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Democratic Institutions and Moral Resources (1991)
Abstract
It has been observed that ‘democracy’ has become a universal formula of legitimation for a broad range of radically different societies and their respective modes of governance and political participation. By the mid-1970s, there was virtually no regime between Chile and China that did not rest its claim to legitimacy upon being ‘democratic’ in some sense, or at least upon its being in the process of some transition to some version of democracy. Thus, the term ‘democracy’ seemed to have lost its distinctiveness: it failed to highlight significant differences between socio-political arrangements.
... Third, questions of power, and the influence of entrenched interests on political decisions (Brulle, 2019;Lamb et al., 2020;Oreskes & Conway, 2012). And fourth, the responsiveness of representative democracy, or the extent to which citizens' views and values are considered in democratic decision making (Offe & Preuss, 1991;Saward, 2010;Smith, 2009). These issues are not, of course, specific to climate. ...
... Fourth, deliberative democracy understands the relationship between citizens and their political representatives as an ongoing process, one that is based on informed dialogue, in contrast to a focus on elections and voting intention. Contemporary democracy exacerbates the social difference and distance between the subjectivity, motives, and intentions of citizens and their political representatives who make decisions in their name (Offe & Preuss, 1991). As a result, politicians consistently underestimate and misunderstand public willingness to act on climate change, and the perceived lack of support from the electorate is a considerable barrier to political progress on the issue (Willis, 2018). ...
No democratic state has yet implemented a climate plan strong enough to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. This has led some to argue that democracy cannot cope with a challenge of this magnitude. In this article, we take stock of the claim that a more deliberative democratic system can strengthen our ability to respond effectively to the climate crisis. The most visible development in this direction is the recent citizens’ assemblies on climate change in Ireland, France, and the UK. We begin our analysis of the promise of deliberative democracy with a recognition of the difficulties that democracies face in tackling climate change, including short‐termism; the ways in which scientific and expert evidence are used; the influence of powerful political interests; and the relationship between people and the politicians that represent them. We then introduce the theoretical tradition of deliberative democracy and examine how it might ameliorate the challenges democracies face in responding to the climate crisis. We evaluate the contribution of deliberative mini‐publics, such as citizens’ assemblies and juries, and look beyond these formal processes to examine how deliberation can be embedded in political and social systems around the world. We conclude that deliberation‐based reforms to democratic systems, including but not limited to deliberative mini‐publics, are a necessary and potentially transformative ingredient in climate action.
This article is categorized under: Perceptions, Behavior, and Communication of Climate Change > Communication
Policy and Governance > Governing Climate Change in Communities, Cities, and Regions
... Deliberative democrats embrace processes of individual and national will-formation that are "other-regarding" (Offe and Preuss 1991). The presence and recognition of individuals who are "also-others" will certainly enhance the quality of the public discourse in this respect. ...
... The presence and recognition of individuals who are "also-others" will certainly enhance the quality of the public discourse in this respect. If policies have transnational causes and consequences, the inclusion of the perspectives of multiple citizens makes the deliberative process also more "fact-regarding," which is another quality criterion for deliberative democracy (Offe and Preuss 1991). ...
Abstract The search for new forms of citizenship in a post-Westphalian world is often characterized by one-dimensional and dichotomous thinking. We aim to overcome the one-dimensionality by differentiating between spaces or arenas of citizenship on the one hand and normative principles for assigning citizenship statuses and rights on the other hand. When we look for new spaces of citizenship, we overcome the dualism between global/supranational and domestic/national arenas by adding transnational arenas which emerge when national policies and memberships overlap and interact. In respect to normative principles, we argue that neither particularism nor universalism but pluralist thinking leads the way towards promising new forms of citizenship. A pluralist account builds on the concepts of partiality, proportionality and multiplicity in specifying and assessing emerging forms of citizenship. While the discourse on democratising the supranational arena is torn between globalist and nationalist visions, we argue that supra-national institutions of governance should recognize individual people in addition to (national) peoples as principals/members and that the citizenship rights, practices and identities of individuals should develop in proportion to the governing competences of these institutions. The debate on the emerging forms of citizenship in the domestic arena is also characterized by radical alternatives: some diagnose the emergence of “post-national citizenship” based membership in the universal community of humankind while others fight for the exclusivity of citizenship for the established members of the national community. We argue that states should recognize sedentary individuals and migrants as distinct but equal members and that they should grant immigrants quasi-citizenship and emigrants external citizenship in proportion to their biographical subjection to their laws. Finally, we emphasize that the main demand for new forms of citizenship emerges in the transnational realm. We show that the principles of partiality and proportionality pave the way to pragmatic solutions for the inclusion of external others between the “all subjected” and the “all affected” principles. Finally, we point to dual citizenship as the most promising form of extensive citizenship that offers a realistic opportunity for including the interests/perspectives of external others in the democratic decision-making processes within nation states. These reflections are summed up in the concluding chapter with a conceptual map that locates the emerging spaces and forms of citizenship in a post-Westphalian world. The map not only provides conceptual orientation and show how the pluralist principles can be applied in different arenas but it makes also clear that some of the most promising (both desirable and realistic) forms of citizenship fall in-between the clear-cut concepts that have dominated the theoretical discourse.
... Et plusieurs noteront alors combien, dans le contexte de la modernité radicale, le champ des quêtes expérientielles d'identité, les conflits où le self est tout à la fois acteur et espace de luttes sociales radicalisent les jeux du politique et les enjeux de la démocratie. Les « life politics » (Giddens, 1991), les « politics of recognition » (Taylor, 1992) et l'affranchissement, de même que leur réenchâssement dans des processus sociaux de délibération, des expériences, des préférences et des choix personnels (Offe et Preuss, 1991) participent d'une radicalisation de la démocratie qui n'est pas que conjoncturelle. La démocratie ne peut être exercice de communication universelle et d'unité, de même que politique d'émancipation et de droits sociaux par rapport aux pouvoirs producteurs et redistributeurs de ressources, qu'en garantissant les conditions, les moyens d'action d'une construction pleine, entière, autonome de l'expérience, de la subjectivation. ...
