Second International Conference on Elections & Democracy 2013
Elections are key components of any democratic system. It is a medium that allows citizens to choose individuals and parties to represent their interests at state and/or national level and to formulate and uphold laws that not only conform to internationally recognized standards but that act as a check and balance to unbridled executive power.
To this end, various political visions, approaches and policies are readily discussed and examined be it in the mass media, cyberspace, and political parties or in local coffee shops on a daily basis and with more focus and intensity in the run-up to any election.
Often, within societies with less than robust democratic political cultures, these political visions and party policies are influenced by the particular inclinations and biases of various political leaderships such that they end up becoming political reality on the ground. In the process, the general views and concerns of the populace – of which the various political parties and their leaders purport to represent – can unfortunately end up being diluted if not ignored altogether.
As well, there is the view that often, what is promised in elections is seldom, if at all, translated into real policy that strengthens democracy and improves governance practices. This situation is also often negatively exacerbated when narrow-minded political exigencies of an authoritarian government demands the forging of ‘political compromises’ built on abstract ‘social contracts’ that disdain larger democratic interests so as to preserve ‘national security’, ‘ethnic harmony’ and ‘religious primacy’.
Given this evident dichotomy and conflict between political theory and political reality, the Department of Politics and International Relations feels compelled to host a regular International Conference on Elections and Democracy that would play a role in structuring future discourse on elections and democracy in a more rational and intellectual fashion among researchers and practitioners alike. Through this conference, it is hoped that politicians, political parties, bureaucrats, researchers, the media and general public would not only begin to understand and appreciate how electoral systems and electoral practices impact democratic governance (and vice-versa) but also to advocate better media, electoral and governance practices so as to advance the cause of democracy and good governance practices.
Furthermore, it is expected that through this conference, we shall not only be able to introduce political scienctists from UNIMAS to fellow researchers at the national and international levels but also to begin to develop a coherent network of research collaboration among national and international researchers on salient issues surrounding elections, democracy and good governance.
