Download or read book The European Citizens Initiative written by Johannes W. Pichler and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With the European Citizens' Initiative (Article 11.4. in the new Lisbon Treaty of the European Union), the region enters new territory for modern democracy. For the first time, the principle of representative democracy, based on both indirect and direct democracy, will become a political practice on the transnational level. However, such a historic step, which is closely watched by observers from across the globe, raises many questions regarding the future provisions (implementation and regulation), the opportunities (the attitude by EU institutions and citizens groups alike), and the infrastructure (the support and assistance arrangements). This book offers an entry point into the new and exciting democratic territory of the European Citizens' Initiative, and it outlines the cornerstones and key features of both the procedure to be adapted by the EU in 2010 and the future use of the new tool from 2011.
Download or read book Citizen Participation in Democratic Europe written by Alberto Alemanno and published by ECPR Press. This book was released on 2021-02-05 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the European Union undergoes a major, self-proclaimed democratic exercise the Conference on the Future of Europe and approaches Treaty change, this volume offers a new model of citizen participation to address Europe's long-standing democracy challenge, and respond to the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Proposed are a set of democratic innovations, ranging from citizens assemblies to regulatory gaming to citizens initiatives and lobbying, which are complementary, not antagonistic, to existing representative democracy across the European continent. These innovations are emerging bottom-up across the continent and getting traction at local, national and EU level in a new era powered by technology. This book brings together academics as well as practitioners to give a forward-looking, holistic view of the realities of EU citizen participation across the spectrum of participatory opportunities. They all converge in arguing that, after many years of proven experimentation, the EU must institutionalize supranational, participative and deliberative, democratic channels to complement representative democracy and each other, and ultimately improve the effectiveness of EU citizen participation. While this institutional approach will not magically treat the EU democratic malaise, it should make the system more intelligible, accessible, and ultimately responsive to citizen demand without necessarily undertaking Treaty reform. The attempt to harness citizen participation to help address the current EU crisis needs the type of multi-faceted approach presented in this book. One that recognises the potential of existing and new democratic mechanisms, and also, importantly, the links between different instruments of citizen participation to improve the overall quality of EU's democratic system.
Download or read book Innovative Citizen Participation and New Democratic Institutions Catching the Deliberative Wave written by OECD and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2020-06-10 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Public authorities from all levels of government increasingly turn to Citizens' Assemblies, Juries, Panels and other representative deliberative processes to tackle complex policy problems ranging from climate change to infrastructure investment decisions. They convene groups of people representing a wide cross-section of society for at least one full day – and often much longer – to learn, deliberate, and develop collective recommendations that consider the complexities and compromises required for solving multifaceted public issues.
Download or read book The Next Big Thing written by Johannes W. Pichler and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In late 2009, Europe was given a new "constitution" with the Lisbon Treaty. Now, two years later, one of the key innovations of this new treaty, the European Citizens' Initiative, is about to become fully operational. For the very first time in world history, citizens across national borders will be able to determine the common political agenda by way of a transnational direct democratic procedure. Yet, after the agreement of the EU institutions just before Christmas 2010, a considerable amount of preparatory work still has to be done before the first European Citizens' Initiatives can be launched and registered. This collection consists of, among other things, the implementation of the new EU regulation into national law, as Member States will be responsible for electronic signature gathering systems in their territories and for the verification of signatures given by their citizens. Also, much instructional and informational work is about to begin in order to clearly communicate the options and limitations of the new participative procedure. Finally, a genuine pan-European and democratic infrastructure of support has to be established in order to insure that the new instrument is a tool for everyone. Making Europe ready for the next big thing, the Citizens' Initiative is clearly described and explained through the contributions found in this book.
Download or read book European Citizens Initiative A Tool for Engagement and Active Citizenship written by Yilly Vanessa Pacheco and published by Universitätsverlag Göttingen. This book was released on 2023 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This publication gathers contributions to understand better and further develop the European Citizens’ Initiative. This participatory and agenda-setting tool introduced into the Treaty of Lisbon has not yet reached its full potential of citizen engagement, nor has it driven the significant policy changes initially expected. Bearing this in mind, the project ECI: From A to Z aimed to promote the knowledge and use of the European Citizens’ Initiative within the higher education arena by engaging investigators and students from four different Universities (University of Coimbra; Georg-August University of Göttingen; Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iaşi and the University of Vigo) to work together to share their concerns and common views on the European Union role and policies. This publication describes the methodology followed and results reached under the project, but more than that, it is a practical toolkit for all who wish to know more about the European Citizens’ Initiative and how to put it in motion.