... Sviluppi interessanti sono proposti da Barber (1984), Conway (1991), Pattie, Seyd e Whiteley (2003). Per la teoria della democrazia deliberativa invece rinvio a Cohen (1989), Offe e Preuss (1991), Habermas (1996), Devenney (2009) e Pateman (2012. ...
Il libro sviluppa una teoria della rivoluzione come atto di emancipazione delle classi subalterne e una visione della storia come un lungo processo di espansione della libertà. Dopo aver ricostruito nei primi due capitoli alcuni fatti riguardanti i regimi d’oppressione e i movimenti di liberazione verificatisi nella storia, nei successivi due vengono elaborati i concetti di libertà e autonomia, che definiscono le motivazioni dei rivoluzionari. Altri due capitoli affrontano i problemi dell’azione collettiva, separando il comportamento ordinario, che si risolve nell’adattamento all’ordine costituito, dal comportamento sovversivo, che genera i movimenti di contestazione. I due capitoli finali descrivono alcune istituzioni di un sistema politico ed economico post-capitalistico in cui si realizza la “vera democrazia” nella sfera politica e il “lavoro libero e associato” nella sfera economica. È un modello di società tutt’altro che utopistico, poiché quelle istituzioni possono essere realizzate qui e ora, date le conoscenze tecnologiche esistenti.
... Introduction Thompson, 2004;Manin, 1987;Offe & Preuss, 1991). For instance, political dialogue 148 involves exchanging views on collective issues and discovering a new viewpoint, but decisions are not the 149 primary focus (Escobar, 2011). ...
Local authorities increasingly employ digital platforms to facilitate public engagement in participatory budgeting processes. This creates opportunities for and challenges in synthesizing citizens’ voices online in an iterated cycle, requiring a systematic tool to monitor democratic quality and produce formative feedback. In this paper, we demonstrate how cases of online deliberation can be compared longitudinally by using six Big Data-based, automated indicators of deliberative quality. Longitudinal comparison is a way of setting a reference point that helps practitioners, designers, and researchers of participatory processes to interpret analytics and evaluative findings in a meaningful way. By comparing the two rounds of OmaStadi, we found that the levels of participation remain low but that the continuity and responsiveness of online deliberation developed positively.
... El argumento a favor de una mayor participación en la teoría de la democracia participativa plantea cuestiones críticas sobre la importancia, el significado y la legitimación de la participación. Los especialistas en política Offe y Preuss (1991: 167, citado en Held, 2006, por ejemplo, refutan la idea de que existe una relación lineal positiva automática entre una mayor participación y la racionalidad o el progreso de la sociedad. Además, según Held (2006), "las pruebas de que el aumento de la participación per se desencadenarán un renacimiento del desarrollo humano no son, en absoluto, concluyentes" (273). ...
In the last decade, the public media (PSB) have been strongly questioned by an important part of the citizenship in a large part of the European continent and, especially, in Spain. The causes of the crisis of public broadcasting corporations are multiple, and coincide in time, thus configuring a sort of "perfect storm". The economic and financial crisis of 2008 has reduced, in a very sensitive way, the budgets of public media corporations; due to the transformation in the ways of consuming audiovisual content, with a significant increase in on-demand and online consumption, and the growing expansion of social networks in radio and television media, which has fragmented the audience; and due to the permanent smear campaign that has pursued the public media, in the context of the discrediting of public management promoted by neoliberal thinking.
Numerous experts have been stressing for more than a decade that in liberal-representative democracies citizen participation has been limited to the exercise of the right to vote, in a context in which a "deficit of social legitimacy" of the current democracy is taking place. And one of the most efficient "antidotes" to protect our democracy is, precisely, to promote greater social participation, which the public media have the responsibility to promote, in a media environment in which social media are increasingly important. That is why "citizen participation" is one of the most relevant concerns on the agenda of those responsible for public media.
In this first volume, Citizen Participation and Public Media. Concepts and Theories, addresses the study and analysis of the concept of citizen participation from multiple perspectives, with the collaboration of national and international experts. This book offers the dissemination of some of the results of the research project "Citizen participation and public media. Analysis of audiovisual co-creation experiences in Spain and Europe (PARCICOM)", code RTI2018-093649-B-I00, project funded by the 2018 Call for R+D+i Projects "Retos Investigación", of the State Program for R+D+i oriented to the Challenges of Society, Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, for the period 2019-2021, under the direction of Javier Marzal Felici.
... Secondly, as deliberative democratic institutions they have emphasised informed, respectful and considered judgement. Their processes include expert witnesses to inform the deliberations and members are invited to deliberate with them and amongst themselves respectfully to develop what Offe and Preuss have defined as 'fact, future and other regarding' recommendations (Offe and Preuss 1991). ...
The effects of climate change are multiple and fundamental. Decisions made today may result in irreversible damage to the planet’s biodiversity and ecosystems, the detrimental impacts of which will be borne by today’s children, young people and those yet unborn (future generations). The use of citizens’ assemblies (CAs) to tackle the issue of climate change is growing. Their remit is future focused. Yet is the future in the room? Focusing on a single case study, the recent Irish CA and Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action (JOCCA) deliberations on climate action, this paper explores the extent to which children, young people and future generations were included. Its systemic analysis of the membership of both institutions, the public submissions to them and the invited expertise presented, finds that the Irish CA was ‘too tightly coupled’ on this issue. This may have been beneficial in terms of impact, but it came at the expense of input legitimacy and potentially intergenerational justice. Referring to international developments, it suggests how these groups may be included through enclave deliberation, institutional innovations, design experiments and future-oriented practice. .
... As a deliberative democratic innovation, mini-publics emphasise informed, reasoned, and respectful 'considered judgement' 49 with emphasis on the common good, which, we contend, should be 'fact, future and other regarding'. 50 Mini-publics can provide forums for deeper public discussion and examination on an issue, 'bringing scientific evidence together with public views and values', 51 as well as including diverse experiences and narratives on an issue with a view to developing solutions. In this regard, they have much to offer in terms of addressing the climate emergency. ...
