Alice Donald
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780197265376
- eISBN:
- 9780191760426
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265376.003.0012
- Subject:
- Law, Human Rights and Immigration
The right to participate in choosing or changing a constitution is becoming established in law and theory. The means of realising that right in the formation of Bills of Rights, and the consequences ...
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The right to participate in choosing or changing a constitution is becoming established in law and theory. The means of realising that right in the formation of Bills of Rights, and the consequences for democratic legitimacy, are matters of debate and experimentation. This chapter explores the processes used to develop Bills of Rights (or proposed Bills) in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and analyses key aspects of the design of those processes. It examines the context for creating a new UK Bill of Rights, including the work of the Commission on a Bill of Rights established in 2011. It reflects on the challenges facing the Commission in the light of experience overseas. It concludes that, on present evidence, the Commission is highly unlikely to achieve an outcome which might enjoy democratic legitimacy, in the sense of having been subject to inclusive and informed public deliberation.Less
The right to participate in choosing or changing a constitution is becoming established in law and theory. The means of realising that right in the formation of Bills of Rights, and the consequences for democratic legitimacy, are matters of debate and experimentation. This chapter explores the processes used to develop Bills of Rights (or proposed Bills) in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and analyses key aspects of the design of those processes. It examines the context for creating a new UK Bill of Rights, including the work of the Commission on a Bill of Rights established in 2011. It reflects on the challenges facing the Commission in the light of experience overseas. It concludes that, on present evidence, the Commission is highly unlikely to achieve an outcome which might enjoy democratic legitimacy, in the sense of having been subject to inclusive and informed public deliberation.
Julian Rivers
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199226108
- eISBN:
- 9780191594243
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199226108.003.0010
- Subject:
- Law, Human Rights and Immigration
The engagement of organized religions in the processing of public information, consultation, and dialogue is an important part of their public presence. This chapter considers first formal ...
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The engagement of organized religions in the processing of public information, consultation, and dialogue is an important part of their public presence. This chapter considers first formal representation in the House of Lords, together with a century of failed attempts to broaden this to other religious representatives. Less well known are recent initiatives to set up national, regional, and local multi-faith forums to consult with government. The regulation of religious broadcasting also shows a shift from a model in which a representative body sought to control their allotted time, to much more diverse provision. This has also been accompanied by institutional change. The contrast between the House of Lords and other forms of access to public discourse shows that strict uniformity of representation is an obstacle to engagement.Less
The engagement of organized religions in the processing of public information, consultation, and dialogue is an important part of their public presence. This chapter considers first formal representation in the House of Lords, together with a century of failed attempts to broaden this to other religious representatives. Less well known are recent initiatives to set up national, regional, and local multi-faith forums to consult with government. The regulation of religious broadcasting also shows a shift from a model in which a representative body sought to control their allotted time, to much more diverse provision. This has also been accompanied by institutional change. The contrast between the House of Lords and other forms of access to public discourse shows that strict uniformity of representation is an obstacle to engagement.
Matt Leighninger
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199899265
- eISBN:
- 9780199980147
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199899265.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory, Democratization
Deliberative civic engagement is a growing phenomenon—but why? Who are the people initiating, leading, supporting, and advocating these projects, and what are their reasons for doing so? Under what ...
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Deliberative civic engagement is a growing phenomenon—but why? Who are the people initiating, leading, supporting, and advocating these projects, and what are their reasons for doing so? Under what circumstances do these processes emerge, and what are the pressures that shape how they are organized and understood? This chapter provides new answers to these questions, explains why the theory and practice of this work have been segregated from one another, and describes how they are beginning to come together.Less
Deliberative civic engagement is a growing phenomenon—but why? Who are the people initiating, leading, supporting, and advocating these projects, and what are their reasons for doing so? Under what circumstances do these processes emerge, and what are the pressures that shape how they are organized and understood? This chapter provides new answers to these questions, explains why the theory and practice of this work have been segregated from one another, and describes how they are beginning to come together.
Cliff Zukin, Scott Keeter, Molly Andolina, Krista Jenkins, and Michael X. Delli Carpini
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195183177
- eISBN:
- 9780199850822
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195183177.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
This chapter examines the attitudes that underpin the behaviors of the public that are relevant to citizen engagement. Even though there seems to be a clear line of electoral cleavage between the ...
