Challenges to Democratic Participation

Challenges to Democratic Participation

Author: Andre Santos Campos

Publisher: Lexington Books

Published: 2014-04-02

Total Pages: 157

ISBN-13: 0739191527

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This book gathers a series of studies by scholars who have dedicated these last few years to research in the field of participatory democracy. Their purpose is precisely to engage in a theoretical discussion about the value of participatory democracy in the 21st century. Part I deals with the challenge of antipolitics. This is one of the greatest challenges faced by contemporary democratic theory: How can it be possible to take into account in political decision-making processes those whose voices issue disagreement with the available alternatives in the exact same political decision-making processes, without simply excluding them provisionally from democratic participation? Part II focuses on challenges to deliberative systems. Deliberative democracy is probably the most important alternative conception of democracy in today’s available literature on the topic, insofar as it responds to a sort of general uneasiness with mere preference aggregation by majoritarian voting, and instead seeks to incorporate the vast spectrum of heterogeneous interests in modern societies in the search for mutually acceptable policies. However, it is also subject to specific theoretical challenges that must be overcome if it is to be taken seriously as a viable alternative for providing better conditions of political participation. Part II deals with some of those challenges, even if in a sympathetic attitude towards deliberative decision-making. Finally, Part III approaches pluralism and cultural diversity in a shared public space. Its main challenge consists in promoting an idea of active citizenship that can meet the demands of a world increasingly defined by the processes of globalization. Ultimately, that is what will end up combining a valid notion of active citizenship with effective decision-making procedures in pluralistic democracies. More than a simple summary of research, Challenges to Democratic Participation is designed to be accessible and useful to a wide variety of audiences, from scholars and practitioners working in numerous disciplines and fields, to activists and average citizens who are interested in seeking a theoretical groundwork for democratic practices; it also intends to enhance current scholarship, serving as a guide to existing research and identifying useful future research.


Book Synopsis Challenges to Democratic Participation by : Andre Santos Campos

Download or read book Challenges to Democratic Participation written by Andre Santos Campos and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2014-04-02 with total page 157 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book gathers a series of studies by scholars who have dedicated these last few years to research in the field of participatory democracy. Their purpose is precisely to engage in a theoretical discussion about the value of participatory democracy in the 21st century. Part I deals with the challenge of antipolitics. This is one of the greatest challenges faced by contemporary democratic theory: How can it be possible to take into account in political decision-making processes those whose voices issue disagreement with the available alternatives in the exact same political decision-making processes, without simply excluding them provisionally from democratic participation? Part II focuses on challenges to deliberative systems. Deliberative democracy is probably the most important alternative conception of democracy in today’s available literature on the topic, insofar as it responds to a sort of general uneasiness with mere preference aggregation by majoritarian voting, and instead seeks to incorporate the vast spectrum of heterogeneous interests in modern societies in the search for mutually acceptable policies. However, it is also subject to specific theoretical challenges that must be overcome if it is to be taken seriously as a viable alternative for providing better conditions of political participation. Part II deals with some of those challenges, even if in a sympathetic attitude towards deliberative decision-making. Finally, Part III approaches pluralism and cultural diversity in a shared public space. Its main challenge consists in promoting an idea of active citizenship that can meet the demands of a world increasingly defined by the processes of globalization. Ultimately, that is what will end up combining a valid notion of active citizenship with effective decision-making procedures in pluralistic democracies. More than a simple summary of research, Challenges to Democratic Participation is designed to be accessible and useful to a wide variety of audiences, from scholars and practitioners working in numerous disciplines and fields, to activists and average citizens who are interested in seeking a theoretical groundwork for democratic practices; it also intends to enhance current scholarship, serving as a guide to existing research and identifying useful future research.


Revisiting Youth Political Participation

Revisiting Youth Political Participation

Author: Joerg Forbrig

Publisher: Council of Europe

Published: 2005-01-01

Total Pages: 196

ISBN-13: 9789287156549

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Book Synopsis Revisiting Youth Political Participation by : Joerg Forbrig

Download or read book Revisiting Youth Political Participation written by Joerg Forbrig and published by Council of Europe. This book was released on 2005-01-01 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:


Challenges to Democracy

Challenges to Democracy

Author: K. Dowding

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-05-06

Total Pages: 267

ISBN-13: 0230502180

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This collection brings together leading political scientists in order to address the challenges faced by democracy in the twenty-first century. The contributors tackle the changing nature of democratic ideas, in particular equality in society and the satisfaction of citizens. They examine changing patterns of political involvement, from voting to new forms of participation and protest using the Internet and new technologies. Finally, they look at the challenge to democracy posed by the changing nature of state institutions: party systems, bureaucracy and e-government, regulation and the processes of institutional development.


