Inspiring Democracy

Inspiring Democracy PDF Author: Dominik Hierlemann
Publisher: Verlag Bertelsmann Stiftung
ISBN: 3867935181
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 86

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Book Description
Democracy lives and thrives on the participation of its citizens. But what is more to the point, without the participation of its citizenry, democracy would not exist at all. Yet traditional avenues for political participation such as elections or becoming involved in party work are being pursued less and less. In recent years, all around the world, in all the developed democracies, numerous new modes of participation have developed, putting the focus on dialogue and deliberation. Citizens are becoming involved in politics in ever newer and often more unconventional ways. In this study, exciting and effective means of participation are presented and compared, with informational graphics providing a quick understanding of the different formats. Interviews with experts and practitioners highlight developments and examples for participation and give the reader an outlook on the future of democracy and the coming diversity of political participation.

Inspiring Democracy

Inspiring Democracy PDF Author: Dominik Hierlemann
Publisher: Verlag Bertelsmann Stiftung
ISBN: 3867935181
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 86

Get Book Here

Book Description
Democracy lives and thrives on the participation of its citizens. But what is more to the point, without the participation of its citizenry, democracy would not exist at all. Yet traditional avenues for political participation such as elections or becoming involved in party work are being pursued less and less. In recent years, all around the world, in all the developed democracies, numerous new modes of participation have developed, putting the focus on dialogue and deliberation. Citizens are becoming involved in politics in ever newer and often more unconventional ways. In this study, exciting and effective means of participation are presented and compared, with informational graphics providing a quick understanding of the different formats. Interviews with experts and practitioners highlight developments and examples for participation and give the reader an outlook on the future of democracy and the coming diversity of political participation.

Open Democracy

Open Democracy PDF Author: Hélène Landemore
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691212392
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
To the ancient Greeks, democracy meant gathering in public and debating laws set by a randomly selected assembly of several hundred citizens. To the Icelandic Vikings, democracy meant meeting every summer in a field to discuss issues until consensus was reached. Our contemporary representative democracies are very different. Modern parliaments are gated and guarded, and it seems as if only certain people are welcome. Diagnosing what is wrong with representative government and aiming to recover some of the openness of ancient democracies, Open Democracy presents a new paradigm of democracy. Supporting a fresh nonelectoral understanding of democratic representation, Hélène Landemore demonstrates that placing ordinary citizens, rather than elites, at the heart of democratic power is not only the true meaning of a government of, by, and for the people, but also feasible and, more than ever, urgently needed. -- Cover page 4.

Design as Democracy

Design as Democracy PDF Author: David de la Pena
Publisher: Island Press
ISBN: 1610918479
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 344

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Book Description
How can we design places that fulfill urgent needs of the community, achieve environmental justice, and inspire long-term stewardship? By bringing community members to the table with designers to collectively create vibrant, important places in cities and neighborhoods. For decades, participatory design practices have helped enliven neighborhoods and promote cultural understanding. Yet, many designers still rely on the same techniques that were developed in the 1950s and 60s. These approaches offer predictability, but hold waning promise for addressing current and future design challenges. Design as Democracy is written to reinvigorate democratic design, providing inspiration, techniques, and case stories for a wide range of contexts. Edited by six leading practitioners and academics in the field of participatory design, with nearly 50 contributors from around the world, it offers fresh insights for creating meaningful dialogue between designers and communities and for transforming places with justice and democracy in mind.

Inspiring Participatory Democracy

Inspiring Participatory Democracy PDF Author: Tom Hayden
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317257499
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 216

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Book Description
The famous 1962 Port Huron Statement by the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) introduced the concept of participatory democracy to popular discourse and practice. In Inspiring Participatory Democracy Tom Hayden, one of the principal architects of the statement, analyses its historical impact and relevance to today's movements. Inspiring Participatory Democracy includes the full transcript of the Port Huron statment and shows how it played an important role in the movements for black civil rights, against the Vietnam war and for the Freedom of Information Act. Published during the year of Port Huron's 50th anniversary, Inspiring Participatory Democracy will be of great interest to readers interested in social history, politics and social activism.

Democracy and Tradition

Democracy and Tradition PDF Author: Jeffrey Stout
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400825865
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 367

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Book Description
Do religious arguments have a public role in the post-9/11 world? Can we hold democracy together despite fractures over moral issues? Are there moral limits on the struggle against terror? Asking how the citizens of modern democracy can reason with one another, this book carves out a controversial position between those who view religious voices as an anathema to democracy and those who believe democratic society is a moral wasteland because such voices are not heard. Drawing inspiration from Whitman, Dewey, and Ellison, Jeffrey Stout sketches the proper role of religious discourse in a democracy. He discusses the fate of virtue, the legacy of racism, the moral issues implicated in the war on terrorism, and the objectivity of ethical norms. Against those who see no place for religious reasoning in the democratic arena, Stout champions a space for religious voices. But against increasingly vocal antiliberal thinkers, he argues that modern democracy can provide a moral vision and has made possible such moral achievements as civil rights precisely because it allows a multitude of claims to be heard. Stout's distinctive pragmatism reconfigures the disputed area where religious thought, political theory, and philosophy meet. Charting a path beyond the current impasse between secular liberalism and the new traditionalism, Democracy and Tradition asks whether we have the moral strength to continue as a democratic people as it invigorates us to retrieve our democratic virtues from very real threats to their practice.

