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      • Trusted Partner
        Business, Economics & Law
        August 2008

        Globalizing democracy

        Power, legitimacy and the interpretation of democratic ideas (2nd ed.)

        by Katherine Fierlbeck

        This new edition examines some of the philosophical and theoretical issues underlying the 'democratic project' which increasingly dominates the fields of comparative development and international relations. The first concern presented here is normative and epistemological: as democracy becomes more widely accepted as the political currency of legitimacy, the more broadly it is defined. But as agreement decreases regarding the definition of democracy, the less we are able to evaluate how it is working, or indeed whether it is working at all. The second issue is causal: what are the claims being made regarding how best to secure a democratic system in developing states? To what extent do our beliefs and expectations of how political relations ought to be governed distort our understanding of how democratic societies do in fact emerge; and, conversely, to what extent does our understanding of how democracy manifests itself temper our conception of what it ought to be? The volume will be of interest to those in international development studies, as well as political theorists with an interest in applied ethics. ;

      • Trusted Partner
      • Trusted Partner
        July 2023

        Democracy Into Children's Minds

        Why our future will be decided in schools

        by Julian Nida-Rümelin/Klaus Zierer

        — By two renowned authors from the fields of philosophy and education — Julian Nida-Rümelin – a popular talk show guest The debate about the correct school policy has been going on for many years. And there's no end to the bad news regarding the shortage of teachers, poor performance by students at PISA or the lack of suitable equipment in schools. What is being neglected in the discussions about the education policy but is, in fact, a central momentum in its development, is the school's task of conveying democratic values and patterns of action. This is the only way our society's supporting pillars can be strengthened in future generations. In the light of the complex situation, from the authors' point of view it is important to formulate a wake-up call: Democracy education – now!

      • Trusted Partner
        Business, Economics & Law
        September 2004

        Trade unions and democracy

        Strategies and perspectives

        by Mark Harcourt, Geoffrey Wood

        This book explores the changing role of trade unions as products of, and agents for, democracy. Despite conventionally being portrayed as politically marginalised and in terminal decline, trade unions continue to represent a significant component of society within most industrialised countries and have demonstrated a capacity for revival and renewal in the face of difficult corcumstances. It brings together a distinguished panel of leading and emerging scholars in the field, and provides a critical assessment of the current role of trade unions in society, their capacity to impact on state policies in such a manner as to ensure greater accountability and fairness, and the nature and extent of internal representative democracy within the labour movement. This volume will be of interest to students and academics in industrial relations, critical management studies, political studies and sociology. ;

      • Trusted Partner
        Trade unions
        April 2009

        Trade unions and democracy

        Strategies and perspectives

        by Edited by Mark Harcourt and Geoffrey Wood

        Available for the first time in paperback, this book explores the role of trade unions as products of, and agents for, democracy. The crisis facing established democratic institutions in the advanced societies has been widely noted. In response, there has been increasing interest in the role of civil society actors, ranging from established socio-political collectives to new grassroots organisations. On the one hand, conventional wisdom holds that organised labour in the advanced societies has remained locked in a cycle of political marginalisation and decline. On the other hand, unions continue to represent a significant component of society within most industrialised countries. Indeed, in many cases, they have demonstrated a capacity for effective renewal and for co-ordinating their efforts with other civil society actors as part and parcel of the current groudswell of public opinion against the neo-liberal orthodoxy. The book brings together a distinguished panel of leading and emerging scholars in the field, and provides a critical assessment of the current role of unions in society, their capacity to impact on state policies in such a manner as to ensure greater accountability and fairness, and the nature and extent of internal representative democracy within the labour movement. This volume will be of interest to students and academics in the fields of industrial relations, critical management studies, political studies and sociology, as well as trade union and community activists.