Download or read book Citizens Initiatives in Europe written by M. Setälä and published by Springer. This book was released on 2012-03-13 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An exploration and analysis of the regulation and practices of citizens' initiatives in eleven European democracies and the EU. The contributors to this volume shed light on how citizens' initiatives influence patterns of political agenda-setting in representative democracies and how they can contribute to participatory democracy.
Download or read book Citizen Participation in Multi level Democracies written by Cristina Fraenkel-Haeberle and published by Hotei Publishing. This book was released on 2015-03-20 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Citizen Participation in Multi-level Democracies offers an overview of new forms of participatory democracy in federally and regionally organised multi-level states. Its four sections focus on the conceptual foundations of participation, the implementation and instruments of democracy, examples from federal and regional States, and the emergence of participation on the European level. There is today a growing disaffection amongst the citizens of many states towards the traditional models of representative democracy. This book highlights the various functional and structural problems with which contemporary democracies are confronted and which lie at the root of their peoples’ discontent. Within multi-level systems in particular, the fragmentation of state authority generates feelings of powerlessness among citizens. In this context, citizens’ participation can in many cases be a useful complement to the representative and direct forms of democracy.
Download or read book Citizens Initiatives in Europe written by M. Setälä and published by Springer. This book was released on 2012-03-13 with total page 359 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An exploration and analysis of the regulation and practices of citizens' initiatives in eleven European democracies and the EU. The contributors to this volume shed light on how citizens' initiatives influence patterns of political agenda-setting in representative democracies and how they can contribute to participatory democracy.
Download or read book Citizenship and Contemporary Direct Democracy written by David Altman and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Offers a comparative study of the origins, performance, and reform of contemporary mechanisms of direct democracy.
Download or read book Democracy Diaspora Territory written by Olga Oleinikova and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-10-14 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume offers a profoundly new interpretation of the impact of modern diasporas on democracy, challenging the orthodox understanding that ties these two concepts to a bounded form of territory. Considering democracy and diaspora through a deterritorialised lens, it takes the post-Euromaidan Ukraine as a central case study to show how modern diasporas are actively involved in shaping democracy from a distance, and through their political activity are becoming increasingly democratised themselves. An examination of how power-sharing democracies function beyond the territorial state, Democracy, Diaspora, Territory: Europe and Cross-Border Politics compels us to reassess what we mean by democracy and diaspora today, and why we need to focus on the deterritorialised dimensions of these phenomena if we are to adequately address the crises confronting numerous democracies. As such, it will appeal to scholars of sociology and politics with interests in migration and diaspora, political theory, citizenship and democracy.
Download or read book Democratisation in the European Neighbourhood written by Michael Emerson and published by CEPS. This book was released on 2005 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Approaches democratization of the European neighbourhood from two sides, first exploring developments in the states themselves and then examining what the European Union has been doing to promote the process.
Download or read book Competences for democratic culture written by Council of Europe and published by Council of Europe. This book was released on 2016-04-04 with total page 78 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new Council of Europe reference framework of competences for democratic culture! Contemporary societies within Europe face many challenges, including declining levels of voter turnout in elections, increased distrust of politicians, high levels of hate crime, intolerance and prejudice towards minority ethnic and religious groups, and increasing levels of support for violent extremism. These challenges threaten the legitimacy of democratic institutions and peaceful co-existence within Europe. Formal education is a vital tool that can be used to tackle these challenges. Appropriate educational input and practices can boost democratic engagement, reduce intolerance and prejudice, and decrease support for violent extremism. However, to achieve these goals, educationists need a clear understanding of the democratic competences that should be targeted by the curriculum. This book presents a new conceptual model of the competences which citizens require to participate in democratic culture and live peacefully together with others in culturally diverse societies. The model is the product of intensive work over a two-year period, and has been strongly endorsed in an international consultation with leading educational experts. The book describes the competence model in detail, together with the methods used to develop it. The model provides a robust conceptual foundation for the future development of curricula, pedagogies and assessments in democratic citizenship and human rights education. Its application will enable educational systems to be harnessed effectively for the preparation of students for life as engaged and tolerant democratic citizens. The book forms the first component of a new Council of Europe reference framework of competences for democratic culture. It is vital reading for all educational policy makers and practitioners who work in the fields of education for democratic citizenship, human rights education and intercultural education.
