Matt Qvortrup

The politics of participation (eBook, ePUB)

From Athens to e-democracy

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

We live in an age of democracy. Very few people challenge the virtues of 'government by the people', yet politicians and commentators are fond of decrying the 'crisis of democracy'. How do these views square up? This book provides the answer by surveying the philosophical history of democracy and its critics and by analysing empirical data about citizen participation in Britain and other developed democracies. In addition to analysis of major political thinkers like Plato, Machiavelli and J.S. Mill, the book analyses how modern technology has influenced democracy. Among the issues discussed in the book are why people vote and what determines their decisions, what prompts citizen involvement in riots and demonstrations, whether spin doctors and designer politics pose a threat to democracy and the influence of mass media on our political behaviour. More than merely providing an overview, the book also presents original analyses of timely issues such as referendums and the consequences of postal voting. An essential book for students of politics, history and media studies, this study puts the debate about democracy into perspective and offers a solid grounding for future discussions.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Bonnier Books UK
• Seitenzahl: 200
• Erscheinungstermin: 19. Juli 2013
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781847796981
• Artikelnr.: 44000352

Autorenporträt

Matt Qvortrup is Professor of Political Science at the Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen

Inhaltsangabe

Introduction A note on the data PART I: THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF CITIZEN
POLITICS 1. Understanding citizen politics: a methodological overview 2.
Participation and democracy from the Greeks to our times PART II: EMPIRICAL
FOUNDATIONS OF CITIZEN POLITICS 3. An empirical approach to citizen
politics 4. Bottom-up politics: riots and extra-parliamentary politics 5.
Top-down initiated citizen politics: E-democracy, citizen juries and
designer politics 6. Citizens as voters 7. Excursus: The power of the
representatives PART III: CASE STUDIES IN CITIZEN DEMOCRACY 8. Decisions to
hold referendums in the UK 9. Voting by the people: the referendums on the
European constitution 10. Absentee voting in a comparative perspective 11.
Quo vadis democracy? References