Download or read book The dialectics of agency and structure in transitional democracy written by Samson Ajagbe and published by GRIN Verlag. This book was released on 2015-07-27 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Doctoral Thesis / Dissertation from the year 2015 in the subject Sociology - Politics, Majorities, Minorities, grade: 1,8, University of Freiburg (Institute of Sociology), course: Sociology, language: English, abstract: This thesis argues that we can no longer ignore elite’s enrolment of institutions in rendering what they do intelligible as political outcomes in our understanding of African politics. The complex interdependency between elites and institution inheres into politics in ways political practices and actions are fabricated as permissible in the state of affair. This interaction is best understood through Actor-Network Theory (ANT) which essentializes hybridization in its conceptualization of the world. In this network thinking, transitional elites align and advance their interests through translating and enrolling institutions in the process of democratization. The analysis draws from Nigeria’s democratization experience to bring together the institutional components of the state and leadership, i.e. elites, which have been mostly analyzed as separate entities in the study of democratization. The actor-network theory is used both as a conceptual frame and as a method for analyzing democratization as an outcome of the content of the two main societal forces— elite and institution. The actor-network theory’s, developed by Michel Callon and Bruno Latour, and their collaborators, flat ontology provides a way to bypass agency/structure dichotomy to inscribe network thinking in relations of democratization in Africa. The actor-network was originally theorized by Focault but not nurtured and, therefore, muted in his governmentality study. In this view, this thesis builds on the explanatory potentials of network analysis that enable a socio-technical account of political transition with all those particularities, contradictions and surprising turn of events. The “old-guard autocrats” in politics in Nigeria is used as the human element of the network. The non-human element is operationalized through the institutionalized power sharing norm and political patronage relationships. The analysis thus recognizes the interaction between the human (elites) and the non-human (institution) as actors that define adaptive and emergent characters of democratization.

Download or read book The Dialectics of Agency and Structure in Transitional Democracy written by Samson Ajagbe and published by . This book was released on 2015-07-30 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Doctoral Thesis / Dissertation from the year 2015 in the subject Sociology - Political Sociology, Majorities, Minorities, grade: 1,8, University of Freiburg (Institute of Sociology), course: Sociology, language: English, abstract: This thesis argues that we can no longer ignore elite's enrolment of institutions in rendering what they do intelligible as political outcomes in our understanding of African politics. The complex interdependency between elites and institution inheres into politics in ways political practices and actions are fabricated as permissible in the state of affair. This interaction is best understood through Actor-Network Theory (ANT) which essentializes hybridization in its conceptualization of the world. In this network thinking, transitional elites align and advance their interests through translating and enrolling institutions in the process of democratization. The analysis draws from Nigeria's democratization experience to bring together the institutional components of the state and leadership, i.e. elites, which have been mostly analyzed as separate entities in the study of democratization. The actor-network theory is used both as a conceptual frame and as a method for analyzing democratization as an outcome of the content of the two main societal forces- elite and institution. The actor-network theory's, developed by Michel Callon and Bruno Latour, and their collaborators, flat ontology provides a way to bypass agency/structure dichotomy to inscribe network thinking in relations of democratization in Africa. The actor-network was originally theorized by Focault but not nurtured and, therefore, muted in his governmentality study. In this view, this thesis builds on the explanatory potentials of network analysis that enable a socio-technical account of political transition with all those particularities, contradictions and surprising turn of events. The "old-guard autocrats" in politics in Nigeria is used as the human element of the netw

