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Political Forecast regarding Democratization

Freedom in the World 2016 has recorded a decline in global freedom in each of the past 10 years. Among the many factors behind democracy’s troubled decade, a few stand out like China’s role is becoming a model in the developing world and beyond, for combining political repression with economic growth, at the cost of human rights. As well as, division and doubts about global leadership among democratic powers around the world results in wavering support for democracy beyond their borders.

According to Nye, J. (2004), a country’s hard power is based on coercion, largely a function of its military or economic might, whereas soft power is based on attraction, arising from the positive appeal of a country’s culture, political ideals, and policies. With the explosive growth of the internet and social media, and the integration of authoritarian information outlets into the media spaces of democracies, the opportunities for exerting influence are far greater today than at any time in the recent past.

They use deep economic and business ties to export corrupt practices and insinuate themselves into the politics of democracies, both new and established. They are influencing international public opinion and investing heavily in their own instruments of soft power in order to compete with democracy in the realm of ideas.

In 2014, the National Endowment for Democracy’s International Forum for Democratic Studies launched a two-year initiative on resurgent authoritarianism. The project found that regimes in countries as diverse as China, Russia, Venezuela, and even archrivals Iran and Saudi Arabia, despite disagreeing on many issues, broadly share the objective of containing the spread of democracy. Moreover, these regimes are capitalizing on the benefits of integration to pursue this goal both domestically and internationally.

References:

Nye, J.S Jr., (2004). Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics. New York: Public Affairs

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Democratization in the Arab World

Economic improvements can help consolidate democracy. Multiple studies show that democracy can be introduced at any level of economic development, but that higher levels of development ensure that democracy will endure. The reasons, though, are disputed. Even so, it is apparent that economic improvement and democratization sometimes go hand-in-hand. Transitions in the Arab world could be especially fragile and could be more vulnerable to economic strains than many past cases. The potential impact of economic factors must be considered in conjunction with other dynamics.

In 1998, Kamrava argued that democratic governance in the Middle East is hard to attain because the necessary social and cultural dynamics do not exist at the time.Yet since then, several events have occurred and many circumstances have been transformed, gradually shaping a picture of the region as open to reform and democratic change. The momentum in Tunisia set off uprisings across the Middle East that became known as the Arab Spring. 

The Arab Spring brought optimism about the prospect of democratization in the region.       

However, transition toward democracy was often violent, prompting concerns about the price of freedom. While Egypt and Tunisia underwent smooth and relatively peaceful transition in ousting autocratic regimes, both Libya and Syria were devastated by violent confrontations.

One category of theories holds that the Arab world lacks the cultural prerequisites for democracy, such as affinity for participatory government and individual rights. Some argue that either Islam or the tribal origins of Arab society has fostered a culture of submission to authority.

Another group of theories looks at what is unique about the location of the Arab world. The presence of oil in the region is one of the most prevalent explanations: Oil revenues accrue to the state, enabling it to reinforce authoritarianism by distributing patronage, buying off potential opponents, and building a coercive apparatus.

A third set of theories focuses on the efforts of foreign powers, particularly the United States, to maintain regional stability and protect Israel. Finally, Arab regimes have become adept at staving off pressure for change, for example, by stoking secularist and Islamist fears of each other coming to power.

Regardless of the best explanation or combination of explanations, it is clear that authoritarianism has proven resilient in the Arab world. The Arab Spring broke down the illusion of regime invulnerability. But the confluence of conditions and authoritarian strategies that blocked political change in the past can be expected to pose challenges for democratization going forward.

 References:

Lipset, Seymour M. (1959). Some Social Requisites of Democracy: Economic Development and Legitimacy. American Political Science Review 53: 69-105.

Kamrava, M. (1998). Democracy in the Balance: Culture and Society in the Middle East. Seven Bridges Press.

Miller, L. et. al. (2012). Democratization in the Arab World Prospects and Lessons from Around the Globe. RAND Corp, ISBN 978-0-8330-7207-8m https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/monographs/2012/RAND_MG1192.pdf

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Significance of Economic Institutions in the World Economy

With the advent of globalization, there is a rapid increase in the free flow of goods and services, capital, labor and finance between nations. It involves an exchange of various factors such as technology, economics, and politics across nations due to advancement in communication, transportation, and infrastructure systems. It can be defined as an economic interdependence between countries all over the world. In an attempt to analyze the significance of economic institution, we must first know what is an economic institution. As the society emerge from its primitive era, the institution began to have vast definitions, one of which is where North stated, ‘Institutions are the formal and informal rules and norms that organize social, political and economic relations. In a simpler sense, the institutions are ‘the underlying rules of the game’ and the ‘organizations are groups of individuals bound by a common purpose’. Organizations are shaped by institutions and, in turn, influence how institutions change.

To further explain the economic institution, we will give an insight to the abstract concepts or systems such as the basic institutions in market economy: private property, free markets, division, and combination of labor, and social cooperation.

Private Property

The first one is the private property where we should clarify that it does not solely points to real estate; it may be an intellectual property like a copyright or trademark. A property right, by definition, is the exclusive authority to determine how a resource is used, whether that resource is owned by government or by individuals. Most of what people do can be explained in terms of establishing, protecting and maximizing the value of personal property. All of the production and civilization rests on recognition of and respect for property rights. Therefore, a free enterprise system is impossible without security of property as well as security of life. And of course, when property rights are secure, owners of capital are more likely to invest on such, thus, making an effect on the economy on a macroscale. One of the examples of international economic institutions we can give that promotes the worldwide protection of intellectual property is the World Intellectual Property Organization or WIPO, which is a specialized agency of the United Nations that establishes an institutional framework for the protection of intellectual property internationally.