Established democracies face numerous crises, including climate change, environmental degradation, overconsumption and pollution, unsustainable levels of inequality and the potential for disruptive social unrest. Decades of neoliberalism have also undermined democracy, including the idea of democratic society itself, leaving established democracies vulnerable to the rise of toxic leaders. In these circumstances, we must not only strengthen the existing institutions of democracy, we must also reimagine democracy. Drawing on the experiences of the Irish Citizens' Assembly and the UK's Climate Assembly, this paper argues for a ‘vibrant democratic ecology’ that is collaborative, empowering and progressive and that emphasises participatory and deliberative democratic innovations. It calls for the development of new spaces for citizens to revisit the meaning of democracy and to reimagine their role as citizens in collectively shaping democracy in their country and the world.
... Mezi zřejmá pozitiva tohoto přístupu patří skutečnost, že formuluje představu inkluzivní a hodnotově otevřené společnosti, jež se vyznačuje tolerancí a poznávacím skepticismem. To činí společnost otevřenou reflexivnímu sebe/zdokonalování pomocí kritického rozvažování, které je zaměřeno na argumenty, na druhé a na budoucnost (Offe, Preuss 1991). Schematické shrnutí charakteristik aktivní a pasivní hranice směrem k operacionalizaci nabízí tabulka 1. Navrženou interpretaci reflexivních vztahů mezi hranicí, identitou, sociálním začleněním a věděním shrnuje obrázek 1. ...
The aim of the research article is to present opinions of mayors and mayoress from Euroregions Neisse/Nisa/Nysa and Šumava/Bayerischer Wald-Unterer Inn/Mühlviertel, who are important local agents of cross-border cooperation. We want to determine whether and to what extent a positive perception of borders and crossborder cooperation, as well as a positive experience with cross-border activities, contribute to the process of horizontal (active border) Europeanization and development of complementary and inclusive collective identities. We collected responses to our questionnaire from 79 mayors. Collected data were described statistically, but also analyzed with the use of crosstabulation and cluster analysis. Four specific clusters of mayors were identified in relation to the transformation of their identity and their attachment to the EU. Such transformation represents an idiosyncratic reflexive outcome of their experience with and their perception of cross-border cooperation.
... Later on, political theorists became concerned not only with increasing the participation among citizens but also improving the quality of that participation. Theories of deliberative democracy emerged to emphasize the transformative potential of deliberation (Dryzek, 1990(Dryzek, , 2000Habermas, 1996;Offe & Preuss, 1991). Rejecting the idea that preferences are fixed, deliberative democratic theorists are united in their belief that preferences can be formed Governance' (EPG), which they defined as reforms that are 'participatory because they rely upon the commitment and capacities of ordinary people to make sensible decisions through reasoned deliberation and empowered because they attempt to tie action to discussion ' (2003, p. 5). ...
Political sociologists have identified a seeming contradiction: over the past forty years, the world has seen a renaissance in public engagement practices; yet during the same time, economic inequality has increased dramatically. Resolving this contradiction requires a reconsideration of political action in capitalist democratic societies. Similar to how Steven Lukes reconceived of power according to three dimensions, a similar move is made with regard to political action. Political sociologists tend to posit that only two dimensions of political action exist—electoral and participatory-deliberative activity. However, abiding by these two dimensions overlooks a third dimension of political action, which is integral to understanding how corporate power is constituted in the twenty-first century. Economic actions are themselves forms of political participation. Through economic activities, like consumption, individuals provide corporations with the economic capital that they translate into political power. Rather than understanding corporations as external, private entities colonizing and corrupting the pure logic of democracy, this chapter develops a theory of corporations as ‘franchise governments’ that are neither private nor public entities but firmly situated within both camps.
... We can summarize by saying that the active border is a necessary and productive component of the Europeanization of public spheres, which would be imbued by efforts in unbiased and factual confrontation with otherness, as well as a willingness to re/consider one's own interests, positions, and identities. The active border should ensure communication that is oriented, just as Offe and Preuss (1991) mentioned in relation to deliberative democracy, toward facts, others, and toward the future, while disregarding partners' affiliations or belonging to specific communicative discourse. ...
This article suggests that both territorial and symbolic borders ought to be treated as specific cultural forms enabling the exercise and practice of cross-border communication. The notion of active border is introduced as a nexus of the transnationalization of public spheres and identities in Europe. Active border is interpreted as a border that supports and produces both public criticism and social integration without generating antagonism toward those from “over borders.” Contrary to active border, passive border entrenches stereotypical negative identities and cognitive foreclosures and is a significant hindrance in positive identities formation. The concept of active border contributes to the broad sociological context of Europeanization and transnational public spheres and identities formations in which questions about cultural change and plurality should be discussed. It tries to offer a novel interpretative perspective on processes of transnationalization in Europe and beyond. This article draws inspiration mainly from Edward Shils’s typology of collective identities, Erik Erikson’s concept of identity formation, and Gerard Delanty’s typology of cultural encounters.
... After all, participation requires a socio-moral basis in order to provide resources through state regulation or redistribution (Walzer 2006;Kaufmann 2009). Furthermore, theories of democracy imply that solidarity amongst citizens has been and continues to be a necessary precondition for a functional political community (Offe and Preuss 1991). This raises the question of how political community constitutes itself in present circumstances. ...
There are current trends in public and academic debates which point toward a wish of some analysts and observers to “de-culturalize” debates on international migration. In German debates, it is the term “integration” which has an alleged culturalizing effect and which therefore should be avoided and discarded as a concept of practice and as a concept of theory. In contrast to these positions we argue that there is a fundamental nexus between communal relations (Vergemeinschaftung or integration) and sociation (Vergesellschaftung). It is only by relating communal relations and sociation that we can understand the logics of important institutions such as citizenship and welfare states. Analytical concepts such as Vergemeinschaftung and Vergesellschaftung are necessary because they help us to account for fundamental changes. We find that in recent decades the meaning of integration connected to nationhood in public debates has changed from an ethno-cultural understanding to a republican one which is simultaneously characterized by increasing demands upon individuals who are conceptualized as autonomous persons (individualization).
