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Government Regulation in Lieu of Law No. 2 of 2017 (Perpu Ormas) is contrary to the rule of law, especially in relation to the principle of due process of law. Under this Perpu, the dissolution mechanism of mass organizations carried out directly by the government without going through the judicial process potentially leads to abuse of power and is contradictory with the basic principles of the rule of law. In a country with the rule of law, which respects human rights, the dissolution of any organization should be in accordance with the due process of law. Government restrictions on freedom of association and assembly should be measured by considering the legitimacy and social needs of the level of restrictions on the rights, which is the duty of the court and not the government. In addition, the grounds for dissolving mass organizations as regulated in Law No. 16 of 2017 are dangerously multi-interpretative. These multi-interpretative grounds make the government able to easily dissolve any existing mass organization under the pretext of conflicting with Pancasila, and so on. The legal politics behind the issuance of Perpu Ormas cannot be separated from government’s political interest to exercise control over its political opponents and to maintain the regime from pressures coming from its political opponents, particularly Islamic groups that are in opposition to the government. It appears that the democratic process in Indonesia does not necessarily have a positive impact on the protection of human rights in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last twenty years significant changes have taken place in the nature and role of Italian civil society. In this article, I first offer a definition of modern civil society and then trace its historical development in Italy, especially during the republican period. I then move on to discuss why civil society has flourished so markedly over the past two decades. I concentrate in particular on the structural transformations of the middle classes, outlining their dominant position in Italian society and their increased cultural capital. I suggest that a new reflexive middle class has provided the backbone for civil-society protests, especially those in defence of the Constitution and against Silvio Berlusconi's manipulations of the media and of the law. These protests have been impressively large, but should not be allowed to mask the many shortcomings of contemporary civil society, which render it more vulnerable than at first appears. I end the article with an appeal for new forms of politics which combine both civil and political society, representative and participatory democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More that being a technical description written by experts, on the requirements to exert a good citizenship exercise, the citizenship competencies recently proposed by the Ministry of Education represent a specific understanding of citizenship and democracy. Basing on a critical revision of the documents related to the Ministry's citizenship competencies (standards, tests, and texts that provide a theoretical framework), we conclude that the citizenship exercise is understood as the performance of a set of competencies apt to uphold a democratic society in its ideal state. In such environment there will always be space for mutual comprehension, conflicts may be solved by means of open and rational dialogue, genuine participation mechanisms exist, and distortions of democracy are transparent and easily identified. However, on one side this vision of ideal democracy does not match the current society, and, on the other, it is a utopia, for it is an unreachable ideal; and, although it must be pursued, goals must also be achieved within a fallible society. All the same, if defined again from a critical perspective, such deficiency present within the current frame of the citizenship competencies may still be mended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between nonformal education (NFE) and democracy has not been subject to empirical examination. Given the prominence that NFE has gained in many countries, such as those in Africa, this inattention is unfortunate. Using data from a survey involving a probability sample of 1484 Senegalese citizens, this paper examines the effects of education, both formal and nonformal, on political participation among rural Senegalese. The results indicate that NFE and formal education tend to have similar effects on several political behaviors, but the effect of NFE generally appears to be stronger. NFE has a positive impact on political participation. NFE increases the likelihood that one will vote and contact officials regarding community and personal problems. In addition, NFE has a strong, positive impact on community participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article was studied by the light of the newspapers in the National Development Party. The National Development Party was established in İstanbul in 1945 by Nuri Demirağ is a person who has been trying to develop the country in commercial and political arenas since the National Developmant Party. Nuri Demirağ, who is a nationalist and an idealist, established an opponent party as an alternative to CHP (People's Republician Party) which was in power in 1945 in which there was a freedom movement. We didn't give up criticizing "the National Chef" İsmet Inönü despite the limitations of single-party administration. He showed that he is opposed to single-party administration and became the pioner of multi-party movement before Democrat Party at the time. Demirağ, who thought that development was possible by liberalism, showed this ideal by establishing his party. When the National Development Party gave its establishment document to the mayor, the first news appeared in papers. While some of them found National Development Party positive, the others who were the supporters of the power were cautious against National Development Party . They wrote about the previous single-party attempts and added what thins should not be done in a sensitive manner. At first the media in those days was interested towards MKP and people supported it, however; the events such as; the fghts happened in the Assembly, MP (member of Parliament) resignations, the establishment of the Democrat Party and the World War II peace agreements appeared in media much more than National Development Party. Becouse of this National Development Party lost in the elections before setting the support of the community all over the country and expected interest. By the time, MKP weakened because of the leadership. At last Ministry of National Affairs declared National Development Party as abolished. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current international human rights standards cover mainly the dissemination of information, the consultation of information, and the registration of information. Practically all human rights provisions refer to communication as the "transfer of messages." This reflects an outdated conception of communication as "distribution." Communication is interaction: a process of personal and public dialogue! The shift from distribution to interaction requires the adaptation of human rights standards to the new reality of global interactive technologies and the emergence of networking in many social domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines recent policy discussions on non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and their central role in the democratization of civil society The author argues that the policy debate on NGOs exemplifies the conflict between liberalism and socialism, or more specifically between private interest and public good. The contemporary context of neoliberal economic policies and structural adjustment represents a vindication of liberal norms, and the ascendancy of NGOs is theorized in this context. An analysis of recent policy positions on NGOs and their role in promoting governance and development is illustrative of the complex ways in which NGOs, at local and international levels, are being incorporated into the neoliberal model of civil society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]