Democratic Incongruities

Download or read book Democratic Incongruities written by D. Judge and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-03-07 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Clear disparities exist between notions of representative democracy and political practice in Britain. Alternative models of democracy, however, have their own incongruities in trying to marry representation and democracy. This book analyses the mismatches in democratic theories and between theory and practice in British representative democracy.

Download or read book Diploma Democracy written by Mark Bovens and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017-06-16 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lay politics lies at the heart of democracy. Political offices are the only offices for which no formal qualifications are required. Contemporary political practices are diametrically opposed to this constitutional ideal. Most democracies in Western Europe are diploma democracies - ruled by those with the highest formal qualifications. Citizens with low or medium educational qualifications currently make up about 70 percent of the electorates, yet they have become virtually absent from almost all political arenas. University graduates have come to dominate all political institutions and venues, from political parties, parliaments and cabinets, to organised interests, deliberative settings, and Internet consultations. This rise of a political meritocracy is part of larger trend. In the information society, educational background, like class or religion, is an important source of social and political divides. Those who are well educated tend to be cosmopolitans, whereas the lesser educated citizens are more likely to be nationalists. This book documents the context, contours, and consequences of this rise of a political meritocracy. It explores the domination of higher educated citizens in political participation, civil society, and political office in Western Europe. It discusses the consequences of this rise of a political meritocracy, such as descriptive deficits, policy incongruences, biased standards, and cynicism and distrust. Also, it looks at ways to remedy, or at least mitigate, some of the negative effects of diploma democracy.

Download or read book Reimagining Parliament written by David Judge and published by Policy Press. This book was released on 2024-05-22 with total page 189 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With trust in Parliament and politicians at a seriously low level, there is an increasing need to rebuild our public institutions. This innovative book questions what Parliament should be in the 21st century and how it can be reimagined. It shows how a new democratic parliamentary space can be created to better represent and engage with citizens; to furnish a safe, inclusive and fair working environment for all staff and members; and to secure greater responsiveness and accountability of government. Bringing together a vibrant group of parliamentary scholars and practitioners, it proposes an institutional world of possibilities beyond the present Westminster village, to help restore faith in democracy. .

Download or read book Political Representation in Times of Bailout written by André Freire and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-10-02 with total page 165 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since 2008 many European states have experienced significant challenges in adapting to austerity, and political actors within these states have made significant changes in their discourses and practices. This book explores the short-term impact of the sovereign debt crisis on aspects of political representation in Greece and Portugal, two of the countries that have been the most severely affected. It provides the most systematic examination to date of the attitudinal change of voters and elites regarding participation and representation, and of the legitimacy of the political system in two of the bailed-out Eurozone states. By examining the congruence between elites and voters, the shift in the patterns of competition, and the position of both citizens and representatives on the main issues, the studies contribute towards a reassessment of the validity of the responsible party model and of theories about democratic accountability. By relying on original mass and elite surveys conducted both before and after the bailouts, the volume helps us understand how the EU/IMF intervention has affected partisan alignments in Greece and Portugal, as well as the differences and similarities in the way political elites and civil society have adapted to severe austerity. This book was originally published as a special issue of South European Society & Politics.

Download or read book The Nationalization of American Political Parties, 1880–1896 written by Daniel Klinghard and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2010-04-19 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book investigates the creation of the first truly nationalized party organizations in the United States in the late nineteenth century, an innovation that reversed the parties' traditional privileging of state and local interests in nominating campaigns and the conduct of national campaigns. Between 1880 and 1896, party elites crafted a defense of these national organizations that charted the theoretical parameters of American party development into the twentieth century. With empowered national committees and a new understanding of the parties' role in the political system, national party leaders dominated American politics in new ways, renewed the parties' legitimacy in an increasingly pluralistic and nationalized political environment, and thus maintained their relevance throughout the twentieth century. The new organizations particularly served the interests of presidents and presidential candidates, and the little-studied presidencies of the late nineteenth century demonstrate the first stirrings of modern presidential party leadership.

Download or read book Perspectives by Incongruity written by Benj DeMott and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-07-05 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Diversity and "perspective by incongruity" dene the approach to changing times in this fourth volume of the First of the Year series. Insights come from interesting minds in unobvious juxtapositions. First's roster of irreverent and holy! regulars includes Amiri Baraka, Bernard Avishai, Uri Avnery, Chuck D, Diane di Prima, Fr. Rick Frechette, Donna Gaines, Lawrence Goodwyn, Roxane Johnson, W.T. Lhamon Jr., Philip Levine, Kanan Makiya, Bongani Madondo, Greil Marcus, Charles O'Brien, Judy Oppenheimer, Tom Smucker, Fredric Smoler, A.B. Spellman, Scott Spencer, Robert Farris Thompson, Richard Torres, David Waldstreicher, and Armond White.Their angles on history and history in the making are enhanced by contributions from new members of First's family of defamiliarizers such as Peter Brown, Wesley Brown, Mark Dudzic, Robert Hullot-Kentor, and Aram Saroyan.Perspectives by Incongruity touches down in Kashmir, Haiti, South Africa, and Indonesia. There's a vital section devoted to the Arab Spring. But the volume homes in on the U.S.A. as well, digging into race and class structures of feeling (and fantasy). It means to comprehend the Obama era in real time. Music is key to Perspectives by Incongruity's offbeat truth-telling. Contributors sound off on Jay Z and Kanye West, mambo and Afropop, Dylan and Coltrane, Sun Ra and Arcade Fire. First's meaning is (as ever) in the mix.

Download or read book Multi-Level Governance written by Edoardo Ongaro and published by Emerald Group Publishing. This book was released on 2015-07-06 with total page 371 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume argues that progress in both the study and the practice of Multi-Level Governance may derive from developing linkages with disciplines, perspectives and issues that have so far not been explored in connection to MLG.