... Later the problem got worsebetween 1990 and 2008 the level of trust in transition countries decreased rather than increased (Parts 2013). The absence of trust has been seen crucial from the start of the transition as a limiting factor in building the institutions of democracy and market economy (Offe 1991;. Furthermore, as Hámori (1998: 35-36) highlights in developing countries, where there is a greater role for personal bonds and dependencies, emotions, passions play an even more significant role than in market economies. ...
The paper surveys the challenges of researching soft concepts in economics through focusing on trust. Although there is increasing evidence about its importance for macroeconomic outcomes, tensions with the homo oeconomicus model as well as the difficulties of conceptualization and measurement imply significant difficulties for research. The paper argues that comparative economics with its systemic analysis and traditional openness to interdisciplinary approaches is particularly well-suited for resolving these challenges, and it could also provide a contribution to trust research through integrating macro-, meso- and micro-level analysis.
... Los desarrollos que convergen en las nuevas configuraciones son diversos. Destacan las transformaciones por las que atraviesa el Estado, su pérdida del monopolio en varios ámbitos en lo que respecta a la influencia en la construcción de los imaginarios políticos y su consecuente repliegue en diversos ámbitos económicos y sociales (Offe y Preuss, 1991). ...
... Himmelman (2001) suggests a continuum that reflects the intersects of power and reciprocity. We turn to Gutmann and Thompson (1996), Nabatchi (2012), and Offe and Preuss (1990), for our consideration of deliberative civic engagement processes and activities. Finally, we review the ways in which the thinking of Drago-Severson (2004), Mezirow (1990Mezirow ( , 1991Mezirow ( , 1998, and Taylor (2009) influence our integration of transformative learning theory and practices into community-engaged partnerships. ...
The purpose of this work is to assist partners in identifying, naming, and facilitating dynamic relational forces and learning processes that shape the effectiveness of community engagement practice and partnerships. We offer a hypothetical case to assist in framing and discussing concepts of reciprocity and power in partnerships and how these dynamics can be mediated through practices and processes of civic engagement and transformative learning. We advocate that mapping intersects of power and reciprocity, and attending to capacities for deliberative civic engagement and transformative learning, are crucial practices in effective community-engaged partnerships. These three vital practices contribute to the creation of conditions that nurture the emergence of individual, institutional, organizational, and social transformation generated through communityengaged scholarship.
... Our emphasis on the process of positioning and counter-positioning as a learning device for developing a democratic self, is directly addresses by political theorists Offe and Preuss (1991) who in their aim to upgrade the quality of citizenship in a democratic society put a premium on reflected preferences and dialogical relationships within the self: ...
In their study of the relationship between self and society, scientists have proposed taking society as a metaphor for understanding the dynamics of the self, such as the analogy between the self and the functioning of a totalitarian state or the analogy between the self and the functioning of a bureaucratic organization. In addition to these models, the present article proposes a democratic society as a metaphor for understanding the workings of a dialogical self in a globalizing, boundary-crossing world. The article follows four steps. In the first step the self is depicted as extended to the social and societal environment and made up of fields of tension in which a multiplicity of self-positions are involved in processes of positioning and counter-positioning and in relationships of social power. In the second step, the fertility of the democratic metaphor is demonstrated by referring to theory and research from three identity perspectives: multicultural, multiracial, and transgender. In the fields of tension emerging between the multiplicity of self-positions, new, hybrid, and mixed identities have a chance to emerge as adaptive responses to the limitations of existing societal structures. In the third step, we place the democratic self in a broader societal context by linking three levels of inclusiveness, proposed by Self-Categorization Theory (personal, social, and human) to recent conceptions of a cosmopolitan democracy. In the fourth and final step, a model is presented which allows the formulation of a series of specific research questions for future studies of a democratically organized self.
... In a sense democracy becomes an art-a way of being and, at a general level, a way of understanding self in relation to others . Our understanding of democracy is positioned under the deliberative democracy framework (Gutmann and Thompson 2010 ;Habermas 1996 ;Offe and Preuss 1991 ;Young 2000 ). Gutmann and Thompson ( 2010 ) distinguished deliberative democracy from other models of democracy in three ways. ...
Service-learning has often been assumed to be inherently connected to concerns of social justice, but there are few empirical studies exploring these connections. This chapter contributes to this empirical question through exploration of how students classify their community engagement experiences and the outcomes developed in the different types of experiences. Seven campuses responded to the 2014 Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) survey. We obtained a small sub-population of students who completed a survey module related to students’ participation in community engagement activities. The data demonstrate that community engagement activities are positively associated with a number of outcomes considered essential to preparing students for active engagement in a diverse democracy. While only a small number of students classify their experiences as social justice, the results observed across classifications of community engagement (e.g., charity, empowering others, social change, social justice) suggest that the different frameworks we provide students for their community engagement work may have different impacts both inside and outside the classroom.
... In a sense democracy becomes an art-a way of being and, at a general level, a way of understanding self in relation to others . Our understanding of democracy is positioned under the deliberative democracy framework (Gutmann and Thompson 2010 ;Habermas 1996 ;Offe and Preuss 1991 ;Young 2000 ). Gutmann and Thompson ( 2010 ) distinguished deliberative democracy from other models of democracy in three ways. ...
Research-intensive higher education institutions are ideal settings in which to develop social change agents who can affect permanent change in our diverse society, as these institutions can connect students with people from diverse backgrounds, invite students to learn about diverse perspectives through formal and informal interactions, and develop students’ multicultural and intercultural competence. The purpose of this chapter was to investigate relationships between college students’ growth in citizenship and two critical outcomes: students’ development of leadership and multicultural competence. The results of hierarchical multiple regression analysis of a multi-institutional survey of college seniors suggest institutional contributions to students’ citizenship development is positively associated with students’ leadership and multicultural competence.
... In a sense democracy becomes an art-a way of being and, at a general level, a way of understanding self in relation to others . Our understanding of democracy is positioned under the deliberative democracy framework (Gutmann and Thompson 2010 ;Habermas 1996 ;Offe and Preuss 1991 ;Young 2000 ). Gutmann and Thompson ( 2010 ) distinguished deliberative democracy from other models of democracy in three ways. ...