Download or read book The End of Western Hegemonies written by Marie-Josée Lavallée and published by Vernon Press. This book was released on with total page 419 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the face of recent trends like growing authoritarianism and xenophobic nationalism, the rise of the Far Right, the explosion of economic and social inequalities, heightened geopolitical contest and global capitalism’s endless crisis, and the impacts of shocks like the Covid-19 pandemic, discourses about the ‘decline of the West’ no more look like mere ruminations of a handful of cultural depressives and politically disillusioned; they sound increasingly realistic. This volume addresses this issue by mapping and analyzing the forms, mechanisms, strategies, and effects, in the past, the present, and the future, of Western hegemonies, namely, asymmetrical relations that bring advantages or, at least, secure the superiority of Western state and non-state actors in politics, economics, and culture broadly understood. Over the past decades and centuries, Westerners never ceased claiming supremacy in all these spheres. A host of these relations were initiated through colonialism and imperialism, and perpetuated through informal imperialism, but there are other channels: political interference, inequalities between countries, and attempts at affirming the supremacy of the so-called Western way of life was also secured through the military might and economic power of great Western actors. This book explores sites of Western hegemonies and contributes to understanding the mechanisms through which international hierarchies are formed and maintained. Bringing together the research of scholars from various fields in the humanities and social sciences, political science, international relations, political philosophy, sociology, history, postcolonial studies, criminology, and linguistics, this volume develops a multidisciplinary outlook on the issue of Western hegemonies that allows uncovering resemblances between various forms of asymmetrical relations and their mechanisms.

Download or read book The Social Question and the Democratic Revolution written by Douglas Moggach and published by University of Ottawa Press. This book was released on 2000 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The revolutionary movements of 1848 viewed the political cataclysm of continental Europe as an explosion of liberty, a new age of freedom and equality. This collection focuses on the relationship between democratic and socialist currents in 1848, seeking to reassess the relevance of these currents to the present era of global economic liberalism. Published in English.

Download or read book Civil Society and Democracy in Nigeria written by Bernard Nwosu and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-07-28 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines the complex relationship between the state and civil society and the impact that this has had on democratization processes in Nigeria from colonial times to the present. Expanding notions of democracy, the author builds a theoretical understanding of civil society to show how it can be both antithetical to and an ally of the state in the struggle for democratization. Combining the neo-Gramscian framework with discursive perspectives from Habermas and Foucault, the book takes a dialectical approach that traces the incarnations of the state and civil society and relates the mutual connections of the two spaces. This book will be of interest to scholars of African politics, democratization and civil society.

Download or read book State of Crisis written by Zygmunt Bauman and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2014-07-17 with total page 151 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Today we hear much talk of crisis and comparisons are often made with the Great Depression of the 1930s, but there is a crucial difference that sets our current malaise apart from the 1930s: today we no longer trust in the capacity of the state to resolve the crisis and to chart a new way forward. In our increasingly globalized world, states have been stripped of much of their power to shape the course of events. Many of our problems are globally produced but the volume of power at the disposal of individual nation-states is simply not sufficient to cope with the problems they face. This divorce between power and politics produces a new kind of paralysis. It undermines the political agency that is needed to tackle the crisis and it saps citizens’ belief that governments can deliver on their promises. The impotence of governments goes hand in hand with the growing cynicism and distrust of citizens. Hence the current crisis is at once a crisis of agency, a crisis of representative democracy and a crisis of the sovereignty of the state. In this book the world-renowned sociologist Zygmunt Bauman and fellow traveller Carlo Bordoni explore the social and political dimensions of the current crisis. While this crisis has been greatly exacerbated by the turmoil following the financial crisis of 2007-8, Bauman and Bordoni argue that the crisis facing Western societies is rooted in a much more profound series of transformations that stretch back further in time and are producing long-lasting effects. This highly original analysis of our current predicament by two of the world’s leading social thinkers will be of interest to a wide readership.

Download or read book The Media in Transitional Democracies written by Katrin Voltmer and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2013-07-10 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The last quarter of a century has seen an unprecedented wave of democratization around the globe. In these transitions from authoritarian rule to a more democratic order, the media have played a key role both by facilitating, but frequently also inhibiting, democratic practices to take root. This book provides an accessible and systematic introduction to the media in transitional democracies. It analyses the problems that occur when transforming the media into independent institutions that are able to inform citizens and hold governments to account. The book covers the following topics: normative conceptions of media and democracy; the role of the past in the transition process; the internet as a new space for democratic change; the persistence of political interference in emerging democracies; the interlocking power of media markets and political ownership; the challenges to journalistic professionalism in post-authoritarian contexts; the role of the media in divided societies; The book takes a global view by exploring the interplay of political and media transitions in different pathways of democratization that have taken place in Eastern Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia. It will be of interest to advanced students and scholars who want a better understanding of the media outside established Western democracies. The book will also be of great value to policymakers and activists who are involved in strengthening the media in transitional democracies.

