Democracy, Politics and Innovation, Social Integration and Global Politics in the Contemporary World

A special issue of Social Sciences (ISSN 2076-0760). This special issue belongs to the section "Contemporary Politics and Society".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 1470

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Vienna, Vienna A-1010, Austria
Interests: comparative political science; quality of democracy; knowledge; knowledge democracy and knowledge economy; higher education systems; innovation; art and arts (artistic research)
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue centers on a cross-disciplinary dialogue about fast-moving changes in society, the economy, and democracy. These shifts are influenced by linked environmental, political, and technological developments. To navigate them effectively, it is essential to consider their broader, systemic implications. Ideas like knowledge democracy and innovation democracy have emerged from this, along with efforts to develop governance strategies to put them into practice. Analyses can focus on nation-states, regions, or operate within a comparative framework, or concentrate on the global system as a whole. Global disruptions and global politics have effects and do matter.

Emerging global challenges in global politics involve significant shifts in labor, education, and politics, necessitating interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaboration across the sciences and the arts. These efforts aim to strengthen democracy and create more socially innovative environments. Key issues include climate change, gender and social equality, aging populations, migration, and the ethical governance of digital transformation and artificial intelligence. There is a growing need to understand how technology influences society, the economy, and democratic systems. Additionally, fostering innovation, exploring alternative economic models, and utilizing art as a catalyst for social transformation are crucial for navigating these complex global shifts.

These major changes and radical transformation processes will have a profound impact on science, art, society, the economy, and democracy. To turn these challenges into meaningful solutions, it is essential to expand our thinking and utilize interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary theories, concepts, and methods that focus on critical reflection, effective problem-solving, and sustainable decision-making.

In summary, contributions are welcome that reflect on knowledge democracy and innovation democracy, with wider ramifications for democracy, politics, innovation, and social integration in the contemporary world of global politics. Interested prospective authors should connect directly with the Guest Editor and submit a first tentative abstract (with title and keywords).

Dr. David F. J. Campbell
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • cohesion
  • global challenges
  • global disruptions
  • global politics
  • governance of knowledge and innovation
  • innovation democracy
  • interdisciplinarity
  • knowledge democracy
  • quality of democracy
  • radicality
  • sustainable development
  • transdisciplinarity
  • transformation
  • transition

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 556 KB  
Article
Using Law to Gut Law: Executive Aggrandizement and Quality of Government Decline in Chávez’s Venezuela
by Jeremy Ko, Arturo Garcia Franco and Yihan Gao
Soc. Sci. 2026, 15(4), 246; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci15040246 - 11 Apr 2026
Viewed by 259
Abstract
This study examines the relationship between executive aggrandizement and Quality of Government (QoG) deterioration in Hugo Chávez’s Venezuela. Drawing on the framework of autocratic legalism—whereby legal forms are used to hollow out legal protections—we theorize how constitutional reforms that concentrate executive power through [...] Read more.
This study examines the relationship between executive aggrandizement and Quality of Government (QoG) deterioration in Hugo Chávez’s Venezuela. Drawing on the framework of autocratic legalism—whereby legal forms are used to hollow out legal protections—we theorize how constitutional reforms that concentrate executive power through autocratic legalism may systematically undermine the institutional foundations of impartial governance. We employ a synthetic control method to construct a counterfactual governance trajectory for Venezuela, comparing observed outcomes following the 1999 constitutional reforms to what comparable Latin American countries would predict. Our quasi-experimental analysis provides evidence that the institutionalization of executive aggrandizement was associated with modest yet sustained QoG deterioration from 2000 to 2012. This decline manifested primarily through a collapse in the rule of law and rising systemic corruption, patterns consistent with the theoretical mechanisms of autocratic legalism linking constitutional reforms to governance erosion through institutional capture. The findings suggest that constitutional changes concentrating power in the executive, while appearing procedurally legitimate, may potentially compromise the impartial exercise of state authority. Full article
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14 pages, 275 KB  
Article
Decoloniality, Participation, Organisational Democracy, and Self-Management in Post-Apartheid South Africa and the Global South
by Dasarath Chetty, Sheetal Bhoola, Jos Chathukulam, John Moolakkattu and Nolwazi Ngcobo
Soc. Sci. 2026, 15(2), 61; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci15020061 - 25 Jan 2026
Viewed by 670
Abstract
This paper examines how colonial and neoliberal logics have influenced the ideas of self-management, democracy, and participation and how a decolonial perspective might reinterpret them. Although democracy and participation are celebrated in mainstream development discourse, they frequently serve as technologies of control that [...] Read more.
This paper examines how colonial and neoliberal logics have influenced the ideas of self-management, democracy, and participation and how a decolonial perspective might reinterpret them. Although democracy and participation are celebrated in mainstream development discourse, they frequently serve as technologies of control that uphold market rationalities and dependency. The paper presents a conceptual model for comprehending how political and organisational practices in the Global South are both resisted by and limited by these dynamics, drawing on the framework of the colonial matrix of power. With reference to grassroots movements like Abahlali base Mjondolo, which represent alternative democratic logics based on collective self-management and epistemic justice, South Africa is used as a focal case. How gaps in the global architecture of dominance create opportunities for pluriversal futures is further demonstrated by comparative observations from Latin America and other Global South contexts. By (i) exposing the limitations of institutionalised participatory frameworks, (ii) highlighting radical democracy at the grassroots level, and (iii) describing the structural and epistemic prerequisites for significant change, the paper adds to discussions on decolonial political economy. By doing this, it reinterprets participation as a fight for liberating alternatives outside of colonial modernity rather than as inclusion within the status quo. Full article
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