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Date: April 17, 2024 Wed
Time: 8:25 pm
Time: 8:25 pm
Results for elections
2 results foundAuthor: Briscoe, Ivan Title: Protecting Politics: Deterring the Influence of Organized Crime on Elections Summary: Elections are essential elements of democratic systems. Unfortunately, abuse and manipulation (including voter intimidation, vote buying or ballot stuffing) can distort these processes. However, little attention has been paid to an intrinsic part of this threat: the conditions and opportunities for criminal interference in the electoral process. Most worrying, few scholars have examined the underlying conditions that make elections vulnerable to organized criminal involvement. This report addresses these gaps in knowledge by analysing the vulnerabilities of electoral processes to illicit interference (above all by organized crime). It suggests how national and international authorities might better protect these crucial and coveted elements of the democratic process. Case studies from Georgia, Mali and Mexico illustrate these challenges and provide insights into potential ways to prevent and mitigate the effects of organized crime on elections. Details: Stockholm, Sweden: International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance; The Hague: Clingendael, 2016. 76p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 14, 2016 at: http://www.idea.int/publications/protecting-politics-organized-crime-elections/index.cfm?css=new2013 Year: 2016 Country: International URL: http://www.idea.int/publications/protecting-politics-organized-crime-elections/index.cfm?css=new2013 Shelf Number: 144810 Keywords: ElectionsOrganized CrimePolitical CorruptionPolitics |
Author: Briscoe, Ivan Title: Protecting Politics: Deterring the Influence of Organized Crime on Political Parties Summary: Political parties play a crucial role in the functioning of democracy. As the intermediaries between political representatives and the citizens, parties hold the keys to ensure that institutions are inclusive and responsive. In essence, the policies and ideologies that parties uphold are designed to mirror the wishes and needs of the people, and the candidates that these organizations support become the voice for those ideas within elected offices. The general distrust of political parties, and their subsequent weak legitimacy, is therefore one of the most pressing problems for democracy today. This phenomenon corrodes the precious relationship between citizens and politicians, thus destroying the basic fabric of representative democracy. The low levels of membership in political parties reflect this disturbing trend. Citizens are seeking alternatives, increasingly turning to the streets and forming citizen movements to voice their concerns. Recent protests in Asia, Europe and Latin America reflect this general dissatisfaction with the way democratic institutions in general, and political parties in particular, are tackling inequality, poor service delivery and, most importantly, political corruption. Indeed, corruption, partly fuelled by illicit money, is arguably one of the root causes of citizen distrust in political parties. The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), the Netherlands Institute of International Relations (Clingendael) and other partners are therefore committed to shedding light on how organized crime corrupts political parties. Injecting dirty money into political parties and pursuing alliances with key politicians and their intermediaries are some of the principal avenues these illicit networks use to penetrate democracy. This report provides insights into these issues, as well as potential strategies for preventing and mitigating relationships between criminals and political actors, by looking at the specific cases of Georgia, Mali and Mexico. This report builds on comparative research that International IDEA has conducted since 2011 under the umbrella of the Protecting Politics project, which broadly focuses on the threat that organized crime poses to democracy around the world. In 2015 the Clingendael Institute joined International IDEA in exploring the particular dynamics that organized crime uses to engage with political parties and actors. Three other reports complement this study by looking at the related issues of elections, service delivery and local democracy. Details: The Hague: Clingendael Institute, 2016. 91p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 3, 2018 at: https://www.clingendael.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/Protecting-Politics-Deterring-the-Influence-of-Organized-Crime-on-Political-Parties-PDF.pdf Year: 2016 Country: International URL: https://www.clingendael.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/Protecting-Politics-Deterring-the-Influence-of-Organized-Crime-on-Political-Parties-PDF.pdf Shelf Number: 149662 Keywords: ElectionsOrganized Crime Political Corruption |