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Feminism (Hardcover)
Susan M Okin, Jane Mansbridge
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R12,092
Discovery Miles 120 920
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Ships in 12 - 17 working days
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This important reference collection focuses on central issues in
contemporary feminist debate. It includes sections on the critique
of mainstream political theories, the feminist reconstruction of
political concepts, the impact on moral theory of the 'different
voice' ethic of care, and the equality/difference debate. Feminism
includes the most important literature on the central themes of
domination and subordination, essentialism, race and class.
The institutional forms of liberal democracy developed in the
nineteenth century seem increasingly ill-suited to the problems we
face in the twenty-first. This dilemma has given rise in some
places to a new, deliberative democracy, and this volume explores
four contemporary empirical cases in which the principles of such a
democracy have been at least partially instituted: the
participatory budget in Porto Alegre; the school decentralization
councils and community policing councils in Chicago; stakeholder
councils in environmental protection and habitat management; and
new decentralised governance structures in Kerala. In keeping with
the other Real Utopias Project volumes, these case studies are
framed by an editors' introduction, a set of commentaries, and
concluding notes.
Throughout the West, democracy is under fire. "Government is part
of the problem, not the solution" is a common refrain. As the tasks
of the state become more complex and the size of polities larger,
the institutional forms of liberal democracy developed in the 19th
century seem increasingly unable to cope. Rather than seeking to
deepen the democratic character of politics, much energy in recent
years has been directed as reducing the role of politics
altogether. In Associations and Democracy, Joshua Cohen and Joel
Rogers advance an innovative scheme for rejuvenating the democratic
state. Their proposal involves the strengthening of secondary
associations, organizations like unions, works councils,
neighborhood associations, parent-teacher groups and women's
societies. With enlivened secondary associations mediating between
individual citizens and the state, active participation in the
political process can be expanded and democracy enhanced. Such an
approach raises a number of thorny issues: Can such associations
retain their independence from government if they are pulled
further into the political sphere? Will a shift from territorial to
functional representation further fragment an already divided
polity? In an array of original contributions, leading social
scientists respond to Cohen and Rogers with questions like these;
Cohen and Rogers, in turn, sum up the debate. The first of a series
of polemics providing workable scenarios for a progressive future,
Associations and Democracy is a lively and stimulating exploration
of one of the central issues on today's political agenda.
Deliberative democracy has been one of the main games in
contemporary political theory for two decades, growing enormously
in size and importance in political science and many other
disciplines. The Oxford Handbook of Deliberative Democracy takes
stock of deliberative democracy as a research field, in philosophy,
in various research programmes in the social sciences and law, and
in political practice around the globe. It provides a concise
history of deliberative ideals in political thought and discusses
their philosophical origins. The Handbook locates deliberation in
political systems with different spaces, publics, and venues,
including parliaments, courts, governance networks, protests,
mini-publics, old and new media, and everyday talk. It engages with
practical applications, mapping deliberation as a reform movement
and as a device for conflict resolution, documenting the practice
and study of deliberative democracy around the world and in global
governance.
This is a robust and relevant collection from a truly distinguished
group of political theorists actively rethinking the promise and
perils of democracy. The book is coherent in its focus on a common
theme and aim: to advance and refine the political project of
promoting democratic theory and practice. While the contributors
are admirers of the promotion of various models of democracy they
also express distinct approaches and concerns. Each builds on and
expands the central theme of democracy and ultimately contends with
potential limits of current configurations of democratic life.
While to some extent they share common concerns they express
considerable dissent and fruitful opposition that deepens and
advances the debate. Contributors explore democracy from different
perspectives: law and constitutionalism, globalization and
development, public life and the arts, pluralism, democracy and
education, and democratic listening and democratic participation.