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This chapter examines the attitudes that underpin the behaviors of the public that are relevant to citizen engagement. Even though there seems to be a clear line of electoral cleavage between the oldest and youngest two generations, this shows some important differences between DotNets and GenXers on the one hand and between BabyBoomers and Dutifuls on the other. The chapter begins by presenting new data on the reasons people give for why they do not participate in electoral politics. Then, it looks on how citizens view themselves and the role and responsibilities of citizenship, along with their attitudes about politics, government, and their fellow citizens. The evidence shows there is now a two-generation-wide schism in the realm of electoral participation. The notion of “generational identity” and the views on the obligations of citizenship is explored through a generational prism.Less
This chapter examines the attitudes that underpin the behaviors of the public that are relevant to citizen engagement. Even though there seems to be a clear line of electoral cleavage between the oldest and youngest two generations, this shows some important differences between DotNets and GenXers on the one hand and between BabyBoomers and Dutifuls on the other. The chapter begins by presenting new data on the reasons people give for why they do not participate in electoral politics. Then, it looks on how citizens view themselves and the role and responsibilities of citizenship, along with their attitudes about politics, government, and their fellow citizens. The evidence shows there is now a two-generation-wide schism in the realm of electoral participation. The notion of “generational identity” and the views on the obligations of citizenship is explored through a generational prism.
Marina Chang and Gemma Moore
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781447330288
- eISBN:
- 9781447330332
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447330288.003.0002
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Theory
This chapter provides a context for the evolution of the concept of public engagement within the UK higher education sector focusing on a specific initiative: the Beacons for Public Engagement ...
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This chapter provides a context for the evolution of the concept of public engagement within the UK higher education sector focusing on a specific initiative: the Beacons for Public Engagement programme at University College London. Moreover, the chapter exposes the enabling conditions for communities and universities to work together; it recommends the five conditions to generate effective engagement, particularly through nuanced evaluation and support. In this case, evaluation and support can be seen as a pathway — bridging the gaps between theory and reality of engagement, between strategy and practice, and between the communities and academia — to ensure communities and universities to work together to create an impact on the university, research practice, communities, and ultimately, society.Less
This chapter provides a context for the evolution of the concept of public engagement within the UK higher education sector focusing on a specific initiative: the Beacons for Public Engagement programme at University College London. Moreover, the chapter exposes the enabling conditions for communities and universities to work together; it recommends the five conditions to generate effective engagement, particularly through nuanced evaluation and support. In this case, evaluation and support can be seen as a pathway — bridging the gaps between theory and reality of engagement, between strategy and practice, and between the communities and academia — to ensure communities and universities to work together to create an impact on the university, research practice, communities, and ultimately, society.
Albert W. Dzur
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199874095
- eISBN:
- 9780199980024
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199874095.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This book concludes by considering Socrates’ critique of the jury in the Apology, which misleadingly contrasts expert justice with democratic injustice. While producing an unjust outcome, Socrates’ ...
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This book concludes by considering Socrates’ critique of the jury in the Apology, which misleadingly contrasts expert justice with democratic injustice. While producing an unjust outcome, Socrates’ trial was nevertheless thoroughly public because of the court’s lay membership: It addressed the people, was transparent, well understood, held the people accountable for justice, and influenced public discourse on punishment for centuries. Though a failure of justice, it was a public failure, a lesson for Athens and the wider world. The enduring need for public engagement in criminal justice explains why the jury form persists, why it is being reintroduced in Japan and elsewhere. The jury brings people together not as an assumed public, a voice of an already existing community, but as a deliberately constructed public; it provides a procedural rather than substantive foundation for the public interests represented in criminal adjudication. Contemporary proponents of Socrates’ expert justice, like Whitman, fail to see the threats this technocratic model poses to the civic capacity of a democracy. Reviving the jury in the fashion suggested in the previous chapter, or developing related institutional forms of load-bearing lay participation, would increase public sobriety about contemporary punishment and broaden responsibility for more humane criminal justice.Less
This book concludes by considering Socrates’ critique of the jury in the Apology, which misleadingly contrasts expert justice with democratic injustice. While producing an unjust outcome, Socrates’ trial was nevertheless thoroughly public because of the court’s lay membership: It addressed the people, was transparent, well understood, held the people accountable for justice, and influenced public discourse on punishment for centuries. Though a failure of justice, it was a public failure, a lesson for Athens and the wider world. The enduring need for public engagement in criminal justice explains why the jury form persists, why it is being reintroduced in Japan and elsewhere. The jury brings people together not as an assumed public, a voice of an already existing community, but as a deliberately constructed public; it provides a procedural rather than substantive foundation for the public interests represented in criminal adjudication. Contemporary proponents of Socrates’ expert justice, like Whitman, fail to see the threats this technocratic model poses to the civic capacity of a democracy. Reviving the jury in the fashion suggested in the previous chapter, or developing related institutional forms of load-bearing lay participation, would increase public sobriety about contemporary punishment and broaden responsibility for more humane criminal justice.
