Activism, Inclusion, and the Challenges of Deliberative Democracy

Activism, Inclusion, and the Challenges of Deliberative Democracy PDF Author: Anna Drake
Publisher: UBC Press
ISBN: 0774865199
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
Deliberative democracy – whereby people debate competing ideas before agreeing upon political action – must rest on its capacity to include all points of view. But how does this inclusive framework engage with activism that occurs in opposition to deliberative systems themselves? Through the examples of ACT UP, Black Lives Matter, and other contemporary activist movements, Activism, Inclusion, and the Challenges of Deliberative Democracy explores the systemic oppression that prevents activists from participating in deliberative systems as equals. Anna Drake concludes that only by addressing activism separately and on its own terms can we acknowledge its distinct democratic contribution.

Activism, Inclusion, and the Challenges of Deliberative Democracy

Activism, Inclusion, and the Challenges of Deliberative Democracy PDF Author: Anna Drake
Publisher: UBC Press
ISBN: 0774865199
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 296

Get Book Here

Book Description
Deliberative democracy – whereby people debate competing ideas before agreeing upon political action – must rest on its capacity to include all points of view. But how does this inclusive framework engage with activism that occurs in opposition to deliberative systems themselves? Through the examples of ACT UP, Black Lives Matter, and other contemporary activist movements, Activism, Inclusion, and the Challenges of Deliberative Democracy explores the systemic oppression that prevents activists from participating in deliberative systems as equals. Anna Drake concludes that only by addressing activism separately and on its own terms can we acknowledge its distinct democratic contribution.

Inclusion and Democracy

Inclusion and Democracy PDF Author: Iris Marion Young
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191037591
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
Democratic equality entails a principle that everyone whose basic interests are affected by policies should be included in the process of making them. Yet individuals and groups often claim that decision making processes are dominated by only some of the interests and perspectives in the society. What are the ideals of inclusion through which such criticisms should be made, and which might guide more inclusive political practice? This book considers that question from the point of view of norms of democratic communication, processes of representation and association, and how wide the scope of political jurisdictions should be. Democratic theorists have not sufficiently attended to the ways processes of debate and decision making often marginalize individuals and groups because the norms of political discussion are biased against some forms of expression. Inclusion and Democracy broadens our understanding of democratic communication by reflecting on the positive political functions of narrative, rhetorically situated appeals, and public protest. It reconstructs concepts of civil society and public sphere as enacting such plural forms of communication among debating citizens in large-scale societies. The book considers issues of the scope of the polity at two levels: global and local. The scope of a polity should extend as wide as the scope of social and economic interactions that raise issues of justice. Today this implies the need for global democratic institutions. At a more local level, processes of residential segregation and the design of municipal jurisdictions often result in the ability for actions in one locale to affect those in other locales without those making the decisions having to include some of those affected in the decision making process. Metropolitan governments which preserve significant local autonomy may therefore be necessary to promote political equality.

Deliberative Democracy and Social Movements

Deliberative Democracy and Social Movements PDF Author: Andrea Felicetti
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1786601664
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
Deliberative democracy is increasingly central in democratic theory and its concepts are employed in a growing number of fields, including social movement studies and environmental politics. At the same time, contemporary citizen activism seems to feature some forms of engagement that resonate with deliberative democratic ideas. This book provides an in-depth investigation of the qualities of citizens’ engagement from a deliberative democratic standpoint. The key concept through which such qualities are investigated is ‘deliberative capacity’, the extent to which organisations host authentic, inclusive, and consequential discursive processes. This book is based on a comparative study of four grassroots local initiatives, two from Australia (in Tasmania and Queensland) and two from Italy (in Emilia-Romagna and Sicily). By offering a critical assessment of deliberation in social movement organisations, this study identifies key aspects affecting their ability to pursue democratic deliberation and sheds new light on the role of community actors in deliberative democracy.

Beyond Empathy and Inclusion

Beyond Empathy and Inclusion PDF Author: Mary F. Scudder
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0197535453
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 229

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Book Description
Beyond Empathy and Inclusion examines how to achieve democratic rule in large pluralistic societies where citizens are deeply divided. Scudder argues that listening is key; in a democracy, citizens do not have to agree with their political opponents, but they do have to listen to them. Being heard is what ensures we have a say in the laws to which we are held. While listening is admittedly difficult, this book investigates how to motivate citizens to listenseriously, attentively, and humbly, even to those with whom they disagree.

Challenges to Democratic Participation

Challenges to Democratic Participation PDF Author: Andre Santos Campos
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 0739191527
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 157

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Book Description
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.

Democracy in Motion

Democracy in Motion PDF Author: Tina Nabatchi
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199899266
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 333

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Book Description
Democracy in Motion uses theory, research, and practice to comprehensively explore what we know, how we know it, and what remains to be understood about deliberative civic engagement. The book is useful to scholars, practitioners, public officials, activists, and citizens who seek to utilize deliberative civic engagement in their communities.