Student community engagement and service learning in the research university setting represent familiar and yet under-documented concepts in higher education. With little known about the rates in which students in the research university engage, student affairs educators and administrators sometimes fail to espouse the value these forms of service offer students. Using data from the Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) survey, along with institutional examples of high-performing research university community engagement programs, this chapter intends to promote the comprehensive implementation of student community engagement at a research university.
... In a sense democracy becomes an art-a way of being and, at a general level, a way of understanding self in relation to others . Our understanding of democracy is positioned under the deliberative democracy framework (Gutmann and Thompson 2010 ;Habermas 1996 ;Offe and Preuss 1991 ;Young 2000 ). Gutmann and Thompson ( 2010 ) distinguished deliberative democracy from other models of democracy in three ways. ...
The world has become more interconnected and complex, and will require future leaders who are equipped for responsible participation in a diverse, democratic society (Bernstein and Cock 1997; Checkoway 2001; Colby et al. 2003; Ehrlich 2000; Jacoby 2009; Levine 2007; Thomas 2010). In their critical roles as “agents of democracy,” colleges and universities across the USA are charged with preparing their graduates to be active, effective citizens who can consciously contribute to the nation’s dynamic democracy (Boyte and Hollander 1999, p. 8). The roots of this charge can be traced to the birth of the colonial nation, when Thomas Jefferson combined the principles of American democracy and education with objectives to produce public leaders of talent and virtue at the University of Virginia. Since that time, citizenship education has been recognized as a primary function of public higher education in the USA, with a particular accentuation placed upon research universities to educate future citizens, given their intersecting missions of innovation, knowledge generation, public engagement, and education. Given their prioritization on research, scholarship, entrepreneurship, technology, and medicine, among other areas, research universities encounter pressure to contribute back to their immediate communities or support state and federal development; thus, these institutions are inherently driven to be public-oriented or civic-minded in their approaches.
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The work is devoted to the study of representative democracy ideas in the context of decision-making by higher collegiate bodies of state power of Ukraine. The author emphasized that the most optimal is the use of the term democracy in the understanding of the form of government and political regime in the context of the analysis of the decision-making procedure by the higher collegiate bodies of the state power of Ukraine.Attention is drawn to the diversity of point`s of view in the literature on the continuity of the development of the democratic tradition in Western culture, including the emergence of the elitist theories of democracy in XX century. The connection between the decisions of representative institutions of power and the will of the people is considered. Particular attention has been paid to the growing role of constitutional jurisdiction bodies in decision-making that mitigates the shortcomings of electoral-representative democracy.The author found out that participatory democracy in modern democracies in no way undermines the principles of representative government, but quite harmoniously complements it. It is indicated that the idea of involving in exceptional cases from the most important issues of the maximum possible number of citizens in the decision-making process, guaranteeing in other cases the opportunity to participate in decision-making to all willing citizens, the most justified.The author concluded that there is no viable alternative to representative democracy and participatory democracy, considering the amount of values they provide, their meaning and weight in domestic constitutional practice, has further developed.
This last chapter presents several examples of how it is possible to create public spheres within the institutions of civil society, especially in large technological or big tech platforms. It is not possible to leave civil society and its institutions out of the democratic system, precisely because it is the space where both meaning and the power to construct it are produced and reproduced. We have seen that today, this power is in the hands of algorithmic colonization. In short, we will give an example of how a bidirectional democracy can stop this colonization from civil society. To achieve this, we will begin by considering civil society institutions as agents of justice and propose a new distribution of responsibility, one capable of confronting the power wielded by the technological giants (Big Tech). Secondly, we address the validity and efficacy of what are known as voluntary self-regulation mechanisms. Thirdly, we will analyse two possible scenarios, within what we will call an ethical infrastructure that guarantees the conditions for equal participation of all those concerned. Finally, we will discuss the construction, legitimacy and efficiency of these new civil public spheres.
L’objectiu de l’obra Catalan Sociolinguistics. State of the Art and Future Challenges és donar compte, de manera sumària, dels grans vèrtexs en què s’ha manifestat l’estudi de la relació entre llengua i societat en la comunitat lingüística catalana, la recepció que s’ha fet dels plantejaments internacionals i l’adaptació domèstica. Cada tradició sociolingüística ha interpretat la interacció esmentada amb plantejaments específics. La catalana, per exemple, ha apostat per una visió integradora de tot un seguit de treballs que arriben des d’àmbits temàtics diversos (economia, dret, ciència política, comunicació, ecologia, variació lingüística, antropologia, etc.). Així, en el llibre que el lector té a les mans, els autors dels diferents capítols, reconeguts especialistes en la matèria avaluada, ens han ofert mirades complementàries que ens permetran avançar cap a una anàlisi de conjunt, una tasca que es mostrava peremptòria en el marc d’un horitzó finalista de cohesionar internament la disciplina.
The aim of the work Catalan Sociolinguistics. State of the Art and Future Challenges is to give an account, in a summary way, of the major topics dealt with by the study of the relation between language and society in the Catalan language community, and the extent to which international approaches have been received and how they have been adapted to the Catalan domain. Every tradition has interpreted this interaction with specific approaches. The Catalan tradition, for example, has opted for a vision that integrates a wide range of studies on different themes (economy, law, political science, communication, ecology, linguistic variation, anthropology, and so on). So, in the book you are holding, the authors of the various chapters, recognised specialists in their fields, have provided complementary views that will enable us to make an overall analysis, something that was urgently needed in the context of the ultimate aim of bringing internal consistency to the discipline.