Masaru Yarime
- Published in print:
- 1953
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781479889389
- eISBN:
- 9781479830893
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9781479889389.003.0010
- Subject:
- Sociology, Economic Sociology
Japan caught up with the West by initially importing scientific knowledge, adapting it to local circumstances, learning from trial and error, and then innovating better technologies. With the rise of ...
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Japan caught up with the West by initially importing scientific knowledge, adapting it to local circumstances, learning from trial and error, and then innovating better technologies. With the rise of knowledge-based economies and intensifying global competition, Japan is now struggling to maintain industrial competitiveness, particularly in strategic sectors such as electronics, which are drained of home-based manufacturing technologies because of the transfer overseas of production facilities and research and development activities. As the country’s aging population and declining birthrate could result in a loss of social and economic vitality, institutional reforms are of critical importance in overcoming impediments to innovation. While Japan can be at the forefront of global efforts to cope with pressing societal challenges such as sustainability, Japanese academia is prompted to assimilate more junior people, women, and foreign researchers and Japanese industry to explore business opportunities in emerging markets in the promising fields of energy, environment, and health. The new paradigm will demand effective integration of necessary knowledge, going beyond the conventional model of university-industry collaboration, and public engagement of a diverse array of stakeholders in the coevolution of technology and institutions will be the key.Less
Japan caught up with the West by initially importing scientific knowledge, adapting it to local circumstances, learning from trial and error, and then innovating better technologies. With the rise of knowledge-based economies and intensifying global competition, Japan is now struggling to maintain industrial competitiveness, particularly in strategic sectors such as electronics, which are drained of home-based manufacturing technologies because of the transfer overseas of production facilities and research and development activities. As the country’s aging population and declining birthrate could result in a loss of social and economic vitality, institutional reforms are of critical importance in overcoming impediments to innovation. While Japan can be at the forefront of global efforts to cope with pressing societal challenges such as sustainability, Japanese academia is prompted to assimilate more junior people, women, and foreign researchers and Japanese industry to explore business opportunities in emerging markets in the promising fields of energy, environment, and health. The new paradigm will demand effective integration of necessary knowledge, going beyond the conventional model of university-industry collaboration, and public engagement of a diverse array of stakeholders in the coevolution of technology and institutions will be the key.
Caroline W. Lee
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- December 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199987269
- eISBN:
- 9780190218683
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199987269.003.0003
- Subject:
- Sociology, Politics, Social Movements and Social Change, Science, Technology and Environment
Why has public engagement exploded in popularity over the last two decades? Chapter 2 investigates the history behind popular participatory reforms. It explores the development of the field of ...
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Why has public engagement exploded in popularity over the last two decades? Chapter 2 investigates the history behind popular participatory reforms. It explores the development of the field of professional public engagement and deliberative democracy consultants, and describes the current contours of the field. The successes and struggles behind the growth in top-down orchestration of bottom-up empowerment are shown. This chapter also discusses the mixed record of Obama’s Open Government initiatives.Less
Why has public engagement exploded in popularity over the last two decades? Chapter 2 investigates the history behind popular participatory reforms. It explores the development of the field of professional public engagement and deliberative democracy consultants, and describes the current contours of the field. The successes and struggles behind the growth in top-down orchestration of bottom-up empowerment are shown. This chapter also discusses the mixed record of Obama’s Open Government initiatives.
