Search results for " democracy"

Democratic Meta-Deliberation: Towards Reflective Institutional Design

2014

Theories of deliberative democracy are popular for their promise that in a deliberative polity, democracy can realise both participatory politics and rational policies. However, they are also confronted with the allegation that by qualifying essentially non-democratic practices as deliberative, they inadvertently (or not) become accomplices in the trend towards post-democratic governance. A central example of such a development is the rise of non-majoritarian bodies to which governments delegate decision making, thereby de-politicising conflicts and turning democratic discourses into technocratic ones. This article adopts a systemic perspective on deliberative democracy, asking whether non-…

E-Democracy and Public Online Budgeting

2014

If social media are to reinforce sustainability of political decisions their design has conceptually to take into account the implications of deliberative democracy, which stresses the active co-operation of virtually all citizens of a democracy for the purposes of participatory involvement. Essential to deliberative e-democracy is therefore a technologically supported comprehensive discourse about political subjects which is also called Deliberation. Theoretical implications of Deliberation are discussed from the angle of political science and social psychology. Finally, the practical implications of Deliberation rooted in social media are exemplified by an online citizen involvement for t…

El nuevo dilema de la izquierda: identidad vs justicia social

2011

ResumenLa izquierda carece en la actualidad de iniciativa real. Desde la caída del muro se vio ampliamente desbordada por el neocapitalismo. La idea de justicia social dejaba entonces de tener valor. Desde entonces los partidos de izquierda no asumen posiciones diáfanas en este sentido. No reivindican la justicia social y son ambiguos frente a las condiciones que impone el capitalismo. Sitúan el eje de sus discurso político en cuestiones más relacionadas con la identidad, que con la justicia social y la clase social. De la respuesta a la pregunta ¿sigue siendo hoy una prioridad para la izquierda la búsqueda de la justicia social?, dependerá en buena medida la razón de su existencia. Abstrac…

La “democrazia diretta” e la sua comunicazione visuale

2021

This text explains the current call for direct (or pure) democracy as a consequence of the pervasive weight of visual culture in the contemporary world.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CITIZENS’ TRUST IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PARTICIPATION IN LOCAL GOVERNANCE

2021

The article analyses the relationship between citizens’ trust in local government institutions and participation in local governance. The research results have revealed that citizens’ trust in local government is still low and participation lacks activeness. Civic participation is more active than political participation. According to the research results, the main reasons of absence of participation in local governance are lack of information and knowledge about public participation, lack of information about participation opportunities, lack of communication and response to expressed opinion and suggestions. The results of quantitative research showed that participation and trust dimensio…

Unequal Attainments: Ethnic educational inequalities in ten Western countries

2014

Western countries have become increasingly diverse in recent decades and these demographic trends are certain to continue. The resulting ethnic diversity is a major challenge to policy-makers, who need to tackle issues of social justice and social integration. Education plays a pivotal role since it is the major stepping stone for the children of immigrants to successful economic integration and also plays a major role in social and political integration more generally since education gives access to the skills, resources and contacts which enable individuals to participate fully in the life of their society. Our central research questions are: Do the descendants of migrants experience equa…

Participative Planning Processes in the Absence of the (Public) Space of Democracy

2010

Abstract This article aims to investigate the role, limits and opportunities of participation programmes in a local political context where consensus-building and inclusionary practices are not high priorities. A public housing neighbourhood in Palermo is used as a case study in order to critically highlight the ambiguous role that participative practices tend to play in fragile contexts. The case study also highlights the need for some preconditions for effective participatory practices in planning. These preconditions are focused on Arendt's notion of the ‘space of democracy’. Some concepts developed by Hannah Arendt will be used to explain the necessity of these preconditions, and their …

Grassroots Social Innovation for Human Development: An Analysis of Alternative Food Networks in the City of Valencia (Spain)

2017

This paper explores the contribution the capability approach (CA) and grassroots innovation (GI) literature makes to a better understanding of the complexity, richness and specificity of bottom-up processes of social innovation (SI), and their specific contribution to social transformation. Using a purely qualitative methodology, the paper addresses a case study—organic food buying groups in the city of Valencia—and examines them through the lenses of SI, GI and CA. By taking four concurrent dimensions of the SI literature (agents, purposes, drivers and processes) and cross-fertilising them with the bottom-up, people-driven character of GI, and the concepts of agency, capabilities, delibera…

Thinking through Transition. Liberal Democracy, Authoritarian Pasts, and Intellectual History in East Central Europe after 1989

2017

Los derechos de participación en Ecuador siete años después de la aprobación de la constitución: de derechos constituyentes a derechos constitucional…

2015

Con la voluntad de cambiar el modelo de democracia liberal representativa y dar mayor protagonismo a la participación popular, la nueva constitución ecuatoriana de 2008 reconoció todo un conjunto de nuevos derechos de participación. El presente artículo parte de la idea de que estos derechos, igual que los demás, pueden adquirir la forma de lo que llamaremos “derechos constituyentes” o “derechos constitucionales”. A partir de aquí, el artículo plantea que si bien existió una voluntad constituyente, así como la base jurídica suficiente en el texto constitucional de 2008, para poder desarrolla…