Download or read book Militant Democracy written by András Sajó and published by Eleven International Publishing. This book was released on 2004 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a collection of contributions by leading scholars on theoretical and contemporary problems of militant democracy. The term 'militant democracy' was first coined in 1937. In a militant democracy preventive measures are aimed, at least in practice, at restricting people who would openly contest and challenge democratic institutions and fundamental preconditions of democracy like secularism - even though such persons act within the existing limits of, and rely on the rights offered by, democracy. In the shadow of the current wars on terrorism, which can also involve rights restrictions, the overlapping though distinct problem of militant democracy seems to be lost, notwithstanding its importance for emerging and established democracies. This volume will be of particular significance outside the German-speaking world, since the bulk of the relevant literature on militant democracy is in the German language. The book is of interest to academics in the field of law, political studies and constitutionalism.
Download or read book Direct Democracy and Minorities written by Wilfried Marxer and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-02-27 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Modern direct democracy has become an essential element of political life in many countries in Europe and worldwide. The initiative and referendum process offers extra channels for citizen participation and thus represents an important supplementary institution in modern democracies. This third volume of the series Direct Democracy in Modern Europe focuses on direct-democratic decisions on minority affairs. The main question is whether direct democracy tends towards a domination of the majority over a minority, producing new conflicts, or whether, how, and under what conditions it helps to solve problems in complex societies and leads to lasting solutions to political disputes. This volume includes articles by specialist researchers on - historical experiences of direct-democratic decisions on territorial conflicts; - theoretical considerations on direct democracy and minorities; - case studies on popular votes concerning minority issues; - several country case studies; - the role of the media in direct-democratic campaigns on minority affairs; - the potential of transnational direct democracy.
Download or read book Deliberative Democracy in the EU written by Steven Blockmans and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2020-11-30 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Representative democracy remains the best available form of government – and the one preferred by most EU citizens, but satisfaction with how it plays out varies greatly across the continent. Among the perceived weaknesses are high levels of political corruption, low resilience to disinformation, and out-of-touch governing elites. Yet there is some hope that direct channels for citizens to express their concerns and preferences, fact-based deliberation in representative bodies and robust mechanisms to hold governments to account can help save European democracy from the onslaught of populism. This volume draws together proposals into a framework reflecting the four cumulative criteria used by modern political theorists to assess the health of a democracy: inclusion, choice, deliberation and impact. Its expert contributors offer pragmatic ideas to strengthen representative democracy at both the national and EU level.
Download or read book The European Way of Life written by Bertelsmann Stiftung and published by Verlag Bertelsmann Stiftung. This book was released on 2011-08-19 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In "The European Way of Life" the Bertelsmann Stiftung looks back at what the European Union has already achieved, and sets its sights on the future. What are the challenges to which European policymaking will have to rise in the years ahead? How can the European project be given a new lease of life? Europeans tend to be rather critical of the EU, but the fact of the matter is that the EU member states will have to work together more closely if Europe wishes to get its message across on the global stage. "The European Way of Life" assembles some of the most important analyses produced by the Bertelsmann Stiftung's European projects. The topics range from the euro to the President of the EU, and from the EU's relationship with Russia to the Union for the Mediterranean. In three chapters devoted to Europe's democracy, economy and values, the experts at the Bertelsmann Stiftung come up with a host of stimulating ideas and make a number of specific recommendations. Guest authors Joschka Fischer, Wolfgang Schüssel and Guy Verhofstadt reveal their thoughts about the European Union, and make a point of emphasizing that crises have always been turning points and have repeatedly presented new opportunities, especially in the EU. "The European Way of Life" wishes to engage in a dialogue with both normal EU citizens who are interested in these topics, and with wellinformed experts. The articles include a number of informative charts and diagrams.
Download or read book Local Direct Democracy in Europe written by Theo Schiller and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2011-05-02 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Modern direct democracy has recently become an important element of political life in many countries. These developments can be observed at the national, regional, and local level of political systems. Participation and democracy in local political affairs play a major role in stabilising and developing democratic systems. This volume presents, for the first time, a broad basis of information on the wide variety of local institutions and practice of direct democracy in 19 countries. Country specialists analyse - the role of direct democracy in the institutional context and culture of national political systems, - political processes of introduction and development of initiatives and referendums, - regulations of procedures of municipal direct democracy, - practice of local direct democracy, - the contribution of local direct democracy to democratic development in general.