Stella Maile and David Griffiths (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9781447306863
- eISBN:
- 9781447311546
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447306863.001.0001
- Subject:
- Social Work, Social Policy
This original edited collection explores the value of public engagement in a wider social science context. Its main themes range from the dialogic character of social science to the pragmatic ...
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This original edited collection explores the value of public engagement in a wider social science context. Its main themes range from the dialogic character of social science to the pragmatic responses to the managerial policies underpinning the restructuring of Higher Education. The book is organised in three parts: the first encourages the reader to reflect upon the different social and political inflections of public engagement and offers one university example of a social science café in Bristol. The following sections are based upon talks given in the café and are linked by a concern with public engagement and the contribution of social science to a reflexive understanding of the dilemmas and practices of daily life. This highly topical book will be of interest to academics, practitioners and students interested in critical social issues as they impact on their everyday lives.Less
This original edited collection explores the value of public engagement in a wider social science context. Its main themes range from the dialogic character of social science to the pragmatic responses to the managerial policies underpinning the restructuring of Higher Education. The book is organised in three parts: the first encourages the reader to reflect upon the different social and political inflections of public engagement and offers one university example of a social science café in Bristol. The following sections are based upon talks given in the café and are linked by a concern with public engagement and the contribution of social science to a reflexive understanding of the dilemmas and practices of daily life. This highly topical book will be of interest to academics, practitioners and students interested in critical social issues as they impact on their everyday lives.
Richard Gale and Therese O’Toole
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781847420305
- eISBN:
- 9781447302285
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781847420305.003.0008
- Subject:
- Sociology, Sociology of Religion
This chapter examines a case study of faith activism among young Muslim men in UK. It explores how faith identity frames the public engagement and political activism of the British Muslim youth. The ...
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This chapter examines a case study of faith activism among young Muslim men in UK. It explores how faith identity frames the public engagement and political activism of the British Muslim youth. The case study presented herein arises from a two-year qualitative study of black and minority ethnic young people's political engagement, particularly of a locally-based Muslim ‘justice movement’. In this chapter, the manner with which the faith identity and values influenced the political activism and the different scales to which this is expressed by these young men are explored. Attention is particularly given to the notion of ‘glocalised’ political sensibility which shapes their political concern and the terrains on which they are active. Apart from exploring the intersections between local and global terrains on which they are active, the chapter also reflects on how the identification with umma (the global community of Muslims) forms a significant dimension of young Muslim's renegotiation of their identities in relation to familial and cultural heritage and their localised living experience. This chapter begins with a discussion on the ways in which young British Muslims have featured in the public domain before it discusses the recent research on the forms of political and public engagement in Muslims, specifically on contemporary expressions of global Islam. The chapter ends with a discussion on how young activists relate to the public sphere by focusing on their personal engagement with faith and how this informs their identities and political action.Less
This chapter examines a case study of faith activism among young Muslim men in UK. It explores how faith identity frames the public engagement and political activism of the British Muslim youth. The case study presented herein arises from a two-year qualitative study of black and minority ethnic young people's political engagement, particularly of a locally-based Muslim ‘justice movement’. In this chapter, the manner with which the faith identity and values influenced the political activism and the different scales to which this is expressed by these young men are explored. Attention is particularly given to the notion of ‘glocalised’ political sensibility which shapes their political concern and the terrains on which they are active. Apart from exploring the intersections between local and global terrains on which they are active, the chapter also reflects on how the identification with umma (the global community of Muslims) forms a significant dimension of young Muslim's renegotiation of their identities in relation to familial and cultural heritage and their localised living experience. This chapter begins with a discussion on the ways in which young British Muslims have featured in the public domain before it discusses the recent research on the forms of political and public engagement in Muslims, specifically on contemporary expressions of global Islam. The chapter ends with a discussion on how young activists relate to the public sphere by focusing on their personal engagement with faith and how this informs their identities and political action.
Stella Maile
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9781447306863
- eISBN:
- 9781447311546
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447306863.003.0002
- Subject:
- Social Work, Social Policy
This chapter provides a discussion of the location and relative worth of public engagement initiatives in the current political and economic climate which is dominated by neoliberalism and the ...