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        July 2010

        Groups, representation and democracy

        Between promise and practice

        by Darren Halpin

        Whether called pressure groups, NGOs, social movement organisations or organised civil society, the value of 'groups' to the policy process, to economic growth, to governance, to political representation and to democracy has always been contested. However, there seems to be a contemporary resurgence in this debate largely centred on their democratising potential: can groups effectively link citizens to political institutions and policy processes? Are groups an antidote to emerging democratic deficits? Or do groups themselves face challenges in demonstrating their legitimacy and representativeness? This book debates the democratic potential and practice of groups; focussing on the vibrancy of internal democracies, and modes of accountability with those who join such groups and to the constituencies they advocate for. It draws on literatures covering national, European and global levels, and presents new empirical material from the UK and Australia ;

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        March 2023

        Socialist republic

        Remaking the British left in 1980s Sheffield

        by Daisy Payling

        Socialist republic is a timely account of 1980s left-wing politics in South Yorkshire. It explores how Sheffield City Council set out to renew the British Left. Through careful analysis of the Council's agenda and how it interacted with trade unions, women's groups, lesbian and gay rights groups and acted on issues such as peace, environmentalism, anti-apartheid and anti-racism, the book draws out the complexities involved in building a broad-based politics which aimed unite class and identity politics. Running counter to 1980s narratives dominated by Thatcherism, the book examines the persistence of social democracy locally, demonstrating how grassroots local histories can enrich our understanding of political developments on a national and international level. The book is essential reading for students, scholars, and activists with an interest in left-wing politics and history.

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        August 2021

        Democracy on demand

        by Matt Qvortrup

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        July 2006

        Democracy in Scandinavia

        Consensual, majoritarian or mixed?

        by David Arter, Bill Jones

        This book is about the distinctive features of Scandinavian democracy, the state of Scandinavian democracy and the classification of the Scandinavian democracies. It breaks new ground in challenging the established status of the Scandinavian countries as 'consensus model democracies'. The book poses three main questions. First, what are the distinctive features of the five Scandinavian political systems when compared with the Westminster model of democracy? Next, how well does the evidence from recent commissions suggest that Scandinavian democracy is working in practice? Finally, is Scandinavian democracy consensual, majoritarian or mixed? The nature of legislative-executive relations is explored, with a particular focus on the role of the parliamentary opposition and its involvement in policy-making. The central conclusion is that all the Nordic states are majoritarian democracies, albeit with varying amounts of consensual legislative behaviour. ;

      • Trusted Partner
        Politics & government
        February 2017

        Sunningdale, the Ulster Workers' Council strike and the struggle for democracy in Northern Ireland

        by Edited by David McCann, Cillian McGrattan

        The 'Sunningdale experiment' of 1973-4 witnessed the first attempt to establish peace in Northern Ireland through power-sharing. However, its provisions, particularly the cross-border 'Council of Ireland', proved to be a step too far. The experiment floundered amid ongoing paramilitary-led violence, finally collapsing in May 1974 as a result of the Ulster Workers' Council strike. Drawing on new scholarship from some of the top political historians working on the period, this book presents a series of reflections on how key protagonists struggled with notions of power-sharing and the 'Irish dimension', and how those struggles inhibited a deepening of democracy and the ending of violence for so long.

      • Trusted Partner
        Business, Economics & Law
        June 2019

        China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation:

        Case Studies and Plans

        by Secretariat of the First China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo Organizing Committee

        China-Africa Economics and Trade Cooperation: Case Studies and Plans comes in 3 languages: Chinese(2 volumes), English(2 volumes), and French(2 volumes). This book series include 101 excellent case studies , which related to 21 Chinese provinces and cities and 31 countries in Africa, containing agriculture, manufacturing, commerce and trade, infrastructure, industrial parks, energy and mining, financing and other fields in China-Africa economic and trade cooperation. This set of books is practical and useful for all readers. In addition, the book gives the vivid interpretation on the concept of common prosperity, win-win cooperation, mutual negotiation and construction, shared innovation and progression of Belt and Road Initiative.

      • Trusted Partner
        Business, Economics & Law
        January 2010

        Democracy in crisis

        Violence, alterity, community

        by Stella Gaon

        This volume explores the political implications of violence and alterity (radical difference) for the practice of democracy, and reformulates the possibility of community that democracy is said to entail. Most significantly, contributors intervene in traditional democratic theory by boldly contesting the widely-held assumption that increased inclusion, tolerance and cultural recognition are democracy's sufficient conditions. Rather than simply inquiring how best to expand the 'demos', they investigate how claims to self-determination, identity and sovereignty are a problem for democracy and how, paradoxically, alterity may be its greatest strength. Drawing largely on the Left, continental tradition, contributions include an appeal to the tension between fear and love in the face of anti-Semitism in Poland, injunctions to rethink the identity-difference binary and the ideal of 'mutual recognition' that dominate liberal-democratic thought, critiques of the canonical 'we' that constitutes the democratic community, and a call for an ethics and a politics of 'dissensus' in democratic struggles against racist and sexist oppression. The authors mobilise some of the most powerful critical insights emerging across the social sciences and humanities - from anthropology, sociology, critical legal studies, Marxism, psychoanalysis and critical race theory and post-colonial studies - to reconsider the meaning and the possibility of 'democracy' in the face of its contemporary crisis. The book will be of direct interest to students and scholars interested in cutting-edge, critical reflection on the empirical phenomenon of increased violence in the West provoked by radical difference, and on theories of radical political change. ;