Recent advances in behavioural and communication sciences generated enthusiasm in public policy for new ways of 'framing' messages and 'nudging' individual behaviour. Wide research and practice of behavioural interventions that have since ensued triggered the rise of a new sub-field called Behavioural Public Policy (BPP). At the same time, nudges-a part and parcel of BPP, have received criticism for being paternalistic, non-democratic and lacking evidence of long-term effectiveness. More recently, the whole project of BPP has come under criticism as construed too narrowly. Critics have argued for a new approach to BPP that is pluralistic, multidisciplinary and multi-method. One key pillar of it is a 'policy mix'-a combined application of behavioural and non-behavioural policy tools. Little is known, however, about 'policy mixes' in practice. This paper conducts a scoping non-exhaustive review of the academic and policy literature published between 2008 and 2020 that discusses policy mixes of behavioural policy tools (defined in this paper as 'nudges' and 'frames') and reflective policy tools (defined in this paper as 'deliberative' events and incentives for individuals to 'think') employed within environmental policy. Two questions guide this review: (a) what are the characteristics of policy mixes in terms of their types, geography, sectors of application, and empirical detail of exposition?; (b) to what extent do existing policy mixes include broader governance aspects of politics, awareness of contextuality and flexibility? By taking stock of experiences of empirical place-based policy mixes of behavioural and reflective tools, we provide insights into a fast-developing body of scholarship and point to ways forward with policy mixes. The paper is also relevant to policy studies beyond the domain of the environment.
The Deliberative Futures Toolkit includes a series of guiding pieces that offer advice on good practice around engagement and provides guidance for those interested in incorporating different futures-thinking tools into their practice, either individually or as part of their wider process. To support the application of these tools we showcase the work carried out through the Imagining2050 project, including clear examples of how each tool was employed, with visual examples, and some video links that offer an overview of the process and people involved. We rate the ease of implementation of each tool (as easy, medium, or difficult) to indicate relative levels of simplicity/complexity and
resource use in employing each tool.
‘Spillover democratisation’ is an ongoing process. It envisages that democratic values, institutions and practices continue to spread and evolve through various pathways – horizontal, geographical and vertical. Yet, possibilities also remain that anti-democracy forces may thwart the process. In Middle East and North Africa (MENA), social and economic rights were not accompanied by civil and political rights. The Arab Spring was a response to this gap: it raised the optimism of achieving democratisation in the MENA region, through geographical and horizontal pathways. However, the promise remains largely elusive at present; rather, we witness the cementing of existing anti-democratic forces. Yet, citizens’ innate support for democracy, sporadic pro-democracy activism and rising consumerism sustain the democratising potentials of the Arab Spring.
Deliberative democratic innovations can provide answers to some of the perennial problems of democratic theory, such as informing and educating the public, creating opportunities for citizens to shape policy and the restoration of citizen trust and engagement. The challenges of informing and educating the public and restoring citizen trust and engagement have been evident in Ireland’s difficulties in successfully ratifying the Nice and Lisbon treaties. Academic research has shown that, after the farming community, Irish women have benefitted most from EU membership. Yet it also shows that Irish women are more likely than their male counterparts to reject EU treaties. With this in mind a one-day public consultative conference on Irish women’s voices in Europe was held in University College Cork, one month before the second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. Bringing academic and community perspectives together it assessed how Irish women have benefitted from EU membership and their concerns on the possible impact of the EU on issues of Irish neutrality and family/ethical matters. Tools such as consultative polls and expert-informed workshops were used to inform, educate and gather opinions and recommendations. This paper critically evaluates the deliberative processes and outcomes of this conference, examining survey data gathered from participants and analysing the content of the workshop deliberations.
public participation, public management
A civilized standard of life is a concern common to both development and democracy. Following the 'Be and Make' philosophy of Swami Vivekananda, the Akhil Bharat Vivekananda Yuva Mahamandal (ABVYM) treats individuals, particularly young people, as the base point to attain civility through the formation of character, guided by religion and education. ABVYM analyses different social issues from this perspective. As a middle class based advocacy movement since 1967, ABVYM particularly depends upon organization and leadership for the application of its ideals. Again, its middle class basis works in both the ways. On one hand, the predominantly middle class ethos is sometimes prejudicial to inclusive citizenship and political participation. On the other hand, they are supportive to its ideals, which strive to surmount different obstacles to democratic citizenship. Its organizational profile, though minuscule compared to many other voluntary organizations in India, is gradually expanding beyond West Bengal, although it is too early to conclude that ABVYM's endeavour has initiated a 'silent revolution' in a big way.
Die über weit mehr als ein Jahrhundert mit der Modernisierung westlicher Industriegesellschaften einhergehende Inklusion immer weiterer gesellschaftlicher und kultureller Fragen, die in einer solchermaßen schließlich zur „politischen Gesellschaft“ (Greven 2009) gewordenen Gesellschaft nur noch politisch gelöst und entschieden zu werden vermögen, steht heute in einem immer wahrnehmbareren Diskrepanzverhältnis zu dem Leistungsvermögen der traditionellen demokratischen Institutionen – vor allem aber der normativen Zentralinstitution einer wie auch immer verstandenen Demokratie: dem individuellen citizen.
In this essay, I attempt to measure various prevailing democratic theories against an argument that Carl Schmitt advances in the first chapter of his ‘Crisis of Parliamentary Democracy’. In practice, he claims there, democratic politics is compelled to introduce a distinction between ‘the will of the people’ and the behaviour of the empirical people, thus justifying the bracketing and unlimited suspension of the latter in the name of the former, even to the point of dictatorship. I argue that no contemporary approach to democracy as a fundamental value is able to mount a compelling response to this critique and that we should therefore reconsider the status of democracy as a normative commitment. I proceed by carefully and closely reading Schmitt’s chapter and then by juxtaposing various currents of democratic theory (including liberal, deliberative, epistemic and various hybrids thereof) with the trajectory of Schmitt’s argument. This essay is therefore less of a contribution to Schmitt scholarship, in the sense that it does not take a panoramic view of his corpus to determine his final stance on democracy, and more of an intervention into contemporary democratic theory using Schmitt’s argument as a kind of lever.