Download or read book The Routledge International Handbook of European Social Transformations written by Peeter Vihalemm and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-11-22 with total page 419 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book focuses on social transformations as one of the central topics in the social sciences. The study of European social transformations is very valuable in the context of universal discussions within social sciences: explaining invariable, universal attributes of societies and examining changing attributes. The book consists of 20 chapters on European social transformations, written from the perspectives of distinguished scholars from such disciplines as economics, political science, educational science, geography, media and communication studies, public management and administration, social psychology and sociology. The temporal and spatial range of the book is wide, including such global changes as time-space compression, focusing particularly on change processes in Europe during the last two decades. The book consists of four main parts, beginning with an overview of the theoretical and methodological approaches, and then focusing separately on post-communist transformations, institutional drivers of social transformations in the European Union, and European transformations in the context of global processes. The book presents current theoretical, empirical and methodological approaches that complement the scientific literature on social transformations. This book is both an invaluable resource for scholars and an indispensable teaching tool for use in the classroom and will be of interest to students, academics, and policy-makers studying how this diverse region has changed over recent years.

Download or read book Institutions and Organizations as Learning Environments for Participation and Democracy written by Reingard Spannring and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2023-01-01 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book discusses opportunities and limitations to democratic participation in institutions and organizations across the life course. It demonstrates that democratic participation is not something that is learned once and for all and applied in formal political settings, but something that is lived every day throughout life in various contexts. Institutions and organizations frame human lives and strongly determine the ability to participate and co-determine their communities. They are places for learning, deliberation and the development of the common good. The book conceptually and empirically analyses the potential of democratic participation within various institutions. The contributions range from early childhood institutions, schools, youth programs, workplaces, and vocational education to cultural organizations and nursing homes for the elderly. The book thereby provides a cross-sectional and interdisciplinary knowledge base to inspire future research and practical efforts to promote democratic participation within and across institutions around the world.

Download or read book Sustainable Urbanism and Direct Action written by Benjamin Heim Shepard and published by Radical Subjects in International Politics. This book was released on 2023-01-31 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Urban activism can manifest in many guises, from community gardening to mass naked bike rides. But how might we theorize the evidence of the collisions between social forces that take place in our streets and public commons? Cities are formed through these collective collisions in time. This book draws on the author's own vast experience as an activist to make links between a theory of practice with rich discussion of the histories of conflicts over public space. Each chapter examines activist responses to a range of issues that have confronted New Yorkers, from the struggle for green space and non-polluting transportation, for housing and the fight for sexual civil liberties. The cases are shaped through interplay between multiple data sources, including the author's own voice as an observing participant, as well as interviews with other participant activists, historic accounts and theoretical discussion. Taken together, these highlight a story of urban public space movements and the ways they shape cities and are shaped by history.

Download or read book Democracy and Democratization in Comparative Perspective written by Jørgen Møller and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides an introduction to theory and research on democracy and democratization. From this foundation, it elucidates a systematic framework to conceptualize democracy for comparative study.

Download or read book The SAGE Handbook of Social Network Analysis written by John Scott and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2011-10-07 with total page 642 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This sparkling Handbook offers an unrivalled resource for those engaged in the cutting edge field of social network analysis. Systematically, it introduces readers to the key concepts, substantive topics, central methods and prime debates. Among the specific areas covered are: Network theory Interdisciplinary applications Online networks Corporate networks Lobbying networks Deviant networks Measuring devices Key Methodologies Software applications. The result is a peerless resource for teachers and students which offers a critical survey of the origins, basic issues and major debates. The Handbook provides a one-stop guide that will be used by readers for decades to come.

