Extending human and civic rights
Book Review: Human Rights and Democracy: the Precarious Triumph of Ideals
Human Rights and Democracy: the Precarious Triumph of Ideals assesses the progress of human rights in and since the 20th Century, against a backdrop of repressive regimes and mass slaughter in a rigorous yet accessible way, writes Claire Overman. Despite some confusing structuring, Todd Landman illustrates the complexities of the human rights agenda in a way that non-experts and experts […]
How Ireland legislated for candidate sex quotas to increase women’s representation
Almost a century after the first female MP was elected, women still comprise only a fifth of the House of Commons. One of the measures suggested for remedying this inequality is the use of gender quotas for parliamentary candidates. Here, the UK could learn from Ireland, where a law introducing a quota was passed in […]
The impact of online misogyny on women’s participation: democracy experts respond
Many women, including a number of high-profile British politicians, have been the targets of misogynistic abuse via social media. Democratic Audit recently featured an article by Laura Bates, arguing that this trend has negative effect on rates of female participation in public life. In this post we ask leading democracy and gender experts to respond, sharing their […]
The UK is inconsistent in its support for human rights and democracy overseas
In the 2012 audit of UK democracy, Stuart Wilks-Heeg, Andrew Blick, and Stephen Crone discussed the role of the UK in promoting democracy and human rights overseas. They found the UK purports to set itself high standards in this area, and has made progress recently by agreeing new international human rights instruments. Our relationship with the European Convention on Human Rights suggest […]
Prisoner voting for the final general election before release is a solution that balances concerns about democratic rights
Democratic Audit has recently featured analysis of prisoner voting rights from several leading experts. In the second of two new contributions to this debate – following Peter Ramsay’s earlier post – Chris Bennett and Daniel Viehoff argue that both sides of the debate can make strong claims to democratic principles. They make a new proposal that […]
Letting prisoners vote would undermine the idea that civil liberties are fundamental to democratic citizenship
Parliament is currently considering how to relax the UK’s restrictions on prisoner voting, which have been deemed in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights. In one of two new contributions to the debate – alongside Chris Bennett and Daniel Viehoff’s post – Peter Ramsay sets out the democratic argument against prisoner enfranchisement. He argues that enfranchising […]
Replacing the Human Rights Act would be a risk that could backfire on the Conservatives
In opposition, David Cameron committed the Conservative Party to investigating the viability of replacing the Human Rights Act with a ‘British Bill of Rights’. But while this approach found favour in his party, there is every chance that his proposed replacement would fail to live up to Conservative expectations and traditions, and may not even […]
The Muslim veil is a question for civil society, not the state
The Muslim veil has again been in the news lately, with questions again raised as to its compatibility with liberal, secular values. But, as Kenan Malik points out, debates over religious freedoms and the threat posed by newcomers are nothing new, but they miss the point: it is civil society, not the state, that should […]
The European Court of Human Rights’ decision in MH v UK highlights the shortcomings in Britain’s mental health law
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled in MH v UK that the inability of a woman with Down’s Syndrome to challenge her detention in a hospital under the Mental Health Act 1983 violated her human rights. Claire Overman argues that this judgment throws a spotlight on the issue of the protection available to […]
Online misogyny prevents women from fully participating in democracy
Many women, including a number of high-profile British politicians, have been the targets of misogynistic abuse via Twitter and other online forums. In this post, Laura Bates of the Everyday Sexism Project shares evidence of abuse and argues that this culture contributes to reduced participation by women in politics. [Please be aware that this post contains […]
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