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This chapter provides a discussion of the location and relative worth of public engagement initiatives in the current political and economic climate which is dominated by neoliberalism and the market. It is suggested that different values and imaginaries are brought to bear on public engagement along with dynamism and creativity of people in dialogue. The chapter focuses on one example of a public engagement initiative, Social Science in the City which is subject to competing discourses and policies on evidence-gathering and impact assessment.Less
This chapter provides a discussion of the location and relative worth of public engagement initiatives in the current political and economic climate which is dominated by neoliberalism and the market. It is suggested that different values and imaginaries are brought to bear on public engagement along with dynamism and creativity of people in dialogue. The chapter focuses on one example of a public engagement initiative, Social Science in the City which is subject to competing discourses and policies on evidence-gathering and impact assessment.
Mei Jen Hung
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781447308300
- eISBN:
- 9781447311522
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447308300.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, Public Policy
Public engagement in Taiwan has evolved with democratization. Based on William Duhn’s framework, this chapter discusses the contribution of public participation in each policy development stage and ...
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Public engagement in Taiwan has evolved with democratization. Based on William Duhn’s framework, this chapter discusses the contribution of public participation in each policy development stage and illustrates different kinds of contributions using recent experiments of public engagement in the 2000s in Taiwan. Recent experiments, including citizen consensus conference, citizen jury, scenario workshop, deliberative polling and surveys, grant citizens new opportunities to learn about public policy and their perspectives on policy issues. Other than the recent experiments, the Lo-Sheng movement is introduced as an exemplary case of public engagement. Participants in the Lo-Sheng case formulated policy proposals, disseminated information, and engaged local residents, politicians, and government agencies. Public engagement is of particular importance where citizens had been under authoritarian rule and defer to authority. The development of a political culture that encourages trust and participation is critical; meaningful participation must engage in the transformation of attitudes of citizens and government officials.Less
Public engagement in Taiwan has evolved with democratization. Based on William Duhn’s framework, this chapter discusses the contribution of public participation in each policy development stage and illustrates different kinds of contributions using recent experiments of public engagement in the 2000s in Taiwan. Recent experiments, including citizen consensus conference, citizen jury, scenario workshop, deliberative polling and surveys, grant citizens new opportunities to learn about public policy and their perspectives on policy issues. Other than the recent experiments, the Lo-Sheng movement is introduced as an exemplary case of public engagement. Participants in the Lo-Sheng case formulated policy proposals, disseminated information, and engaged local residents, politicians, and government agencies. Public engagement is of particular importance where citizens had been under authoritarian rule and defer to authority. The development of a political culture that encourages trust and participation is critical; meaningful participation must engage in the transformation of attitudes of citizens and government officials.
Karim Murji
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781447319573
- eISBN:
- 9781447319603
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447319573.003.0004
- Subject:
- Sociology, Race and Ethnicity
This chapter assesses a range of orientations to public engagement and critical race scholarship. There is no one correct way to be an engaged scholar, and each form contains some merit as well as ...
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This chapter assesses a range of orientations to public engagement and critical race scholarship. There is no one correct way to be an engaged scholar, and each form contains some merit as well as various problems. The purpose of the discussion is not to build models or frameworks; rather, it aims to do several other things: first, to make the case for critical and engaged scholarship on race that is sensitive to the times and places it occurs in, as well as being aware of recurring debates about the relation of the academy to publics. Second, the chapter argues that the academy itself needs to be situated; it cannot be treated as just a neutral or even a liberal place from which the practice of radical or critical scholarship occurs. Finally, it introduces the topic of public sociology.Less
This chapter assesses a range of orientations to public engagement and critical race scholarship. There is no one correct way to be an engaged scholar, and each form contains some merit as well as various problems. The purpose of the discussion is not to build models or frameworks; rather, it aims to do several other things: first, to make the case for critical and engaged scholarship on race that is sensitive to the times and places it occurs in, as well as being aware of recurring debates about the relation of the academy to publics. Second, the chapter argues that the academy itself needs to be situated; it cannot be treated as just a neutral or even a liberal place from which the practice of radical or critical scholarship occurs. Finally, it introduces the topic of public sociology.