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        September 1999

        Democracy in Latin America

        by Geraldine Lievesley

        This book offers an insight into the democratic processes and institutions in Latin and Central America. It analyses the different political systems and the challenges to them from the Left and popular movements. Lievesley questions how far democracy is embedded in Latin and Central American and asks what constitutes citizenship in political cultures which remain highly differentiated in terms of the structures and relations of power. She does this through an evaluation of the two distinct perspectives of democracy: the liberal pacted and the radical participatory models. Established political systems, systems in transition from military to civilian rule and Socialist systems are viewed through the prism of these two models. The inter-relationship between state, military, political parties and popular movements are examined with a view to determining the possibility of the emergence of a new politics, which would be inclusion rather than exclusionary and would pursue social justice. The book will provide a stimulating assessment of the region's politics for undergraduates and will provoke debate for postgraduates.

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        December 2017

        Direct democracy

        by Matt Qvortrup

      • Trusted Partner
      • Trusted Partner

        An Artist's Journey

        by Mizouni Bannani

        ‘An Artist’s Journey’ emphasises the values of loyalty and belonging to one’s homeland, speaking to teens in an eloquent and beautiful language while raising several contemporary issues. These include illegal immigration and problems faced by expatriates in their lives, as well as the value of the artist in society and the importance of practicing arts to cultivate souls and encourage cultural integration.   It’s an interesting story told by an enlightened grandmother in the Hakawati style. She uses sound effects, masks and drawing tools while narrating the tale, utilising stimulating methods between one chapter and another to make the novel a story that can be heard, drawn and represented. The story speaks to the reader from the perspective of small and colourful birds, to provide them with a miniature example of a desired civic life in our Arab Islamic societies based on the values of justice, equality, respect for the supremacy of law, tolerance, love, cooperation, national identity, and defending the homeland. This is in addition to different forms of democracy such as consultation, elections, dialogue and debate, to resolve disputes and reject violence and extremism.   The book relies on the elegance and aesthetics of expression to connect with a young audience and is rich in imagery and metaphorical expression, proceeding slowly but excitingly, and is infused with imagination. The use of language is similarly inspired. In the book, birds can speak as they fly across and through the world, taking readers on a journey with wings of imagination; they are no longer just readers, but participants too.   This work encourages educators and pedagogists in general to teach in different ways, such as using art to encourage children to pursue knowledge, acquire life skills and develop their intelligence.   Age Range: 9+ years

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        May 2024

        The Official Record

        Oversight, national security and democracy

        by Peter Finn, Robert Ledger

        The construction, control and preservation of the Official Record is inherently contested. Those seeking greater openness and (democratic) accountability argue 'sunlight is [...] the best of disinfectants', while others seek stricter information control because, to their mind, sound government arises when advice and policy are formulated secretly. This edited volume explores the intersection of the Official Record, oversight, national security and democracy. Through US, UK and Canadian case studies, this volume will benefit higher level undergraduate readers and above to explore the Official Record in the context of the national security operations of democratic states. All chapters are research-based pieces of original writing that feature a document appendix containing primary documents (often excerpts) that are key to a chapter's narrative. As a result, this book interrogates the boundaries between national security, accountability, oversight, and the Official Record.

      • Trusted Partner
        2021

        Our Democracy in Danger

        Hatred and attacks against volunteers,journalists and politicians

        by Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger,Gunna Wendt

        We experience in our online world as well as in our ‘real lives’ an increase in slander and abuse, intimidation, hatred and even physical violence against individuals who are committed to our society. If such attacks discourage people from getting involved, this endangers our democracy that depends on participation. Lawyer Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger and the writer Gunna Wendt interviewed ten committed volunteers about the causes, circumstances and consequences of hatred and violence. These visceral portraits provide a telling insight into the dangers, while showing that we can and must counter the degradation of political rhetoric with composure, respect and tolerance – and with effective measures to protect those at risk.

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