Measuring Democracy

1. Fair Play by John Holbo

One of the most provocative, thoughtful blog posts I have read. Holdo presents two distinct sides to the debate on organized labor, and does a thorough and exceptional job of breaking them down.

I had originally gone through the top 5 politics blogs on Technocrati, and was not impressed by anything I found. The author wrote a post FAR different than anything you’ll find on the major “journalistic” (to borrow from Prof Nyblade) blogs. I can get my news from anywhere, and usually all at once (scroll down google news and you get the general idea of what is going on in a day).

A post like this though forces you to critically think about the debate. I like thinking.

Holbo asks questions that actually engage the reader; I found myself really pondering my own views on where I stand with regards to the situation in professional sports and elsewhere in society.

2. Preparing for War in Australia? by Randall Hoven

If the piece above was intelligent, this one sets the benchmark for stupidity. Great example of the problem with blogs; it gives everyone a voice, no matter how incompetent it may be.

In regards to the style; too many rhetorical questions that don’t really ask the reader anything. Hard to follow what Hoven is really getting at, the title is terrible (but maybe has the “what in the hell is this guy talking about” factor), and he speaks to his reader’s like they are children.

Not to mention, the quote that sparked his rant is taken WAY out of context.

For my upcoming Report, I chose to do a group of countries from the Balkans:

• Albania
• Bulgaria
• Greece
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Croatia
• Serbia

I chose these countries because my mom is first generation Serbian, and her side of the family has deep roots back there (Knezivich is her maiden name… super Serb). I know little about the Balkans, and wanted the chance to study the region and learn about the different politics and attempts at democracy there.

In Canada

In Errol Mendes piece entitled “Dollars and Democracy“, the author uses the term “one-sided democracy” to describe the potential state of Canadian politics if the Harper ends up cutting public funding from elections. Basically, if the funding was cut, it would make Harper’s party the only viable party for office in Canada, thus eliminating the possibility of other parties gaining control of the government.

In this case, the use of the adjective is to show how Canada could possibly slip into a “diminished subtype” of democracy. Harper could essentially make it so his party would be the only one to afford a reuptable campaign in the next election, thus eliminating the “full contestation” attribute of the minimal definition of democracy.

In China

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I know little about Chinese politics. But considering the amount of current debate Chinese political issues, I am going to learn as much as I can about it this term. From what I gathered this weekend, seems like the Communist party pretty much locks down the whole country. Although there are elections at various levels of the government, the Communist’s block out other parties and make it so there is no other party to vote for.

I found an article called “China’s Tentative Steps Toward Democracy“. The author uses two different adjectives: “deliberative democracy” and “representative democracy”. Particularly interesting was this idea of “deliberative democracy”, by which the author evidently means town hall type decision making with an infusion of technology to tally votes an and participants opinions on a wide range of issues. He contemplates “China evolving into some sort of innovative democratic experiment, combining tricameralism with all the high-tech features of deliberative democracy methods to mold a new type of political accountability, as well as separation of powers”.

In this instance, the author is going down Levitsky and Collier’s ladder towards increasing differentiation. It does serve the article well though, as this type of technologically infused democracy is a concept foreign to me, and it helps to separate the author’s view of the potential democracy in China from others.

1. Thomas, if you have too many books in your apartment, why not add one more? Check out “Another Bull Shit Night in Suck City” by Nick Flynn for a seriously different, unique memoir (here’s a link to amazon). It touches on homelessness, drug abuse, and alcoholism, as well as the author’s struggle with his relationship with his father. A heavy book, but it changed the way I think about some of these issues.
2. A lot of people talk about traveling, or the desire to travel abroad. Lindsy, you specifically mentioned that you want to go somewhere way outside of your comfort zone: try Siem Reap, Cambodia. It is completely different than anything I’ve ever experienced. The people and culture there are amazing. Of course, there is the Angkor Wat and the rest of the temples to see, which are truly incredible. But I found the most enjoyable times I had there were in town, talking to people, bombing around on somewhat skeptical tuk tuks. And a trip there is ridiculously inexpensive, once you get over the cost of the plane tickets. Here is some more info.
3. Merrin, you mentioned you liked to fish and travel. I grew up fly fishing in Northern New Mexico and Colorado. You must check out the San Juan River. Some of the best fishing my father and I have ever experienced. Gorgeous country as well: I can’t wait to go back this May.

My name is Nick Knoop, I’m a 4th year political science major doing my best to graduate in May. Working on going to law school, but that is still a bit up in the air at this point.

From the US originally, came to Canada to experience something different and ski some Whistler powder. I’m a Boston sports fan, my family is from there and I’ve grown up watching the Sox and Celtics… And after living in Canada, I have learned that SportsCenter and SportsCentre are two entirely different things.

I am looking forward to this class: I love the idea that the work we are doing is current, as we see democracy developing, failing, and evolving everyday in the news. I feel like the fundamental question of politics is figuring out how true and accurate the democratic process really is, and I’m sure that is a question we will confront often in this class.