Book Synopsis Challenges to Democracy by : K. Dowding

Download or read book Challenges to Democracy written by K. Dowding and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-05-06 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection brings together leading political scientists in order to address the challenges faced by democracy in the twenty-first century. The contributors tackle the changing nature of democratic ideas, in particular equality in society and the satisfaction of citizens. They examine changing patterns of political involvement, from voting to new forms of participation and protest using the Internet and new technologies. Finally, they look at the challenge to democracy posed by the changing nature of state institutions: party systems, bureaucracy and e-government, regulation and the processes of institutional development.


The Participation Gap

The Participation Gap

Author: Russell J. Dalton

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2017-10-06

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13: 0191053325

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The dilemma of democracy arises from two contrasting trends. More people in the established democracies are participating in civil society activity, contacting government officials, protesting, and using online activism and other creative forms of participation. At the same time, the importance of social status as an influence on political activity is increasing. The democratic principle of the equality of voice is eroding. The politically rich are getting richer-and the politically needy have less voice. This book assembles an unprecedented set of international public opinion surveys to identify the individual, institutional, and political factors that produce these trends. New forms of activity place greater demands on participants, raising the importance of social status skills and resources. Civil society activity further widens the participation gap. New norms of citizenship shift how people participate. And generational change and new online forms of activism accentuate this process. Effective and representative government requires a participatory citizenry and equal voice, and participation trends are undermining these outcomes. The Participation Gap both documents the growing participation gap in contemporary democracies and suggests ways that we can better achieve their theoretical ideal of a participatory citizenry and equal voice.


Book Synopsis The Participation Gap by : Russell J. Dalton

Download or read book The Participation Gap written by Russell J. Dalton and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017-10-06 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The dilemma of democracy arises from two contrasting trends. More people in the established democracies are participating in civil society activity, contacting government officials, protesting, and using online activism and other creative forms of participation. At the same time, the importance of social status as an influence on political activity is increasing. The democratic principle of the equality of voice is eroding. The politically rich are getting richer-and the politically needy have less voice. This book assembles an unprecedented set of international public opinion surveys to identify the individual, institutional, and political factors that produce these trends. New forms of activity place greater demands on participants, raising the importance of social status skills and resources. Civil society activity further widens the participation gap. New norms of citizenship shift how people participate. And generational change and new online forms of activism accentuate this process. Effective and representative government requires a participatory citizenry and equal voice, and participation trends are undermining these outcomes. The Participation Gap both documents the growing participation gap in contemporary democracies and suggests ways that we can better achieve their theoretical ideal of a participatory citizenry and equal voice.


Political Participation in a Changing World

Political Participation in a Changing World

Author: Yannis Theocharis

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-09-05

Total Pages: 130

ISBN-13: 1351394622

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In the last decades, political participation expanded continuously. This expansion includes activities as diverse as voting, tweeting, signing petitions, changing your social media profile, demonstrating, boycotting products, joining flash mobs, attending meetings, throwing seedbombs, and donating money. But if political participation is so diverse, how do we recognize participation when we see it? Despite the growing interest in new forms of citizen engagement in politics, there is virtually no systematic research investigating what these new and emerging forms of engagement look like, how prevalent they are in various societies, and how they fit within the broader structure of well-known participatory acts conceptually and empirically. The rapid spread of internet-based activities especially underlines the urgency to deal with such challenges. In this book, Yannis Theocharis and Jan W. van Deth put forward a systematic and unified approach to explore political participation and offer new conceptual and empirical tools with which to study it. Political Participation in a Changing World will assist both scholars and students of political behaviour to systematically study new forms of political participation without losing track of more conventional political activities.


Book Synopsis Political Participation in a Changing World by : Yannis Theocharis

Download or read book Political Participation in a Changing World written by Yannis Theocharis and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-09-05 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the last decades, political participation expanded continuously. This expansion includes activities as diverse as voting, tweeting, signing petitions, changing your social media profile, demonstrating, boycotting products, joining flash mobs, attending meetings, throwing seedbombs, and donating money. But if political participation is so diverse, how do we recognize participation when we see it? Despite the growing interest in new forms of citizen engagement in politics, there is virtually no systematic research investigating what these new and emerging forms of engagement look like, how prevalent they are in various societies, and how they fit within the broader structure of well-known participatory acts conceptually and empirically. The rapid spread of internet-based activities especially underlines the urgency to deal with such challenges. In this book, Yannis Theocharis and Jan W. van Deth put forward a systematic and unified approach to explore political participation and offer new conceptual and empirical tools with which to study it. Political Participation in a Changing World will assist both scholars and students of political behaviour to systematically study new forms of political participation without losing track of more conventional political activities.