According to social psychology, radicalization occurs for a variety of reasons reasons. They include a sense of exclusion, threatened identity, loss of meaning and significance, negative emotions and defensive identification with a group representing power and a clear-cut ideology. In the terms of the Dialogical Self Theory, radicalization implies atrophy of the internal polyphony and dialogical functions of the self. Two hypothetical models of the radicalized self are proposed. The first posits the creation of a powerful I-position that represents a “universal” truth that is not open to doubt. The second introduces twin I-positions, one representing a sense of insecurity and another depicting a redemptive idea. Both types imply lowered openness and reduction of social and internal dialogs, resulting in a dysfunctional, rigid organized self. The question discussed in this article is: How can such an internal organization of the self be changed? Thus it aims to describe and explain the process of de-radicalization, which is proposed to consist of three elements: (1) reorganization of the self-structure and stimulation of a promoter position, (2) restoration of security, which can awaken the polyphony and dialogicality of the self, and (3) supporting internal dialog, promoter functions and a meta-position by reference to values that are significant for the relevant I-positions and the system as a whole.
Proponents of deliberative democracy believe deliberation provides the best chance of finding effective and legitimate climate policies. However, in many societies there is substantial evidence of biased cognition and polarisation about climate change. Further, many appear unable to distinguish reliable scientific information from false claims or misinformation. While deliberation significantly reduces polarisation about climate change, and can even increase the provision of reliable beliefs, these benefits are difficult to scale up, and are slow to affect whole societies. In response, I propose a combined strategy of ‘thinking and nudging’. While deliberative theorists tend to view nudging askance, combining deliberation with nudges promises to be a timelier and more effective response to climate change than deliberation alone. I outline several proposals to improve societal deliberative capacity while reducing climate risks, including media reform, strategic communication and framing of debates, incentivising pro-climate behaviour change, and better education about science.
Politics is a complex affair. Whether one is a legislator or a citizen, making political decisions is rarely easy. The question of how people deal with this complexity has been on the minds of scholars for decades, if not centuries. One important answer, which emerged in the 1970s, is that decision makers rely on heuristics to tame the intricacies of politics. Heuristics are (cognitive) shortcuts that allow decision makers to bypass a great deal of information while producing an output in the form of a judgment or choice. Often such outputs are indistinguishable from what a complete consideration of the decision-relevant information would have produced. At other times the outputs may not be optimal, but they are good enough. It can also happen, however, that heuristics introduce formidable biases and result in inferior decisions. This chapter reviews the literature on heuristics use by the mass public and political elites. It discusses the kinds of heuristics that are used, how they function, and why they are both inevitable and fallible. Finally, the chapter considers the normative implications of heuristics in political behavior.
The question of why languages matter to people is at the core of contemporary liberal-democratic political theories of linguistic justice. Within a theoretical framework that to a great extent revolves around the notions of neutrality and equal concern for individuals, justice stems from a suitable distribution of their interests, which in the case of languages point to both communication and identity. This book addresses two ideological debates shaping current positions on linguistic justice: one about the value of languages as communication tools and identity carriers; the other, between monist and pluralist views derived from more or less territorialized conceptions of language groups. The research carried out aims to clarify (a) how current linguistic regulations are legitimated in terms of communication and identity interests, and (b) how these interests work in mixed societies, where members of different language groups live intermingled. It combines theoretical analysis and empirical evidence obtained through the systematic study of 112 linguistic regulations adopted in western democracies. Firstly, it critically analyses current theories. Secondly, it contributes a typology of valued ends for language policies and compares their uses in legal regulations. Finally, it develops the concept of mixed society, identifies and characterizes some cases and suggests suitable language policy lines for them. The book concludes that communication and identity are inextricably related and argues that mixed societies require pluralist solutions grounded in both communicative and identity interests, and that policies in such societies should therefore foster a reciprocal bilingualism, sustainable over time, to promote fair conditions of choice.
Les teories sobre la justícia lingüística suggereixen com haurien de ser unes polítiques lingüístiques justes a partir de l’aplicació de determinats principis morals. Les principals teories contemporànies s’emmarquen en el liberalisme igualitari, i es preocupen per la distribució equitativa dels interessos lingüístics de les persones, tant en termes de comunicació com d’identitat, per construir societats ideals d’individus lliures i iguals.
Una realitat poc tinguda en compte per aquestes teories és la de les societats lingüísticament mixtes, en què conviuen grups lingüístics que no poden ser separats territorialment, i entre les quals Catalunya –i en general les comunitats de l’àrea
lingüística catalana– representa un dels casos més significatius de les democràcies occidentals.
Aquest treball, que té l’origen en la tesi doctoral publicada en anglès amb el títol Why Languages Matter to People. Communication, identity an justice in western democracies: the case of mixed societies, en selecciona els aspectes més rellevants per a les polítiques lingüístiques de l’àrea catalana, amb quatre grans objectius: acostar els
plantejaments de la teoria política als de la tradició sociolingüística catalana i identificar aspectes en què seria desitjable una recerca transdisciplinària; situar la singularitat de l’àrea lingüística catalana (en termes de mescla lingüística) en una perspectiva
comparada amb altres democràcies occidentals; suggerir una proposta de polítiques lingüístiques adequades, des del punt de vista de la justícia lingüística, per a les societats mixtes; i afavorir una reflexió sobre els reptes de les polítiques lingüístiques a Catalunya plantejats per les importants transformacions socials i polítiques de les últimes dècades.
Extending the margins of economic rationality in an effective and ethical-critical sense through cordiality opens the door to the possibility of managing and promoting the intangible capital which, just like reciprocity, trust, affinity or reputation, is a condition of the possibility of economic progress. This is because, among other things, these allow the establishment and development of the relational processes, like cooperation, that allow it but with an underlying emotional and communicative dimension, which cannot be duly managed through merely strategic-technical and calculative-instrumental rationality. It is also because these assets are a both a means and an end for the economy as they are an essential element to deal with managing common good and are, at the same time, a special kind of common good. The aim of this chapter is to show the role, characteristics and cordial dimension that underlie the common goods that are so important for the economic domain, such as reciprocity, trust or reputation, through the works of Elinor Ostrom , Pierpaolo Donati , Amartya Sen or Domingo García-Marzá , among others.