The contributions point towards new ways of living and thinking
politically, new directions for contending with some of the more
significant and seemingly intractable political problems,
challenging conventional presuppositions about democracy by
expanding the boundaries of what kinds of democracy may be
possible. The book critiques liberal notions of democracy that
forefront rational autonomy and a citizenship characterized by
narrow self-interest, and critique naive claims that any
infringement on the rights of the autonomous individual must
invariably lead to authoritarianism and totalitarianism. Instead
contributors suggest that the abandonment of the res publica in
pursuit of private interests may well lead to arid politics or
authoritarianism. Citizens are called upon to be more than just
voters but rather define themselves by participation in a community
beyond their self-interest-in fact arguing, like Aristotle,
Rousseau, Jefferson and Arendt, that we are only human when we
participate in something beyond ourselves, that we forge and
preserve our political community by our commitment to and
participation in robust debate and meaningful political action.
Contributors are not only revolutionary scholars that challenge
problematic streams of democratic theory and traditions, but are
deeply involved in shaping the character and constitution of the
American body politic and promoting debates about community and
citizenship and justice around the world.
"Polarization. Partisanship. Rancor. Character assassinations.
Government shutdowns. Why can't our elected officials just get
along and do their jobs? The United States was once seen as a land
of broad consensus and pragmatic politics. Sharp ideological
differences were largely absent. But today politics in America is
dominated by intense party polarization and limited agreement among
legislative representatives on policy problems and solutions.
Americans pride themselves on their community spirit, civic
engagement, and dynamic society. Yet, as the editors of this volume
argue, we are handicapped by our national political institutions,
which often-but not always-stifle the popular desire for policy
innovation and political reforms. Negotiating Agreement in Politics
explores both the domestic and foreign political arenas to
understand the problems of political negotiation. The editors and
contributors share lessons from success stories and offer practical
advice for overcoming polarization. In deliberative negotiation,
the parties share information, link issues, and engage in joint
problem solving. Only in this way can they discover and create
possibilities, and use their collective intelligence for the good
of citizens of both parties and for the country. "
'Deliberative democracy' is often dismissed as a set of
small-scale, academic experiments. This volume seeks to demonstrate
how the deliberative ideal can work as a theory of democracy on a
larger scale. It provides a new way of thinking about democratic
engagement across the spectrum of political action, from towns and
villages to nation states, and from local networks to
transnational, even global systems. Written by a team of the
world's leading deliberative theorists, Deliberative Systems
explains the principles of this new approach, which seeks ways of
ensuring that a division of deliberative labour in a system
nonetheless meets both deliberative and democratic norms. Rather
than simply elaborating the theory, the contributors examine the
problems of implementation in a real world of competing norms,
competing institutions and competing powerful interests. This
pioneering book will inspire an exciting new phase of deliberative
research, both theoretical and empirical.
Having organized neighborhood discussion groups before World War I,
Follett traces the dynamics she noticed in these forums and
develops some core concepts useful for those working on questions
of public deliberation today. She also shows how deliberation
informs debates that raged in political theory during her own era.
She discusses the works of pluralists (Harold Laski), idealists (T.
H. Green and Bernard Bosanquet), and pragmatists (William James)
and makes important arguments about the relationship between
socialism and democracy. Her work is marked by rigorous thinking
about the implications of democratic principles as they relate to
political and socioeconomic organization. This book articulates the
formation of a "new state" growing out of the local activities of
citizens and renews the American idea of "federalism" in order to
balance local activities and national purposes. By doing this,
Follett leaves us with a pathbreaking work that demands more
attention today. With preliminary essays by Benjamin Barber and
Jane Mansbridge, plus a historical introduction provided by Kevin
Mattson, this reissued edition will be of use to scholars and
activists who are currently working on issues of democratic
participation, civic education, and public deliberation.
'Deliberative democracy' is often dismissed as a set of
small-scale, academic experiments. This volume seeks to demonstrate
how the deliberative ideal can work as a theory of democracy on a
larger scale. It provides a new way of thinking about democratic
engagement across the spectrum of political action, from towns and
villages to nation states, and from local networks to
transnational, even global systems. Written by a team of the
world's leading deliberative theorists, Deliberative Systems
explains the principles of this new approach, which seeks ways of
ensuring that a division of deliberative labour in a system
nonetheless meets both deliberative and democratic norms. Rather
than simply elaborating the theory, the contributors examine the
problems of implementation in a real world of competing norms,
competing institutions and competing powerful interests. This
pioneering book will inspire an exciting new phase of deliberative
research, both theoretical and empirical.
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