A pseudo-democracy, also known as tactical liberalization, is a political order designed to put on a democratic façade. Such regimes imitate a democratic system by holding regular political elections without any genuine intentions of offering the country’s citizens a voice. In most cases, a ruling party consolidates power with an aim of monopolizing the state’s …
The contemporary global society is rife with feelings of contempt for liberal democracy due to a persistent rise in societal, economic, and political inequalities. As a result, countries from all corners of the world are increasingly abandoning this democratic approach to governance for alternative political movements, such as nationalism, populism, and more worryingly, illiberal democracy. …
What are your options as a person under an absolute monarchy where you hardly have a voice in how you get governed? Pretty much nothing. That describes the bleak world before the winds of liberalism came blowing. For centuries, Europe was ruled by monarchs (or sometimes aristocrats) who based their legitimacy on the so-called divine …
Parliamentary democracy is arguably one of the most dominant forms of governance across the globe, with 51 out of 195 sovereign nations adopting this administrative system. In this kind of democracy, the legislature and executive branches of government are intertwined. The executive is held accountable to, and derives its permissibility from, the legislature. What’s more, …
Would you boil a baby in order to save a million people? Some people would object most likely with shock. Boiling a baby would be morally unacceptable under any circumstances for them. Yet others would justify it for the sake of saving a million lives. This dicey situation introduces us to a concept in ethics …
Picture how our modern economy consumes enormous amounts of resources and generates mountain loads of waste each year. How do we defuse this ticking time bomb that one day threatens to lay waste to our planet? Well, many economists think they have figured a way out—it’s called a circular economy. As its name implies, the …
In game theory, the zero-sum game is a mathematical representation of a situation in which each participant’s gain or loss of utility is exactly balanced by the losses or gains of the utility of the other participants. In other words, whatever one person gains in utility, someone else loses an equal amount. The term “zero-sum …
Federal grant funding in states has seen a dramatic increase over the years. This shows a growing interest in these types of funds. It also highlights the increasing relationship between federal, state, and local governments. Most federal grants are given out under a special classification called categorical grants. But before you know whether you can …
The market leader of the global PC market in 2020 was Lenovo, with a market share of 24.9%. Samsung led the global mobile phones market while Apple emerged top in the electronics market. Lenovo, Samsung, and Apple companies enjoy a monopoly in their fields. In any industry or market, a company that holds the highest …
When we elect leaders, we give them the mandate to make decisions and implement proposals on our behalf. They make proposals that affect us directly or indirectly. We can directly influence policies and decisions that affect us by participating in open forums, airing our views on social media platforms, and forming platforms to air our …