: Evidence from the Consumption of Fake News during the 2016 u,S Presidential Campaign” European Research Council, ERC grant agreement. No 6447224
Heidenheimer, A. J., Johnston, M., &LeVine, V. T. (2011). Political corruption: Concepts and contexts. Transaction Publishers.
Howard, P. N., &Hussain, M. M. (2013). Democracy's fourth wave? Digital media and the Arab Spring.Oxford University Press.
Kaufmann, D., Kraay, A., &Mastruzzi, M. (2005). Governance matters IV: Governance indicators for 1996-2004. The World Bank Economic Review, 20(2), 233-253.
Keck, M. E., &Sikkink, K. (1998). Activists beyond borders: Advocacy networks in international politics. Cornell University Press.
Kreiss, D., McGregor, S. C., & Goldsmith, D. J. (2016).Technology, social media, and the 2012 Election.Oxford University Press.
Levitsky, S., & Way, L. A. (2010). Competitive authoritarianism: Hybrid regimes after the Cold War. Cambridge University Press.
Levitsky, S., &Ziblatt, D. (2018). How democracies die. Broadway Books.
Linz, J. J., &Stepan, A. (1996). Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation: Southern Europe, South America, and Post-Communist Europe. JHU Press.
Mason, L (2018). Uncivil Agreement. How Politics Became Our Identity. Universityof Chicago Press
Magaloni, B. (2006). Voting for Autocracy: Hegemonic Party Survival and its Demise in Mexico.Cambridge University Press.
Mény, Y., &Surel, Y. (2002).The Constitutive Ambiguity of Populism. In Y. Mény& Y. Surel (eds.), Democracies and the Populist Challenge (pp. 1-21). Palgrave Macmillan.
Moffitt, B. (2016). The Global Rise of Populism: Performance, Political Style, and Representation. Stanford University Press.
Morozov, E. (2011). The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom. PublicAffairs.
Mounk, Y. (2018). The People vs. Democracy: Why Our Freedom Is in Danger and How to Save It. Harvard University Press.
Mudde, C. (2004). The Populist Zeitgeist. Government and Opposition, 39(4), 541-563.
Mudde, C., &Rovira Kaltwasser, C. (2017). Populism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press.
Norris, P. (2011). Democratic deficit: Critical citizens revisited. Cambridge University Press.
Norris, P. (2019). Digital divide: Civic engagement, information poverty, and the Internet worldwide. Cambridge University Press.
Pevehouse, J. C. (2005). Democracy from Above: Regional Organizations and Democratization. Cambridge University Press.
Putman R.D. (2016). Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis, Simon and Schuster
Putnam, R. D. (1993). Making democracy work: Civic traditions in modern Italy.Princeton University Press.
Putman, R,D (2000), Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, Simon and Schuster
Rothstein, B., &Teorell, J. (2008). What is quality of government? A theory of impartial government institutions. Governance, 21(2), 165-190.
Sikkink, K. (2017). Evidence for Hope: Making Human Rights Work in the 21st Century. Princeton University Press.
Snyder, J. (2000). From Voting to Violence: Democratization and Nationalist Conflict. W. W. Norton & Company
Sustein C.R (2018). Republic Divided Democracy in the Age of Social Media, Princeton University Press
Sustein, C.R. (2018).Taggart, P. (2004). Populism and Representative Politics in Contemporary Europe. Journal of Political Ideologies, 9(3), 269-288.
Tambini, D., Leonardi, D., & Marsden, C. T. (2018).Codifying freedom of expression on internet platforms. Info, 20(2), 69-84.
Tarrow, S. (1994). Power in movement: Social movements and contentious politics. Cambridge University Press.
Treisman, D. (2000). The causes of corruption: A cross-national study. Journal of Public Economics, 76(3), 399-457.
Tufecki, Z. (2017). Twitter and tear gas: The power and fragility of networked protest. Yale University Press.
UN E-Government Survey.(2020). E-Government in Support of Sustainable Development.United Nations.
Urbinati, N. (2014). Democracy Disfigured: Opinion, Truth, and the People. Harvard University Press.
Wardle, C., &Derakhshan, H. (2017). Information disorder: Toward an interdisciplinary framework for research and policy making. Council of Europe.
Way, L. A. (2015). Pluralism by default: Weak autocrats and the rise of competitive politics. Johns Hopkins University Press.
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2024 Dr. Amaka Patricia Nwana, Dr. Dominic Zuoke Kalu
ISSN (PRINT): 2682 - 6135
ISSN (ONLINE): 2682 - 6127
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.