Reforming democracies
Subtitle: six facts about politics that demand a new agenda
By: Douglas A. Chalmers
Series: Leonard Hastings Schoff memorial lectures
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Published: 2012
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 192
ISBN-13: 9780231162944; 9780231531054
Subjects: Representative government and representation; Democracy
Description: Even well-established democracies need reform, and any successful effort to reform democracies must look beyond conventional institutions -- elections, political parties, special interests, legislatures and their relations with chief executives -- to do so. Expanding a traditional vision of the institutions of representative democracy, Douglas A. Chalmers examines six aspects of political practice relating to the people being represented, the structure of those who make law and policy, and the links between those structures and the people. Chalmers concludes with a discussion of where successful reform needs to take place: we must pay attention to a democratic ordering of the constant reconfiguration of decision making patterns; we must recognize the crucial role of information in deliberation; and we must incorporate noncitizens and foreigners into the political system, even when they are not the principal beneficiaries.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Rethinking the institutions of representative democracy; title: Which people are represented in a representative democracy?; title: Fact: quasi-citizens in the community are represented; title: Fact: quasi-citizens in other jurisdictions are represented; title: Connecting people and decision makers; title: Fact: organizations and their alliances change rapidly; title: Fact: personal networks are important; title: Law- and policy making; title: Fact: deliberation is as important as bargaining; title: Fact: decisions are made in multiple venues.