Constructing Democratic Space

Constructing Democratic Space PDF Author: Anna Marie Drake
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 662

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Book Description
This dissertation looks at the challenges that deliberative democratic theory encounters when it tries to offer a rich account of inclusion yet refuses to acknowledge the legitimacy of external protest. While sympathetic to deliberative democracy's goals, I challenge this focus upon the deliberative group as the theory tries to satisfy requirements of inclusion and legitimacy. In response I offer a normative account of protest within a larger deliberative framework - one that offers a more comprehensive account of democratic inclusion. I look at critiques of deliberative democracy, particularly in terms of the theory's ability to account for pluralism, and I argue that in order to meet this challenge we need to offer a normative justification of protest. Moreover, we need to do this not only to achieve full and effective inclusion but also to deal with the lack of efficacy that marginalized deliberants may encounter even when requirements of formal and effective inclusion are met. As I address these challenges I offer a theory of protest-as-deliberation in which I develop a normative justification of protest and set out the conceptual changes that allow this justification to be normatively and practically viable. My account takes protest, as something outside of and in opposition to the deliberative group, seriously and extends the deliberative framework to include protest; importantly, it does this without co-opting protestors. Drawing from previous critiques, I develop the normative and practical links that are necessary in order to facilitate a deliberative dialogue between protestors and the deliberative group. The conceptual changes that are necessary in order to realize protest-as-deliberation require that we re-evaluate the impact that deliberative criteria of reason-giving has upon effective inclusion and people's efficacy and that we change these criteria accordingly. Additionally, we need to revisit the democratic capacity of the public sphere, reconceptualized as the deliberative polity in which the process of protest-as-deliberation takes place. When we do this we ought to place a greater emphasis upon available public spaces, both physical and conceptual, that deliberants and protestors need in order for effective deliberation and contestation to occur.

Doing Democracy

Doing Democracy PDF Author: Nancy S. Love
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438449127
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 398

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Book Description
Doing Democracy examines the potential of the arts and popular culture to extend and deepen the experience of democracy. Its contributors address the use of photography, cartooning, memorials, monuments, poetry, literature, music, theater, festivals, and parades to open political spaces, awaken critical consciousness, engage marginalized groups in political activism, and create new, more democratic societies. This volume demonstrates how ordinary people use the creative and visionary capacity of the arts and popular culture to shape alternative futures. It is unique in its insistence that democratic theorists and activists should acknowledge and employ affective as well as rational faculties in the ongoing struggle for democracy.

Deliberation, Democracy, and Civic Forums

Deliberation, Democracy, and Civic Forums PDF Author: Christopher F. Karpowitz
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 131612360X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 415

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Book Description
Innovative forums that integrate citizen deliberation into policy making are revitalizing democracy in many places around the world. Yet controversy abounds over whether these forums ought to be seen as authentic sources of public opinion and how they should fit with existing political institutions. How can civic forums include less powerful citizens and ensure that their perspectives are heard on equal terms with more privileged citizens, officials, and policy experts? How can these fragile institutions communicate citizens' policy preferences effectively and legitimately to the rest of the political system? Deliberation, Democracy, and Civic Forums proposes creative solutions for improving equality and publicity, which are grounded in new theories about democratic deliberation, a careful review of research and practice in the field, and several original studies. This book speaks to scholars, practitioners, and sponsors of civic engagement, public management and consultation, and deliberative and participatory democracy.

Democracy Without Shortcuts

Democracy Without Shortcuts PDF Author: Cristina Lafont
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0198848188
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 279

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Book Description
This book articulates a participatory conception of deliberative democracy that takes the democratic ideal of self-government seriously. It aims to improve citizens' democratic control and vindicate the value of citizens' participation against conceptions that threaten to undermine it. The book critically analyzes deep pluralist, epistocratic, and lottocratic conceptions of democracy. Their defenders propose various institutional ''shortcuts'' to help solve problems of democratic governance such as overcoming disagreements, citizens' political ignorance, or poor-quality deliberation. However, all these shortcut proposals require citizens to blindly defer to actors over whose decisions they cannot exercise control. Implementing such proposals would therefore undermine democracy. Moreover, it seems naive to assume that a community can reach better outcomes 'faster' if it bypasses the beliefs and attitudes of its citizens. Unfortunately, there are no 'shortcuts' to make a community better than its members. The only road to better outcomes is the long, participatory road that is taken when citizens forge a collective will by changing one another's hearts and minds. However difficult the process of justifying political decisions to one another may be, skipping it cannot get us any closer to the democratic ideal. Starting from this conviction, the book defends a conception of democracy ''without shortcuts''. This conception sheds new light on long-standing debates about the proper scope of public reason, the role of religion in politics, and the democratic legitimacy of judicial review. It also proposes new ways to unleash the democratic potential of institutional innovations such as deliberative minipublics.