Schaffer Democracy in Translation

Understanding Politics in an Unfamiliar Culture
1. Auflage 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5017-1839-7
Verlag: De Gruyter
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, 192 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 235 mm

Reihe: The Wilder House series in politics, history, and culture

Frederic C. Schaffer challenges the assumption often made by American scholars that democracy has been achieved in foreign countries when criteria such as free elections are met. Elections, he argues, often have cultural underpinnings that are invisible to outsiders. To examine grassroots understandings of democratic institutions and political concepts, Schaffer conducted fieldwork in Senegal, a mostly Islamic and agrarian country with a long history of electoral politics. Schaffer discovered that ideas of "demokaraasi" held by Wolof-speakers often reflect concerns about collective security. Many Senegalese see voting as less a matter of choosing leaders than of reinforcing community ties that may be called upon in times of crisis.By looking carefully at language, Schaffer demonstrates that institutional arrangements do not necessarily carry the same meaning in different cultural contexts. Democracy in Translation asks how social scientists should investigate the functioning of democratic institutions in cultures dissimilar from their own, and raises larger issues about the nature of democracy, the universality of democratic ideals, and the practice of cross-cultural research.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Schaffer, Frederic C.

Schaffer, Frederic Charles

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Kultur Politische Propaganda & Kampagnen, Politik & Medien
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Afrikanische Geschichte
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Systeme Demokratie
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Systeme Wahlen und Volksabstimmungen

Über Autor(innen)

SchafferFrederic C.:

Frederic Charles Schaffer is Lecturer on Social Studies at Harvard University and Research Associate at the Center for International Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has worked as an election specialist in Iraq and Haiti. He is the author of Democracy in Translation: Understanding Politics in an Unfamiliar Culture, also from Cornell.