Institutions and Organizations as Learning Environments for Participation and Democracy

Institutions and Organizations as Learning Environments for Participation and Democracy

Author: Reingard Spannring

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2023-01-01

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13: 3031179498

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This book discusses opportunities and limitations to democratic participation in institutions and organizations across the life course. It demonstrates that democratic participation is not something that is learned once and for all and applied in formal political settings, but something that is lived every day throughout life in various contexts. Institutions and organizations frame human lives and strongly determine the ability to participate and co-determine their communities. They are places for learning, deliberation and the development of the common good. The book conceptually and empirically analyses the potential of democratic participation within various institutions. The contributions range from early childhood institutions, schools, youth programs, workplaces, and vocational education to cultural organizations and nursing homes for the elderly. The book thereby provides a cross-sectional and interdisciplinary knowledge base to inspire future research and practical efforts to promote democratic participation within and across institutions around the world.


Book Synopsis Institutions and Organizations as Learning Environments for Participation and Democracy by : Reingard Spannring

Download or read book Institutions and Organizations as Learning Environments for Participation and Democracy written by Reingard Spannring and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2023-01-01 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book discusses opportunities and limitations to democratic participation in institutions and organizations across the life course. It demonstrates that democratic participation is not something that is learned once and for all and applied in formal political settings, but something that is lived every day throughout life in various contexts. Institutions and organizations frame human lives and strongly determine the ability to participate and co-determine their communities. They are places for learning, deliberation and the development of the common good. The book conceptually and empirically analyses the potential of democratic participation within various institutions. The contributions range from early childhood institutions, schools, youth programs, workplaces, and vocational education to cultural organizations and nursing homes for the elderly. The book thereby provides a cross-sectional and interdisciplinary knowledge base to inspire future research and practical efforts to promote democratic participation within and across institutions around the world.


Participation and Democratic Theory

Participation and Democratic Theory

Author: Carole Pateman

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1970

Total Pages: 134

ISBN-13: 9780521290043

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Shows that current elitist theories are based on an inadequate understanding of the early writings of democratic theory and that much sociological evidence has been ignored.


Book Synopsis Participation and Democratic Theory by : Carole Pateman

Download or read book Participation and Democratic Theory written by Carole Pateman and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1970 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Shows that current elitist theories are based on an inadequate understanding of the early writings of democratic theory and that much sociological evidence has been ignored.


Democracy and Crisis

Democracy and Crisis

Author: Wolfgang Merkel

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-03-08

Total Pages: 373

ISBN-13: 3319725599

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In light of the public and scholarly debates on the challenges and problems of established democracies, such as a lack of participation, declining confidence in political elites, and the deteriorating capabilities of democratic institutions, this volume discusses the question whether democracy as such is in crisis. On the basis of the shared concept of embedded democracy, it develops a range of conceptual approaches to empirically analyzing the challenges of democracy and their potential transformation into crisis phenomena. The book is divided into three parts, the first of which highlights various aspects of political participation, such as political inequality in voting. In turn, Part II focuses on problems of political representation, while Part III assesses whether processes such as globalization, deregulation, and the withdrawal of the state from important policy areas have limited the political control and legitimacy of democratically elected governments.


Book Synopsis Democracy and Crisis by : Wolfgang Merkel

Download or read book Democracy and Crisis written by Wolfgang Merkel and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-03-08 with total page 373 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In light of the public and scholarly debates on the challenges and problems of established democracies, such as a lack of participation, declining confidence in political elites, and the deteriorating capabilities of democratic institutions, this volume discusses the question whether democracy as such is in crisis. On the basis of the shared concept of embedded democracy, it develops a range of conceptual approaches to empirically analyzing the challenges of democracy and their potential transformation into crisis phenomena. The book is divided into three parts, the first of which highlights various aspects of political participation, such as political inequality in voting. In turn, Part II focuses on problems of political representation, while Part III assesses whether processes such as globalization, deregulation, and the withdrawal of the state from important policy areas have limited the political control and legitimacy of democratically elected governments.


Popular Democracy

Popular Democracy

Author: Gianpaolo Baiocchi

Publisher: Stanford University Press

Published: 2016-12-07

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 1503600777

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Local participation is the new democratic imperative. In the United States, three-fourths of all cities have developed opportunities for citizen involvement in strategic planning. The World Bank has invested $85 billion over the last decade to support community participation worldwide. But even as these opportunities have become more popular, many contend that they have also become less connected to actual centers of power and the jurisdictions where issues relevant to communities are decided. With this book, Gianpaolo Baiocchi and Ernesto Ganuza consider the opportunities and challenges of democratic participation. Examining how one mechanism of participation has traveled the world—with its inception in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and spread to Europe and North America—they show how participatory instruments have become more focused on the formation of public opinion and are far less attentive to, or able to influence, actual reform. Though the current impact and benefit of participatory forms of government is far more ambiguous than its advocates would suggest, Popular Democracy concludes with suggestions of how participation could better achieve its political ideals.


