Der vorliegende Sammelband leistet einen interdisziplinaren Beitrag zur Osteuropaforschung und analysiert vergangene sowie aktuelle Prozesse in der Region. Die Beitrage schlagen einen Bogen vom Staatssozialismus uber die Transformation hin zum Nachdenken uber alternative Entwicklungen. Was war der Staatssozialismus? Wie pragte der Transformationsprozess die Staaten Mittel- und Osteuropas? Welche emanzipativen Potenziale ermoglichten diese Prozesse? Angesichts aktueller Entwicklungen erscheint eine intensive Beschaftigung mit der Region wichtiger denn je. Das Buch ist zugleich die Festschrift zu Ehren von Prof. Dr. Dieter Segert, der die Osteuropaforschung durch seine vielschichtigen Zugange gepragt hat.

When we participate in political debate or protests, we are judged by how we look, which clothes we wear, by our skin colour, gender and body language. This results in exclusions and limits our freedom of expression. The Politics of Becoming explores radical democratic acts of disidentification to counter this problem. Anonymity in masked protest, graffiti, and online debate interrupts our everyday identities. This allows us to live our multiple selves. In the digital age, anonymity becomes an inherent part of everyday communication. Through our smart devices we express our selves differently. As cyborgs our identities are disrupted and reassembled. We curate self-representations on social media, create avatars, share selfies and choose the skin colour of our emojis. The Politics of Becoming encourages us to engage in a revolution of the self. Democratic pluralism is not only a matter of institutional design but also about how we express our identities. Inner revolutions change our personal realities and plant a seed for democratic futures. Praise for The Politics of Becoming: "The Politics of Becoming presents a striking and creative reworking of key aspects of democratic theory and practice, inviting the reader to rethink what presence, democratic spaces, equality, pluralism, and freedom now can and should mean. This revelation of ways to be democratic is essential reading for anyone interested in the contemporary prospects for democracy." John Dryzek "Social movement studies have often noted that, while normative standards aim at inclusivity, participatory spaces often discriminate marginalised subjects. This important volume reflects on how a politics of becoming can contribute to improve democratic qualities." Donatella della Porta "This uniquely relevant book draws a map to our civic future, and invites us to digitally transport ourselves there." Zizi Papacharissi

This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International licence. It is free to read at Oxford Scholarship Online and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. Deliberative democracy is a diverse and rapidly growing field of research. But how can deliberative democracy be studied? Research Methods in Deliberative Democracy provides a unique collection of over 30 methods to study deliberative democracy. Written in an accessible style, it provides guidance for scholars and students on how to conduct rigorous and creative research on the public sphere, structured forums, and political institutions. Each chapter introduces a particular method, elaborates its utility in deliberative democracy research, and provides guidance on its application, as well as illustrations from previous studies. This book celebrates the methodological pluralism in the field, and hopes to inspire scholars to undertake methodologically robust, intellectually creative, and politically relevant empirical research.

This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International licence. It is free to read at Oxford Scholarship Online and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. Deliberative democracy is a diverse and rapidly growing field of research. But how can deliberative democracy be studied? Research Methods in Deliberative Democracy provides a unique collection of over 30 methods to study deliberative democracy. Written in an accessible style, it provides guidance for scholars and students on how to conduct rigorous and creative research on the public sphere, structured forums, and political institutions. Each chapter introduces a particular method, elaborates its utility in deliberative democracy research, and provides guidance on its application, as well as illustrations from previous studies. This book celebrates the methodological pluralism in the field, and hopes to inspire scholars to undertake methodologically robust, intellectually creative, and politically relevant empirical research.