Caroline W. Lee
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- December 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199987269
- eISBN:
- 9780190218683
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199987269.003.0002
- Subject:
- Sociology, Politics, Social Movements and Social Change, Science, Technology and Environment
What does public engagement look like today? Chapter 1 introduces a typical deliberative process through an extended ethnographic account of Community Congress III, a multimillion-dollar public ...
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What does public engagement look like today? Chapter 1 introduces a typical deliberative process through an extended ethnographic account of Community Congress III, a multimillion-dollar public engagement initiative to plan the rebuilding of New Orleans in the wake of Katrina. The central contradictions explored in the book are revealed in this case, which captures the stark poignancies of a red carpet event for the poorest of the urban poor, honored in hotel ballrooms across the country as civic heroes for a day. The chapter makes the case for an institutional approach to understanding the role of engagement in American life. It describes the methods for studying deliberative democracy as an organizational strategy and presents a guide to the rest of the book.Less
What does public engagement look like today? Chapter 1 introduces a typical deliberative process through an extended ethnographic account of Community Congress III, a multimillion-dollar public engagement initiative to plan the rebuilding of New Orleans in the wake of Katrina. The central contradictions explored in the book are revealed in this case, which captures the stark poignancies of a red carpet event for the poorest of the urban poor, honored in hotel ballrooms across the country as civic heroes for a day. The chapter makes the case for an institutional approach to understanding the role of engagement in American life. It describes the methods for studying deliberative democracy as an organizational strategy and presents a guide to the rest of the book.
Caroline W. Lee
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- December 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199987269
- eISBN:
- 9780190218683
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199987269.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Politics, Social Movements and Social Change, Science, Technology and Environment
Citizen participation has undergone a radical shift since anxieties about “bowling alone” seized the nation in the 1990s. Many pundits and observers have cheered America’s twenty-first-century civic ...
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Citizen participation has undergone a radical shift since anxieties about “bowling alone” seized the nation in the 1990s. Many pundits and observers have cheered America’s twenty-first-century civic renaissance—an explosion of participatory innovations in public life. Invitations to “have your say!” and “join the discussion!” have proliferated. But has the widespread enthusiasm for maximizing citizen democracy led to real change? This book examines how participatory innovations have reshaped American civic life over the past two decades. It looks at the public engagement industry that emerged to serve government, corporate, and nonprofit clients seeking to gain a handle on the increasingly noisy demands of their constituents and stakeholders. The beneficiaries of new forms of democratic empowerment are not only humble citizens but also the engagement experts who host the forums. Investigating public engagement practitioners’ everyday anxieties and larger worldviews shows the strange meaning of power in contemporary institutions. New technologies and deliberative practices have democratized the ways in which organizations operate, but this book argues that they have also been marketed and sold as retrenchment tools that facilitate cost-cutting, labor control, and other management goals. Public deliberation has burdened everyday people with new responsibilities without delivering on its promises of empowerment.Less
Citizen participation has undergone a radical shift since anxieties about “bowling alone” seized the nation in the 1990s. Many pundits and observers have cheered America’s twenty-first-century civic renaissance—an explosion of participatory innovations in public life. Invitations to “have your say!” and “join the discussion!” have proliferated. But has the widespread enthusiasm for maximizing citizen democracy led to real change? This book examines how participatory innovations have reshaped American civic life over the past two decades. It looks at the public engagement industry that emerged to serve government, corporate, and nonprofit clients seeking to gain a handle on the increasingly noisy demands of their constituents and stakeholders. The beneficiaries of new forms of democratic empowerment are not only humble citizens but also the engagement experts who host the forums. Investigating public engagement practitioners’ everyday anxieties and larger worldviews shows the strange meaning of power in contemporary institutions. New technologies and deliberative practices have democratized the ways in which organizations operate, but this book argues that they have also been marketed and sold as retrenchment tools that facilitate cost-cutting, labor control, and other management goals. Public deliberation has burdened everyday people with new responsibilities without delivering on its promises of empowerment.
Ben Tonra
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- July 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780719056079
- eISBN:
- 9781781701614
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719056079.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
This chapter reviews the structures, both formal and informal, through which democratic control is exercised over the formulation and conduct of Irish foreign policy. It analyses in detail the ...