Book Synopsis Popular Democracy by : Gianpaolo Baiocchi

Download or read book Popular Democracy written by Gianpaolo Baiocchi and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 2016-12-07 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Local participation is the new democratic imperative. In the United States, three-fourths of all cities have developed opportunities for citizen involvement in strategic planning. The World Bank has invested $85 billion over the last decade to support community participation worldwide. But even as these opportunities have become more popular, many contend that they have also become less connected to actual centers of power and the jurisdictions where issues relevant to communities are decided. With this book, Gianpaolo Baiocchi and Ernesto Ganuza consider the opportunities and challenges of democratic participation. Examining how one mechanism of participation has traveled the world—with its inception in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and spread to Europe and North America—they show how participatory instruments have become more focused on the formation of public opinion and are far less attentive to, or able to influence, actual reform. Though the current impact and benefit of participatory forms of government is far more ambiguous than its advocates would suggest, Popular Democracy concludes with suggestions of how participation could better achieve its political ideals.


Facing the Challenge of Democracy

Facing the Challenge of Democracy

Author: Paul M. Sniderman

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2011-10-30

Total Pages: 413

ISBN-13: 0691151113

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Citizens are political simpletons--that is only a modest exaggeration of a common characterization of voters. Certainly, there is no shortage of evidence of citizens' limited political knowledge, even about matters of the highest importance, along with inconsistencies in their thinking, some glaring by any standard. But this picture of citizens all too often approaches caricature. Paul Sniderman and Benjamin Highton bring together leading political scientists who offer new insights into the political thinking of the public, the causes of party polarization, the motivations for political participation, and the paradoxical relationship between turnout and democratic representation. These studies propel a foundational argument about democracy. Voters can only do as well as the alternatives on offer. These alternatives are constrained by third players, in particular activists, interest groups, and financial contributors. The result: voters often appear to be shortsighted, extreme, and inconsistent because the alternatives they must choose between are shortsighted, extreme, and inconsistent. Facing the Challenge of Democracy features contributions by John Aldrich, Stephen Ansolabehere, Edward Carmines, Jack Citrin, Susanna Dilliplane, Christopher Ellis, Michael Ensley, Melanie Freeze, Donald Green, Eitan Hersh, Simon Jackman, Gary Jacobson, Matthew Knee, Jonathan Krasno, Arthur Lupia, David Magleby, Eric McGhee, Diana Mutz, Candice Nelson, Benjamin Page, Kathryn Pearson, Eric Schickler, John Sides, James Stimson, Lynn Vavreck, Michael Wagner, Mark Westlye, and Tao Xie.


Book Synopsis Facing the Challenge of Democracy by : Paul M. Sniderman

Download or read book Facing the Challenge of Democracy written by Paul M. Sniderman and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2011-10-30 with total page 413 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Citizens are political simpletons--that is only a modest exaggeration of a common characterization of voters. Certainly, there is no shortage of evidence of citizens' limited political knowledge, even about matters of the highest importance, along with inconsistencies in their thinking, some glaring by any standard. But this picture of citizens all too often approaches caricature. Paul Sniderman and Benjamin Highton bring together leading political scientists who offer new insights into the political thinking of the public, the causes of party polarization, the motivations for political participation, and the paradoxical relationship between turnout and democratic representation. These studies propel a foundational argument about democracy. Voters can only do as well as the alternatives on offer. These alternatives are constrained by third players, in particular activists, interest groups, and financial contributors. The result: voters often appear to be shortsighted, extreme, and inconsistent because the alternatives they must choose between are shortsighted, extreme, and inconsistent. Facing the Challenge of Democracy features contributions by John Aldrich, Stephen Ansolabehere, Edward Carmines, Jack Citrin, Susanna Dilliplane, Christopher Ellis, Michael Ensley, Melanie Freeze, Donald Green, Eitan Hersh, Simon Jackman, Gary Jacobson, Matthew Knee, Jonathan Krasno, Arthur Lupia, David Magleby, Eric McGhee, Diana Mutz, Candice Nelson, Benjamin Page, Kathryn Pearson, Eric Schickler, John Sides, James Stimson, Lynn Vavreck, Michael Wagner, Mark Westlye, and Tao Xie.