Download or read book Democratic Transformations in Europe written by Yvette Peters and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With a focus on 'Europe 31', understood as the EU28 plus Switzerland, Norway, and Iceland, the book brings together separate strands of literature which often remain disconnected in political science narratives. Looking at citizen-state relations, the restructuring of politics and institutions of the state, and developments which reach 'beyond and below' the state, it interrogates a variety of issues ranging from the decline of parties or the re-emergence of nationalism as a political force, to liberal challenges to social democracy, terrorist threats, and climate change.

Download or read book Democratic Transformations written by Kerry T. Burch and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2012-08-09 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What will it take for the American people to enact a more democratic version of themselves? How to better educate democratic minds and democratic hearts? In response to these crucial predicaments, this innovative book proposes that instead of ignoring or repressing the conflicted nature of American identity, these conflicts should be recognized as sites of pedagogical opportunity. Kerry Burch revives eight fundamental pieces of political public rhetoric into living artifacts, into provocative instruments of democratic pedagogy. From "The Pursuit of Happiness" to "The Military-Industrial Complex," Burch invites readers to encounter the fertile contradictions pulsating at the core of American identity, transforming this conflicted symbolic terrain into a site of pedagogical analysis and development. The learning theory embodied in the structure of the book breaks new ground in terms of deepening and extending what it means to "teach the conflicts" and invites healthy reader participation with America's defining civic controversies. The result is a highly teachable book in the tradition of A People's History of the United States and Lies My Teacher Told Me.

Download or read book Democratic Transformations in Europe written by Yvette Peters and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-12-01 with total page 357 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Democracies evolve. Their evolution is not only key to their survival; it is also a reflection of the changing environment in which they operate. This book contributes to the analysis and understanding of how democratic states have transformed over time by examining a number of challenges and opportunities that they face. With a focus on ‘Europe 31’, understood as the EU28 plus Switzerland, Norway, and Iceland, the book brings together separate strands of literature which often remain disconnected in political science narratives. Looking at citizen–state relations, the restructuring of politics and institutions of the state, and developments which reach 'beyond and below' the state, it interrogates a variety of issues ranging from the decline of parties or the re-emergence of nationalism as a political force, to liberal challenges to social democracy, terrorist threats, and climate change. The book combines these different dimensions into a comprehensive overview of the state of contemporary democracy, its challenges and opportunities, and its dynamic capacity to adapt. In other words, it deals with the perpetual threats to and transformations of democracy, and the state’s ability to protect and strengthen its democratic attributes. This text will be of key interest to scholars of European Politics, Comparative Politics, and Democracy Studies.

Download or read book Transformations of Democracy written by Robin Celikates and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2015-05-26 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is democracy in crisis? On the one hand, it seems to be decaying under the leadership of political elites who make decisions behind closed doors. On the other hand, citizens are taking to the streets to firmly assert their political participation across the globe. Drawing on a range of theoretical and empirical perspectives, this collection examines the multiple transformations which both the practice and the idea of democracy are undergoing today. It starts by questioning whether there is a crisis of democracy, or if part of this crisis lies in the inadequacy of social and political theory to describe current challenges. Exploring a range of violent and non-violent forms of resistance, the book goes on to ask how these are related to the arts, what form of civility they require and whether they undermine the functioning of institutions. In the final section of the book, the contributors examine the normative foundations of democratic practices and institutions, especially with regard to the tension between human rights and democracy and the special character of democratic authority.

Download or read book Boris Yeltsin and Russia s Democratic Transformation written by Herbert J. Ellison and published by . This book was released on 2015-08-17 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Boris Yeltsin is one of modern history's most dynamic and underappreciated figures. In this vivid, analytical masterwork, Herbert J. Ellison establishes Yeltsin as the principal leader and defender of Russia's democratic revolution - the very embodiment of Russia's fragile new liberties, including the evolving respect for the rule of law and private property as well as core freedoms of speech, religion, press, and political association. In 1987 President Mikhail Gorbachev expelled Boris Yeltsin from his team of reform politicians, but Yeltsin rebounded from this potentially devastating setback to become the leader of the Russian democratic movement. He created a new office of Russian president, to which he was elected; designed a democratic constitution for the Soviet Union that precipitated a coup attempt by traditionalist communist leaders; granted independence to the nations of the Soviet Union; and replaced Communist Party rule with democracy and the socialist economy with a market economy. In a short period, he had succeeded in becoming the first popularly elected leader in a thousand years of Russian history. He had blocked violent attempts at counter-revolution and overcome powerful resistance to his reform program. His achievements rank among the most extraordinary feats of political leadership in the twentieth century.