Healing the Heart of Democracy

Healing the Heart of Democracy PDF Author: Parker J. Palmer
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118970365
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
Hope for American democracy in an era of deep divisions In Healing the Heart of Democracy, Parker J. Palmer quickens our instinct to seek the common good and gives us the tools to do it. This timely, courageous and practical work—intensely personal as well as political—is not about them, "those people" in Washington D.C., or in our state capitals, on whom we blame our political problems. It's about us, "We the People," and what we can do in everyday settings like families, neighborhoods, classrooms, congregations and workplaces to resist divide-and-conquer politics and restore a government "of the people, by the people, for the people." In the same compelling, inspiring prose that has made him a bestselling author, Palmer explores five "habits of the heart" that can help us restore democracy's foundations as we nurture them in ourselves and each other: An understanding that we are all in this together An appreciation of the value of "otherness" An ability to hold tension in life-giving ways A sense of personal voice and agency A capacity to create community Healing the Heart of Democracy is an eloquent and empowering call for "We the People" to reclaim our democracy. The online journal Democracy & Education called it "one of the most important books of the early 21st Century." And Publishers Weekly, in a Starred Review, said "This beautifully written book deserves a wide audience that will benefit from discussing it."

Inspiring Democracy

Inspiring Democracy PDF Author: European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789082318906
Category : Civil society
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description
This handbook is the final outcome of an EU-funded programme which included projects focused on facilitating inclusive and participatory policy dialogue in five different countries: Ghana, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco and Tunisia. The idea underlying the choice of these target countries was to test the same set of tools and techniques in five very different contexts and to observe what worked and what did not. This is what the Integrated Support Programme for Inclusive Reform and Democratic Dialogue (INSPIRED) has been all about: bringing high-level principles into common use by applying them in different contexts and then drawing lessons from these experiences to turn them into practical guidance. Two members of EPD's Community of Practice have participated in the INSPIRED programme and contributed to this Handbook: The Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD) assists political parties in new and emerging democracies. The organisation's approach is characterised by facilitating dialogue. NIMD provides safe environments for political parties in a country to meet, overcome distrust and work together on political issues. In addition NIMD also works directly with parties to strengthen their capacities, and provides education programmes for potential politicians. NIMD works in more than 20 countries in Africa, Latin America, The Middle East, Asia and Eastern Europe. Club de Madrid The Club de Madrid is the worldś largest, independent group of democratic, political leaders, committed to addressing the challenges of democratic transition and consolidation there where they can make a difference. The principal added value of the Club de Madrid is a unique membership of nearly 100, democratically elected, former Presidents and Prime Ministers, from over 60 countries, willing and able to share their diverse expertise, experience and networks in support of democratic values and leadership worldwide. As former Presidents and Prime Ministers, no longer in public office, Club de Madrid Members are not politically constrained and thus freer to share their experience and offer strategic advice.

Democracy: A Very Short Introduction

Democracy: A Very Short Introduction PDF Author: Naomi Zack
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192659650
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 193

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Book Description
Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring Democracy refers to both ideal and real forms of government. The concept of democracy means that those governed — the demos — have a say in government. But different conceptions of democracy have left many out. Naomi Zack provides here a fresh treatment of the history of this idea and its key conceptions. In the ancient world, direct and representative democracy in Athens and Rome privileged elites, as did democratic deliberative bodies in Africa, India, the Middle East, and China. Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero were sceptical of mob-rule dangers of democracy. The medieval and renaissance periods saw legislative checks on monarchy, notably the Magna Carta. The social contract theories of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau matched political expectations that national government be based on consent, for the benefit of those governed. The American Revolution established a new sovereignty, based on British government tradition. By contrast, the French Revolution heralded universal humanitarian ideals. In the nineteenth century, Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, Immanuel Kant, and Karl Marx focused on the democratization of society. Mary Wollstonecraft had championed women's education and rights and Mill advocated further for that cause. Movements for the abolition of slavery, women's suffrage, and labour unionization were organized. World War II brought a reset in the twentieth century, with new democratic governments for many countries, including India and South Africa, and new ideals. Karl Popper, Hannah Arendt, and John Rawls emphasized orderly government transition, inclusion, and fairness. Equalitarian goals have concerned racial and ethnic minorities, as well as women. The twenty-first century has brought fresh challenges, including disasters and uninformed electorates. Democracy among nations is a future goal. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Inspiring Participatory Democracy

Inspiring Participatory Democracy PDF Author: Tom Hayden
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317257480
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description
The famous 1962 Port Huron Statement by the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) introduced the concept of participatory democracy to popular discourse and practice. In Inspiring Participatory Democracy Tom Hayden, one of the principal architects of the statement, analyses its historical impact and relevance to today's movements. Inspiring Participatory Democracy includes the full transcript of the Port Huron statment and shows how it played an important role in the movements for black civil rights, against the Vietnam war and for the Freedom of Information Act. Published during the year of Port Huron's 50th anniversary, Inspiring Participatory Democracy will be of great interest to readers interested in social history, politics and social activism.

From Dictatorship to Democracy

From Dictatorship to Democracy PDF Author: Gene Sharp
Publisher: Albert Einstein Institution
ISBN: 1880813092
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 85

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Book Description
A serious introduction to the use of nonviolent action to topple dictatorships. Based on the author's study, over a period of forty years, on non-violent methods of demonstration, it was originally published in 1993 in Thailand for distribution among Burmese dissidents.