Free Market

The second one is the free market where the idea is that everybody has freedom to dispose their property or exchange it for other property or for money. In short, he can do anything with it, on whatever terms he finds acceptable. It is important to insist that private property, especially by means of production, and free markets are not separable institutions. The free market and the free price system provide availability of goods from around the world to the consumers. Saving and investment can then develop capital goods and increase the productivity and wages of workers, thereby increasing their standard of living. Free market and free trade are concepts that are related to one another as they both promote economic freedom for buyers and sellers. And as the world economy progress, the World Trade Organization or WTO was formed as a global international organization that reduce barriers among countries by setting the framework for international trade policies. They also provide technical cooperation to less developed and developing countries, therefore, ensuring that developing and less developed countries have better share of growth in the world trade. They are also encouraging the growth of social capital that affects the levels of trust and willingness to engage in commercial exchange.

Division and combination of labor

As we go to the division and combination of labor, Adam Smith explains that the productive powers of labor widely improve as the workers divide labor in an effort to save time that’re commonly lost in sorting of work in an individual task. His ideas were mainly the basis of capitalism as we know today. Nearly two centuries of economic study have only intensified the recognition that the society today implies—division of labor is more productive than doing an isolated work. The logic stands as: if there are more steps in production, then there are more division of labor; if it has lower cost then it also has lower price; the larger markets are, the more sales we get. The division of labor is limited by the extent of the market. And if we expand the market, it’ll become increasingly profitable to have workers specialize. Flexible labor market is attractive for inward flows of foreign direct investment which boosts growth in the economy. It can also help improve the trade-off between unemployment and inflation.

Social Cooperation

Division and combination of labor already imply social cooperation. They imply that each exchanges part of the special product of his labor for the special product of the labor of others. But division of labor, in turn, increases and intensifies social cooperation. And on a macroeconomic scale, the whole free world is bound together in a system of international cooperation through mutual trade, in which each nation supplies the needs of others for a cheaper and better price than the others who could supply their own needs, acting in isolation.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas

Institutions are a crucial facilitator of social and economic development which can be major source of growth; effective institutions aid investment in physical and human capital, in research and development, and in technology.  In reality, various factors such as weather, global shocks and commodity prices cannot be avoided, but the strength of the institutions are the responsibility of all people in a democratic system. Institutions make sure that resources are properly allocated, and ensure that the underdeveloped and developing countries or those with fewer economic resources are protected, in which, play an important role of redistribution in the world economy. They also adhere to a common set of laws in which they encourage trust by providing policing and justice systems. In a nutshell, as we analyze each one of them, we can conclude that these are not separate institutions, rather, they are mutually dependent: each implies the other and makes it possible.

References:

Antelme, Marie (2016) The Importance of Institutions. Correspondent: The Coronation Fund Managers Personal Investments Quarterly.

Hazlitt, Henry (1998) The Foundations of Morality. The Foundation for Economic Education, Inc. 

North, D. (1990). Institutions, institutional change, and economic performance. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Smith, Adam (1776/1904) An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, edited with an Introductio

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Wandering Hearts: A Look into Cheating

Once a cheater, always a cheater, an infamous quote that is mumbled as a relationship advice to those who experience infidelity by their partner. Cheating may take a variety of forms and the definition of cheating is different to each person. It is possible that it will be spelled out by the people in a relationship. For some, it can be in a form of simple flirting, or it can extend to sexual affairs. The worst part of cheating is the secrecy before revelation of an affair that causes trauma to their partners for the rest of their lives.

As a victim of cheating, you’ll ask: ‘Why did you do it?’ as the question at the root of the mystery. An observation revealed by psychologist Lewandowski Jr. suggests eight major factors: anger, low self-esteem, lack of affection, low commitment, a need for variety, neglect, sexual desire, and situation or circumstance. These factors determined not just why people cheated, but also how long they did so, how much sexual pleasure they got out of it, how emotionally invested they were in the affair, and whether or not their primary relationship collapsed as a result.

Cases of wandering hearts are filled with excuses as they cheat, despite of in a committed relationship. Cheating should never be considered as an accident. It is a conscious decision made by the perpetrator assuming that these immoral acts can be kept under the rug without their partner knowing. It should never be a justifiable act even if it is presented with such circumstances. There are instances where they can’t get away with their current relationship and they find comfort in other people. Oftentimes, people use white lies to fool their partners but not realizing they’re also fooling themselves. And when once caught, these cheaters normally gaslight their partner into believing it’s all in their head as a way out of a heated discourse and causes paranoia to their partner in return.

But what is the extent of cheating? Normally, it is discussed between marriage and in a relationship couple, but it can also happen in people who have mutual understanding with each other. Without proper label, there’s still emotional attachment that connects the person to another. But cheating in these cases are in a loose strings because of the vagueness of the relationship that leaves people in a state of limbo. Despite the circumstances, the cheater still leaves a dent to the person that’ll have scars like a real relationship.

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