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This chapter reviews the structures, both formal and informal, through which democratic control is exercised over the formulation and conduct of Irish foreign policy. It analyses in detail the parliamentary contribution to Irish foreign policy formulation and considers public engagement in the policy process. This chapter evaluates the strength of democratic currents and their potential to transform the formulation and conduct of foreign policy. It also considers the role of narratives in Irish foreign policy construction and the way in which different narratives may become evident in the assumptions of particular sets of foreign policy actors.Less
This chapter reviews the structures, both formal and informal, through which democratic control is exercised over the formulation and conduct of Irish foreign policy. It analyses in detail the parliamentary contribution to Irish foreign policy formulation and considers public engagement in the policy process. This chapter evaluates the strength of democratic currents and their potential to transform the formulation and conduct of foreign policy. It also considers the role of narratives in Irish foreign policy construction and the way in which different narratives may become evident in the assumptions of particular sets of foreign policy actors.
Nick Mahony
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781847424167
- eISBN:
- 9781447303275
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781847424167.003.0002
- Subject:
- Sociology, Organizations
This chapter begins from the normative proposition – in the Power enquiry of 2006 and elsewhere – that the polity and the public sphere are in crisis, and that this crisis needs to be addressed ...
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This chapter begins from the normative proposition – in the Power enquiry of 2006 and elsewhere – that the polity and the public sphere are in crisis, and that this crisis needs to be addressed through enhancing opportunities and modes of participation. In each of the three case studies (of a participative budgeting exercise, a TV game show, and a social movement gathering), it shows how claims are made about the value of direct forms of participation over a discredited and unresponsive form of institutional politics. The first section of the chapter illuminates some of the contradictory qualities of the publics summoned up through publicity materials. The second section uses the work of sociologists of experimentation to reflect on the particular forms these events took and on the practices of facilitation. The last section examines how people interacted during the bouts of participation during each event.Less
This chapter begins from the normative proposition – in the Power enquiry of 2006 and elsewhere – that the polity and the public sphere are in crisis, and that this crisis needs to be addressed through enhancing opportunities and modes of participation. In each of the three case studies (of a participative budgeting exercise, a TV game show, and a social movement gathering), it shows how claims are made about the value of direct forms of participation over a discredited and unresponsive form of institutional politics. The first section of the chapter illuminates some of the contradictory qualities of the publics summoned up through publicity materials. The second section uses the work of sociologists of experimentation to reflect on the particular forms these events took and on the practices of facilitation. The last section examines how people interacted during the bouts of participation during each event.
Shiju Sam Varughese
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- February 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780199469123
- eISBN:
- 9780199087433
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199469123.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Science, Technology and Environment
Contested Knowledge argues that the structural coupling between science and media in the context of risk politics has led to the creation of a ‘scientific public sphere’ in the state of Kerala, ...
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Contested Knowledge argues that the structural coupling between science and media in the context of risk politics has led to the creation of a ‘scientific public sphere’ in the state of Kerala, India, and regional newspapers have become the most prominent site of public deliberation over science since the late 1990s. This new form of public engagement with science radically differed from its earlier form nurtured by the Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad (KSSP), the largest people’s science movement in India. The book discusses this shift and the resultant transformations of the ‘scientific-citizen public’ of Kerala by examining three public controversies over science deliberated in the regional dailies in the early 2000s. Public deliberations during the controversies over clinical trials in the Regional Cancer Centre (RCC), Thiruvananthapuram, a series of micro-earthquakes and well collapses, and the strange phenomenon of coloured rain are analysed to understand how risks were perceived, knowledge claims were contested, disciplinary rigidities were dismantled and trust in science and the credibility of scientific institutions were re-negotiated. The book thus explores how the public contestation of knowledge staged by the mass media contributes to deepening democracy by re-instilling politics into science. Democratization of science under the agency of the scientific-citizen publics, the book suggests, is nonetheless limited as it fails to account for alternative forms of engagement offered by multiple publics. The book contends that the theory of deliberative democracy is inadequate to capture the multiplicity of public engagement with science.Less
Contested Knowledge argues that the structural coupling between science and media in the context of risk politics has led to the creation of a ‘scientific public sphere’ in the state of Kerala, India, and regional newspapers have become the most prominent site of public deliberation over science since the late 1990s. This new form of public engagement with science radically differed from its earlier form nurtured by the Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad (KSSP), the largest people’s science movement in India. The book discusses this shift and the resultant transformations of the ‘scientific-citizen public’ of Kerala by examining three public controversies over science deliberated in the regional dailies in the early 2000s. Public deliberations during the controversies over clinical trials in the Regional Cancer Centre (RCC), Thiruvananthapuram, a series of micro-earthquakes and well collapses, and the strange phenomenon of coloured rain are analysed to understand how risks were perceived, knowledge claims were contested, disciplinary rigidities were dismantled and trust in science and the credibility of scientific institutions were re-negotiated. The book thus explores how the public contestation of knowledge staged by the mass media contributes to deepening democracy by re-instilling politics into science. Democratization of science under the agency of the scientific-citizen publics, the book suggests, is nonetheless limited as it fails to account for alternative forms of engagement offered by multiple publics. The book contends that the theory of deliberative democracy is inadequate to capture the multiplicity of public engagement with science.
