Democratic Governance with respect of ethnic and cultural differences

Name of Organization: 
University of Messina, Faculty of Political Sciences, International Law Chair
University of Rome La Sapienza, Faculty of Political Sciences
University Roma Tre, Faculty of Political Sciences, International Law Chair
Geographical Scope: 
Regions:
  • Asia and the Pacific
  • Arab States
Country:
  • Philippines
  • Palestine
  • Pakistan
  • Iraq
  • Afghanistan
Purpose: 
The initiative deals with the problem of the creation and/or strengthening of democratic systems in Middle East on account of some critical factors that can thwart this process, such as conflict situations, conditions of economic underdevelopment, phenomena of religious fanatism.
 
The notion of Middle East used in the initiative does not correspond to the traditional or geographical one, limited to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, but to the actual geo-political one (Great Middle East) that goes from Palestine, passing through Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, to the Philippines and further on. It is a median belt in which the democratic shortage and the spread of religious fundamentalism give each other nourishment in a vicious circle that risks to destabilize this macro-region and to threaten the very international peace and security.
 
It appears then of strict relevance to the present and scientific significance to wonder in a systematic way which are the tools and the course of actions able to develop a Middle East democratic governance in conformity to international law and the ethno-cultural specificities existing at local level.
 
The first aim of the initiative is to point out the problems inherent to democratic governance, with particular reference to Middle East, in three very critical situations:
  1. economic underdevelopment that risks to strengthen the trend towards the religious fundamentalism and to justify despotic regimes (Prof. Spatafora research unit);
  2. acute crisis that can determine the recourse to coercitive measures within the United Nations or by Powers that invokes the defence of their one's essential interests and/or the fundamental values of the international community to act in an unilateral way (Prof. Panella research unit);
  3. post-conflict regimes designed to the reconstruction of the civil and institutional environment of the countries concerned and to the restoration or creation of democratic regimes (Prof. Zanghì,research unit).
In other words, we are going to analyze the functions and limits of democratic governance in a critical context, such as the Middle East one, in its main aspects: the preventive, the "casus belli" and the remedial function.
 
The second and consequent principal aim is to try to give a solution to the problems emerging from the precedent review in a coherent and comprehensive manner that will come out from the collaboration of the different research units. This approach will allow to show which are the ways able to develop a Middle East democratic governance in conformity to international law and the cultural specificities of the area.
Area of Governance : 
Human Rights
Publications: 
As the initiative is in development there is not a publication yet. A final publication will be prepared containing the works developed by the research units and the general conclusions.
Cost (specify currency): 
80 000 EUR
Funding sources: 
Cofin 2004, Funding Research Program of the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research, request submitted; Ateneo 2004, Funding Research Program of the University La Sapienza of Rome, request submitted.
Source of Data: 
Initiative focusing on analysis not based on data
Type of Data Collection: 
Administrative Data
Secondary sources
Specifications of type of data collection: 
The issues dealt with in the initiative have been object of an abundant bibliography at national and international level separately. On the contrary, scarce are the systematic surveys on the subject matter, especially the international law ones that are dedicated to the Middle East area. Anyway from literature four different, and in part antithetic, theories stand out that have to be taken in due consideration in carrying out the research:
 
  1. the traditional concept that the democracy should be considered a restraint to the economic development of poor countries
  2. the theory put forward recently on the necessity of a gradual approach: the building up of a liberal State must precede the creation of a democratic regime, in analogy with the historic evolution of the West countries
  3. the "human rights approach to development", standing out of the surveys elaborated by the United Nations bodies that dealt with the relation between development and human rights (especially by the UNDP annual Report on human development, e.g. the 13° Report on "The Quality of Democracy" published in 2002), that points out that the public participation to the decisional making level promote the economic development of all the countries, in particular of the poorest people
  4. the new doctrines developed in the United States that promote the starting up from outside of the democratic processes with particular reference to the Middle East context
Measurement Methods / Tools Generated or Used : 
In the context of the initiative a qualitative/critical scale to evaluate the research hypothesis outlined above will be used.
List of Indicators: 

In a qualitative analysis the indicators are the research hypothesis. See above

Main Users: 
Civil society
Policy makers
Researchers