The article elaborates an original intertwined reading of republican theory, deliberative democracy and political equality. It argues that republicans, deliberative democrats and egalitarian scholars have not paid sufficient attention to a number of features present in these bodies of scholarships that relate them in mutually beneficial ways. It shows that republicanism and deliberative democracy are related in mutually beneficial ways, it makes those relations explicit, and it deals with potential objections against them. Additionally, it elaborates an egalitarian principle underpinning the resulting model that I label Equality of Access and Deliberation. The upshot of these considerations is a novel and mutually reinforcing interrelated three-tiered theoretical and institutional proposal.
Das global-ökologische Problem, inwieweit eine organische Wende in der Forschungs- und Technologiepolitik als realistisches Ziel angesteuert werden kann, wird über die Erwägung von Möglichkeiten eines interdisziplinären Austausches von Forschung, (akademisch getragener) Politik und (akademisch gebildeten) Akteuren diskutiert. Primäre Bedeutung für sein Zustandekommen ist ein Wertekonsens zwischen den Beteiligten. Die organische Wende könnte durch immanente Strukturverschiebungen, durch neue verfahrenspolitische Wege, die den akteurbezogenen Aktivitäten auch juristische Wirkungsmöglichkeiten verleihen, sowie durch Erprobung neuer Ansätze zur Demokratisierung der Wissenschaft eingeleitet werden. In der gesellschaftstheoretischen Debatte sind dafür bereits Modelle entworfen worden, die von Politik und Akteuren nur besser zur Kenntnis genommen werden müssten. Interdisziplinarität ist hier auch ein Informationsproblem.
Abstract Dual/multiple citizenship has become a widespread phenomenon in many parts of the world. Whereas during most of the 20th century it was seen as an evil which has to be avoided, today dual citizenship is it de jure accepted or de facto tolerated by most countries. The paper discusses the pros and cons of dual citizenship from the perspectives of six normative theories of democracy. For the more established theories – liberal, republi-can and communitarian democracy – we can draw on existing literature. From the per-spectives of more recent and emerging theories of democracy – multicultural, deliberative and cosmopolitan/transnational democracy – the issue of dual citizenship has not been addressed yet. In consequence, I developed new arguments from core aspects of these theories of democracy for (and against) the normative desirability of dual citizenship. The most important innovation is the argument that in a world system which is characterized by the asymmetries of empires dual citizens can serve as representatives of peripheries with formal rights of political participation in central states. Overall, the analysis reveals – although in all theoretical perspectives we find arguments in favour and against dual citi-zenship – that the problematic aspects dominate only for communitarians. For all others, dual citizenship is a promising and important tool for strengthening democracy in a trans-nationalizing world. Zusammenfassung Die doppelte bzw. mehrfache Staatsbürgerschaft ist inzwischen in vielen Teilen der Welt zu einem verbreiteten Phänomen geworden. Während eine doppelte Staatsbürgerschaft zu Beginn und in der Mitte des 20. Jahrhunderts als ein zu vermeidendes Übel aufgefasst wurde, akzeptieren oder zumindest tolerieren heute die meisten Staaten eine mehrfache Mitgliedschaft in politischen Gemeinschaften. Dieser Aufsatz diskutiert die Vor- und Nachteile von mehrfacher Staatsbürgerschaft aus der Perspektive von sechs normativen Demokratietheorien. In Bezug auf bereits seit längerem etablierte Theorien – liberale, republikanische und kommunitaristische Theorien der Demokratie – können wir dabei auf Literatur zurückgreifen, die sich bereits explizit mit dieser Frage auseinandergesetzt hat. In jüngeren Theorien – multikulturelle, deliberative und kosmopolitische/transnationale Theorien der Demokratie – wurde das Phänomen der doppelten Staatsbürgerschaft bisher nicht thematisiert. Deswegen wird in Bezug auf diese Theorien eigenständig Argumente für und gegen die doppelte Staatsbürgerschaft abgeleitet. Das wichtigste neue Argument für die Wünschbarkeit der doppelten Staatsbürgerschaft wird aus einem spezifischen Ver-ständnis von transnationaler Demokratie abgeleitet. In imperialen Beziehungen zwischen zentralen und peripheren Ländern können Migranten aus den peripheren Ländern als legi-time Repräsentanten dieser Länder betrachtet werden und sie sollten deswegen in zentralen Ländern deren Staatsbürgerschaft erhalten ohne ihre alte Staatsbürgerschaft abgeben zu müssen. Ingesamt zeigt der umfassende und systematische Überblick, dass die mehrfache Staatsbürgerschaft nur aus kommunitaristischer Perspektive mehr problematische als vorteilhafte Aspekte aufweist. Aus allen anderen demokratietheoretischen Perspektiven stellt die doppelte Staatsbürgerschaft ein viel versprechendes und wichtiges Instrument zur Stärkung der Demokratie in einer sich transnationalisierenden Welt dar.
On the basis of the results of representative sociological surveys conducted both in Russia and abroad, the article addresses the problem of the impact of education on the level and quality of civic participation. The theoretical and methodological basis of the research is a set of provisions dealing with the complexity, variability, and country-specific educational effects in the socio-political sphere. Special attention is paid to the problem of interaction of educational capacities of individuals, social groups, and society as a whole, in various social and political practices. It is shown that depending on the nature and content of the interaction, it is possible to talk about absolute, relative and cumulative effects of education in the field of civic participation. Higher education leads to increased interest of citizens in various forms and practices of public and political activities, and increases motivation for greater self-expression and self-realization. The analysis also revealed that the educational potential of Russians is still poorly realized in the socio-political sphere, which in turn limits the possibility of the formation of new relevant knowledge, concepts and ideas about more effective organization of the life of Russian society. Education and civic participation are complex social phenomena, and the relationship between them is complex and dynamic. It is in the process of day-to-day involvement, and not in the outside the legal framework of extreme events that there is a confirmation of civic values, relevant skills, formed identity, and social reality can be cognized.
This chapter presents a conceptual framework for a deliberative civic engagement approach that is designed to increase the civic leadership capacity of individuals interested in making progress on tough challenges. We articulate a public narrative method for community-engaged scholarship that creates the conditions necessary to support forms of political learning focused on identifying common interests and values. The conceptual framework and CES method were developed and executed in a Leadership and Practice course in the spring of 2015 at a Research Intensive Land-grant institution.
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