@phdthesis{5896479,
  abstract     = {{The concept of democracy was introduced in international law after the Cold War. If democracy is to develop into a norm of international law, at minimum, the international community needs to agree to a certain extent on its meaning. In order to examine on what elements of definition of democracy a universal consensus exist, a discourse analysis was conducted of the descriptions of democracy adopted in the resolutions and presidential statements adopted by the United Nations Security Council, the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, the Human Rights Committee and the Human Rights Council adopted in the period between 1990 and 2012. The study has illustrated that the international community accepts the following rights, duties or actions of states to be constituent elements of democracy: 1. free and fair elections; 2. the right to political participation comprising of: i. the right of all citizens to political participation; ii. the right of all sectors of societies to participate in national institutions: and iii. the right of all nations to participate in international decision-making procedures; 3. the right to freedom of expression, including the a right to access to an independent media; 4. the right to freedom of association limited to the activities of political parties; 5. racial equality; 6. respect for the constitution; and 7. independent and impartial judiciary.}},
  author       = {{Vandewoude, Cécile}},
  keywords     = {{United Nations,democracy,international law}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{3 v.}},
  publisher    = {{Ghent University. Faculty of Law}},
  school       = {{Ghent University}},
  title        = {{The meaning of democracy in international law: a study on state practice within the United Nations framework}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}