Download or read book Digital Technology and Democratic Theory written by Lucy Bernholz and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2021-02-17 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the most far-reaching transformations in our era is the wave of digital technologies rolling over—and upending—nearly every aspect of life. Work and leisure, family and friendship, community and citizenship have all been modified by now-ubiquitous digital tools and platforms. Digital Technology and Democratic Theory looks closely at one significant facet of our rapidly evolving digital lives: how technology is radically changing our lives as citizens and participants in democratic governments. To understand these transformations, this book brings together contributions by scholars from multiple disciplines to wrestle with the question of how digital technologies shape, reshape, and affect fundamental questions about democracy and democratic theory. As expectations have whiplashed—from Twitter optimism in the wake of the Arab Spring to Facebook pessimism in the wake of the 2016 US election—the time is ripe for a more sober and long-term assessment. How should we take stock of digital technologies and their promise and peril for reshaping democratic societies and institutions? To answer, this volume broaches the most pressing technological changes and issues facing democracy as a philosophy and an institution.

Download or read book True Blues written by Adam Hilton and published by University of Pennsylvania Press. This book was released on 2021-06-11 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Who governs political parties? Recent insurgent campaigns, such as those of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, have thrust this critical question to the center of political debate for casual observers and scholars alike. Yet the dynamics of modern party politics remain poorly understood. Assertions of either elite control or interest group dominance both fail to explain the Trump victory and the surprise of the Sanders insurgency and their subsequent reverberations through the American political landscape. In True Blues, Adam Hilton tackles the question of who governs parties by examining the transformation of the Democratic Party since the late 1960s. Reconceiving parties as "contentious institutions," Hilton argues that Democratic Party change was driven by recurrent conflicts between groups and officeholders to define and control party identity, program, and policy. The outcome of this prolonged struggle was a wholly new kind of party—an advocacy party—which institutionalized greater party dependence on outside groups for legitimacy and organizational support, while also, in turn, fostering greater group dependency on the presidency for the satisfaction of its symbolic and substantive demands. Consequently, while the long conflict between party reformers and counter-reformers successfully opened the Democratic Party to new voices and identities, it also facilitated the growth of presidential power, rising inequality, and deepening partisan polarization. Tracing the rise of the advocacy party from the fall of the New Deal order through the presidency of Barack Obama, True Blues explains how and why the Democratic Party has come to its current crossroads and suggests a bold new perspective for comprehending the dynamics driving American party politics more broadly.

Download or read book The Transformation of Democracy written by Anthony McGrew and published by Polity. This book was released on 1997-07-07 with total page 279 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Transformation of Democracy? examines whether globalization is transforming the conditions under which liberal democratic politics operate and, given this, what the prospects are for a more democratic world order. The book is divided into two parts: Part I: 'Global Transformations', asks whether globalization is transforming the conditions of liberal democratic governance. Part II: 'Democratizing World Order', critically evaluates the prospects for democratizing global forces through an examination of the reform of global governance: the democratic potential of the EU; international initiatives to develop greater democratic accountability of multinational corporate capital; and universal human rights. The final chapter reflects upon the meaning of democracy in the context of contemporary patterns of globalization and regionalization. The contributors to the volume include Robert Cox, Donna Dickenson, Tony Evans, Mark Imber, David Goldblatt, Anthony McGrew, James Goodman, Grahame Thompson, and Martin Shaw.

Download or read book The Transformation of the American Democratic Republic written by Stephen M. Krason and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-09-08 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this stimulating volume, Stephen M. Krason considers whether the Founding Fathers' vision of the American democratic republic has been transformed and if so, in what ways. He looks to the basic principles of the Founding Fathers, then discusses the changes that resulted from evolving contemporary expectations about government. Referencing philosophical principles and the work of great Western thinkers, Krason then explores a variety of proposals that could forge a foundation for restoration. Acknowledging that any attempt to revive the Founders' views on a democratic republic must start in the public sphere, Krason focuses on concerned citizens who are aware of the extent to which our current political structures deviate from the Founders' vision and want to take action. Ultimately, a democratic republic can exist, be sustained, and flourish only when there is a deep commitment to it in the minds and norms of its people. Written by a foremost authority in the field of US Constitutional law, this book will appeal to those interested in American history, society, and politics.

Download or read book From Development to Democracy written by Dan Slater and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2024-08-20 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why some of Asia’s authoritarian regimes have democratized as they have grown richer—and why others haven’t Over the past century, Asia has been transformed by rapid economic growth, industrialization, and urbanization—a spectacular record of development that has turned one of the world’s poorest regions into one of its richest. Yet Asia’s record of democratization has been much more uneven, despite the global correlation between development and democracy. Why have some Asian countries become more democratic as they have grown richer, while others—most notably China—haven’t? In From Development to Democracy, Dan Slater and Joseph Wong offer a sweeping and original answer to this crucial question. Slater and Wong demonstrate that Asia defies the conventional expectation that authoritarian regimes concede democratization only as a last resort, during times of weakness. Instead, Asian dictators have pursued democratic reforms as a proactive strategy to revitalize their power from a position of strength. Of central importance is whether authoritarians are confident of victory and stability. In Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan these factors fostered democracy through strength, while democratic experiments in Indonesia, Thailand, and Myanmar were less successful and more reversible. At the same time, resistance to democratic reforms has proven intractable in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, and Cambodia. Reconsidering China’s 1989 crackdown, Slater and Wong argue that it was the action of a regime too weak to concede, not too strong to fail, and they explain why China can allow democracy without inviting instability. The result is a comprehensive regional history that offers important new insights about when and how democratic transitions happen—and what the future of Asia might be.