Lindsay K. Campbell
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781501707506
- eISBN:
- 9781501714795
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501707506.003.0003
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Environmental Studies
Chapter two examines the politics of PlaNYC agenda-setting, revealing the key actors involved in creating the plan, including the mayor, city agencies, and local civil society groups. In particular, ...
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Chapter two examines the politics of PlaNYC agenda-setting, revealing the key actors involved in creating the plan, including the mayor, city agencies, and local civil society groups. In particular, it focuses on less-visible aspects of municipal decision-making, including issue framing that occurred prior to public release of the plan. It shows how the plan contributes to a green growth agenda, but lacked strong public involvement in its creation. It explains the goals and initiatives related to urban forestry that were included in PlaNYC as well as why goals related to gardening and farming were “left on the cutting room floor.”Less
Chapter two examines the politics of PlaNYC agenda-setting, revealing the key actors involved in creating the plan, including the mayor, city agencies, and local civil society groups. In particular, it focuses on less-visible aspects of municipal decision-making, including issue framing that occurred prior to public release of the plan. It shows how the plan contributes to a green growth agenda, but lacked strong public involvement in its creation. It explains the goals and initiatives related to urban forestry that were included in PlaNYC as well as why goals related to gardening and farming were “left on the cutting room floor.”
Kristen Anderson
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252040498
- eISBN:
- 9780252098932
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252040498.003.0015
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Movements and Social Change
This section explores how public engagement influences scholarly careers and work. The contributors demonstrate a variety of approaches to combining scholarship and engagement. The first contributor ...
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This section explores how public engagement influences scholarly careers and work. The contributors demonstrate a variety of approaches to combining scholarship and engagement. The first contributor describes the ways in which he was able to combine activism with his position as a labor historian at Georgetown University; the second considers the two-way relationship that can exist between scholarship and engagement; the third discusses the difficulties that disability and labor activists have faced when working together; and the fourth focuses on the synergy between scholarship and engagement. For each of these contributors, their engagement beyond a single scholarly field or the well-worn tracks of academic publishing and into the wider world has prompted fresh insights, reshaped research agendas, created institutions, and rejuvenated scholars' commitments. Taken together, their insights illustrate both the challenges of engaged scholarship as well as the substantial gains for both research and activism from such collaborations.Less
This section explores how public engagement influences scholarly careers and work. The contributors demonstrate a variety of approaches to combining scholarship and engagement. The first contributor describes the ways in which he was able to combine activism with his position as a labor historian at Georgetown University; the second considers the two-way relationship that can exist between scholarship and engagement; the third discusses the difficulties that disability and labor activists have faced when working together; and the fourth focuses on the synergy between scholarship and engagement. For each of these contributors, their engagement beyond a single scholarly field or the well-worn tracks of academic publishing and into the wider world has prompted fresh insights, reshaped research agendas, created institutions, and rejuvenated scholars' commitments. Taken together, their insights illustrate both the challenges of engaged scholarship as well as the substantial gains for both research and activism from such collaborations.
