Extending human and civic rights
Book Review: Feminist Activism, Women’s Rights, and Legal Reform edited by Mulki-Al Sharmani
Aiming to redefine the core issues at the heart of feminist activism in a development context, Feminist Activism, Women’s Rights, and Legal Reform brings together cases from across the developing world in an effort to analyse the successes, and failures, of the evolution and implementation of new laws designed to protect women and girls. Katherine Williams summarises three fascinating chapters. […]
Devo-max could complicate David Cameron’s plans to repeal the Human Rights Act
The Conservative Party have recently re-committed to repealing the Human Rights Act (HRA) and replacing it with a ‘home grown’ British Bill of Rights. Meanwhile, discussion of what level of devolution will be afforded to Scotland in the wake of the ‘No’ vote in their independence referendum has been raging on. Here, Aileen McHargh argues […]
“Highly problematic, to put it mildly”: Experts react to David Cameron’s pledge to repeal the Human Rights Act
Human rights law has long been a bug-bear of the Conservative right, with critics of the Human Rights Act particularly vocal in their condemnation of its restrictive nature. At his recent Conservative Party conference speech, the Prime Minister David Cameron re-committed his party to its repeal. Democratic Audit asked human rights law experts to respond, […]
It is the state’s duty to make sure that individuals have a choice where liberal and illiberal values clash
Should liberal communities accommodate communities that praise ‘illiberal’ values? After all, a state-driven imposition of a single set of values in the name of liberalism is, if nothing else, a clearly contradictory interpretation of liberalism. Forcing people to be free is just as bad as forcing them to be unfree, argues Paula Zoido-Oses. Similar PostsRepublicans give more to […]
20 things we learned about democracy in September 2014
September 2014 was a big month for democracy, with party conferences and of course the Scottish independence referendum. Democratic Audit’s Sean Kippin rounds up 20 things that we learned about democracy this month, and talks about the referendum and conferences, but also elections in the House of Lords, human rights, and KFC chicken. Similar PostsThe […]
The Government’s rehabilitation policy is in crisis due to the Justice Secretary’s ready embrace of austerity
Government rehabilitation policy is in crisis, with the Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor Chris Grayling presiding over a series of monumental policy errors which have combined to erode prisoner rights and derail the “Rehabilitation Revolution” promised by his predecessor Ken Clarke, according to Richard Ridyard. He argues that Grayling’s devotion and justification of the Government’s […]
We need a better debate on the “Drip, Drip, Drip” of the surveillance state
Ross Bellaby from the University of Sheffield analyses the rise of the British ‘surveillance state’ and the recent Data Retention and Investigatory Powers (DRIP) law. He argues we need a more sustained debate around the potential, limits and expectations we have for new forms of social media and their implications for privacy. Similar PostsInformational privacy: […]
Extending the franchise in Scotland to 16 year olds was progress which should be capitalised on, not rolled back
The Scottish referendum was not only historic for its constitutional implications, it was also the first time in the UK that 16 and 17 year olds were allowed to vote. But what are the reasons for including younger people in the electorate, and what might the consequences be for their future participation? Emily Rainsford analyses the potential […]
The East African Community should learn from the EU and mobilise public involvement immediately
The European Union is held up as the gold standard for successful international regional integration, but less attention is given to the somewhat undemocratic means that have seen this feat achieved. Josie Knowles argues that similar efforts underway in Africa – specifically the East African Community – should take note of what the EU didn’t […]
The EU should set explicit press freedom requirements for candidate countries
Despite being viewed as a key component of European democracy, media freedom varies significantly across EU states. Based on the annual ‘Freedom of the Press’ report produced by Freedom House, Jennifer Dunham assesses media freedom in EU candidate countries. She notes that seven of the eight candidate or potential candidate states considered have press freedom […]
Democratic Audit's core funding is provided by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. Additional funding is provided by the London School of Economics.