Download or read book Habermas and the Public Sphere written by Craig Calhoun and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 1993-03-02 with total page 516 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, scholars from a wide range of disciplines respond to Habermas's most directly relevant work, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere. The relationship between civil society and public life is in the forefront of contemporary discussion. No single scholarly voice informs this discussion more than that of Jürgen Habermas. His contributions have shaped the nature of debates over critical theory, feminism, cultural studies, and democratic politics. In this book, scholars from a wide range of disciplines respond to Habermas's most directly relevant work, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere. From political theory to cultural criticism, from ethics to gender studies, from history to media studies, these essays challenge, refine, and extend our understanding of the social foundations and changing character of democracy and public discourse. Contributors Hannah Arendt, Keith Baker, Seyla Benhabib, Harry C. Boyte, Craig Calhoun, Geoff Eley, Nancy Fraser, Nicholas Garnham, Jürgen Habermas, Peter Hohendahl, Lloyd Kramer, Benjamin Lee, Thomas McCarthy, Moishe Postone, Mary P. Ryan, Michael Schudson, Michael Warner, David Zaret

Download or read book The Dialectic of Freedom written by Maxine Greene and published by Teachers College Press. This book was released on 1988 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Special 2018 Edition From the new Introduction by Michelle Fine, Graduate Center, CUNY : "Why now, you may ask, should I return to a book written in 1988? Because, in Maxine's words: 'When freedom is the question, it is always time to begin.'" In The Dialectic of Freedom, Maxine Greene argues that freedom must be achieved through continuing resistance to the forces that limit, condition, determine, and—too frequently—oppress. Examining the interrelationship between freedom, possibility, and imagination in American education, Greene taps the fields of philosophy, history, educational theory, and literature in order to discuss the many struggles that have characterized Americans’ quests for freedom in the midst of what is conceived to be a free society. Accounts of the lives of women, immigrants, and minority groups highlight the ways in which Americans have gone in search of openings in their lived situations, learned to look at things as if they could be otherwise, and taken action on what they found. Greene presents a unique overview of American concepts and images of freedom from Jefferson’s time to the present. She examines the ways in which the disenfranchised have historically understood and acted on their freedom—or lack of it—in dealing with perceived and real obstacles to expression and empowerment. Strong emphasis is placed on the focal role of the arts and art experience in releasing human imagination and enabling the young to reach toward their vision of the possible. The author concludes with suggestions for approaches to teaching and learning that can provoke both educators and students to take initiatives, to transcend limits, and to pursue freedom—not in solitude, but in reciprocity with others, not in privacy, but in a public space. “Greene triumphs in her search for a critical aesthetic to inform education.” —Harvard Educational Review “It is a book that deserves to be read by all who teach.” —Journal of Aesthetic Education

Download or read book Explanation and Social Theory written by John Holmwood and published by Springer. This book was released on 1993-06-18 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Modern social science is largely pessimistic about social life and inquiry and this text traces the reasons for this. It argues for a creative and progressive social science to tackle the real problems of society and to find a solution which would expand human competence and practical resources.

Download or read book The New Handbook of Political Sociology written by Thomas Janoski and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2020-03-05 with total page 1412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Political sociology is a large and expanding field with many new developments, and The New Handbook of Political Sociology supplies the knowledge necessary to keep up with this exciting field. Written by a distinguished group of leading scholars in sociology, this volume provides a survey of this vibrant and growing field in the new millennium. The Handbook presents the field in six parts: theories of political sociology, the information and knowledge explosion, the state and political parties, civil society and citizenship, the varieties of state policies, and globalization and how it affects politics. Covering all subareas of the field with both theoretical orientations and empirical studies, it directly connects scholars with current research in the field. A total reconceptualization of the first edition, the new handbook features nine additional chapters and highlights the impact of the media and big data.

Download or read book Evolutionary Governance Theory written by Kristof van Assche and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-07-26 with total page 95 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ​This short books offers the reader a remarkable new perspective on the way markets, laws and societies evolve together. It can be of use to anyone interested in development, market and public sector reform, public administration, politics & law. Based on a wide variety of case studies on three continents and a variety of conceptual sources, the authors develop a theory that clarifies the nature and functioning of dependencies that mark governance evolutions. This in turn delineates in an entirely new manner the spaces open for policy experiment. As such, it offers a new mapping of the middle ground between libertarianism and social engineering. Theoretically, the approach draws on a wide array of sources: institutional & development economics, systems theories, post-structuralism, actor- network theories, planning theory and legal studies.