Download or read book Democracy by Petition written by Daniel Carpenter and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2021-05-04 with total page 649 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This pioneering work of political history recovers the central and largely forgotten role that petitioning played in the formative years of North American democracy. Known as the age of democracy, the nineteenth century witnessed the extension of the franchise and the rise of party politics. As Daniel Carpenter shows, however, democracy in America emerged not merely through elections and parties, but through the transformation of an ancient political tool: the petition. A statement of grievance accompanied by a list of signatures, the petition afforded women and men excluded from formal politics the chance to make their voices heard and to reshape the landscape of political possibility. Democracy by Petition traces the explosion and expansion of petitioning across the North American continent. Indigenous tribes in Canada, free Blacks from Boston to the British West Indies, Irish canal workers in Indiana, and Hispanic settlers in territorial New Mexico all used petitions to make claims on those in power. Petitions facilitated the extension of suffrage, the decline of feudal land tenure, and advances in liberty for women, African Americans, and Indigenous peoples. Even where petitioners failed in their immediate aims, their campaigns advanced democracy by setting agendas, recruiting people into political causes, and fostering aspirations of equality. Far more than periodic elections, petitions provided an everyday current of communication between officeholders and the people. The coming of democracy in America owes much to the unprecedented energy with which the petition was employed in the antebellum period. By uncovering this neglected yet vital strand of nineteenth-century life, Democracy by Petition will forever change how we understand our political history.

Download or read book Latin American Democratic Transformations written by William C. Smith and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2009-08-24 with total page 397 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Latin American Democratic Transformations explores the manner in which Latin American societies seek to consolidate and deepen their democracies in adverse domestic and international circumstances. The contributors engage recent debates on liberal and illiberal democracy and probe the complex connections between democratic politics and neoliberal, market-oriented reforms.

Download or read book The Transformation of Democracy written by Vilfredo Pareto and published by Transaction Publishers. This book was released on 1984-01-01 with total page 110 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Combining a thorough introduction to the work of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Italian social theorist Vilfredo Pareto with a highly readable English translation of Pareto's last monograph "Generalizations", originally published in 1920, this work illustrates how and why democratic forms of government undergo decay and are eventually reinvigorated. More than any other social scientist of his generation, Pareto offers a well-developed, articulate, and compelling theory of change based on a Newtonian vision of science and an engineering model of social equilibrium.This dynamics involves a shifting balance among the countervailing forces of centralization and decentralization of power, economic expansion and contraction, and liberalism versus traditionalism in public sentiment. By 1920, Pareto had developed a scheme for predicting shifts in magnitude of these forces and subsequent change in the character of society. This book will be of interest to students, teachers, or general readersinterested,in political science, sociology and late-nineteenth/ early-twentieth century social theory.

Download or read book Negotiating Democracy written by Isaac A. Blankson and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Negotiating Democracy addresses issues that have defined the challenges and consequences of media transformation faced by new and emerging democracies. These issues include the dismantling of national broadcasting systems, the promotion of private independent and pluralistic media, the clash between liberal democratic and authoritarian political traditions, negotiations about the appropriate broadcast language, and the potential for free press and for freedom of speech. The contributors use examples from countries such as Cambodia, Bulgaria, Iran, Nigeria, and Taiwan to not only provide detailed analysis of regional and/or nation-specific cases of media, but also to identify transnational patterns that help deepen the understanding of the media's role in globalization.

Download or read book Rise of Democracy written by Christopher Hobson and published by Edinburgh University Press. This book was released on 2015-10-07 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores democracy's remarkable rise from obscurity to centre stage in contemporary international relations, from the rogue democratic state of 18th Century France to Western pressures for countries throughout the world to democratise.

Download or read book Deep Democracy written by Judith M. Green and published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. This book was released on 1999-10-13 with total page 263 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Deeply understood, democracy is more than a 'formal' institutional framework for which America provides the model, acting as a preferable alternative to the modern totalitarian regimes that have distorted social life around the world. At its core, as John Dewey understood, democracy is a realistic ideal, a desired and desirable future possibility that is yet-to-be. In this period of global crises in differing cultures, a shared environment, and an increasingly globalized political economy, this book provides a clear contemporary articulation of deep democracy that can guide an evolutionary deepening of democratic institutions, of habits of the heart, and of the processes of education and social inquiry that support them.

Download or read book Democratic Crossroads written by Richard Youngs and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2024 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Democratic Crossroads, Richard Youngs argues that there are three crises are altering the balance between democratic and authoritarian dynamics around the world: climate change, the Covid-19 pandemic and its economic legacy, and geopolitical conflict. Yet while they add to the strains on democracy, they are also awakening a momentum of democratic resilience and renewal. Youngs argues that without stronger commitments to uphold and improve democratic norms and practices, democracy may not weather these challenges. In a moment of pivotal change, this book highlights key factors that will determine democracy's fortunes in the future.