Shows that current elitist theories are based on an inadequate understanding of the early writings of democratic theory and that much sociological evidence has been ignored.

This book makes an important contribution to contemporary debates over the place of civic participation in democratic theory and practice. Drawing on a detailed case study of the Blackbird Leys area of Oxford, the book employs a novel empirical approach to ask whether widespread participation in civic life can enhance the prospects for democracy, given the low levels of participation which tend to exist in deprived areas. Throughout, it presents an account of participation rooted in the history and development of the case, in order to avoid the kinds of abstraction which are characteristic of many existing studies in the area. The book will appeal to scholars working on democratic theory in applied settings, and will be of interest to anyone concerned with inequalities in civic participation.

In this revision to their lauded core text, Clawson and Oxley continue to link the enduring normative questions of democratic theory to existing empirical research on public opinion. Exploring the tension between ideals and their practice, each chapter focuses on exemplary studies so students gain a richer understanding of the research process and see methods applied in context.

This book explores how the right to the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital in the European Union legal order affects welfare states. These "four freedoms", as they are known, are vital instruments for the protection of a European market unencumbered by internal frontiers. The European Constitution, Welfare States and Democracy explore the relationships and conflicts that have emerged between the European constitution and the legal regulation of mixed economies and markets within welfare-states. In particular, it examines the threat posed to the discretionary powers enjoyed by national governments and administrative authorities. Christoffer C. Eriksen has undertaken a comprehensive analysis of a series of judgments in which the European Court of Justice has clearly indicated the ways in which the four freedoms may be incompatible with the current practice of entrusting national administrative authorities with discretionary powers and thus highlights how the four freedoms are provoking democratic dilemmas, previously neglected in the academic literature. The book is written in a style which communicates beyond an audience of specialized legal scholars and although it includes analysis of black letter law, its methodology also draws from the disciplines of philosophy, political science, and sociology.

Theories of Democracy builds on Robert Dahl's observation that there is no single theory of democracy; only theories. Beyond the broad commitment to rule by the majority, democracy involves a set of contentious debates concerning the proper function and scope of power, equality, freedom, justice, and interests. In this anthology, Ronald J. Terchek and Thomas C. Conte have brilliantly assembled the works of classical, modern, and contemporary commentators to illustrate the deep and diverse roots of the democratic ideal, as well as to provide materials for thinking about the way some contemporary theories build on different traditions of democratic theorizing. The arguments addressed in Theories of Democracy appear in the voices of authors who have championed influential theories concerning the opportunities and dangers associated with democratic politics. In this collection, Terchek and Conte have selected excerpts not as a means for promoting a particular way of looking at democracy, but rather they have wisely chosen works that will enable students to carry on an informed discourse on the meaning and purposes of democratic principles and practices. Theories of Democracy is a must for every student of democracy's past, present, and future.

"Timely new chapters on China and the ′sharing economy′ of Uber and Airbnb strengthen an already vital contribution to communication studies. Through the lens of critical theory, Fuchs provides the essential text for students of our new media world." –Vincent Mosco, Queen′s University, Ontario With social media changing how we use and understand everything from communication and the news to transport, more than ever it is essential to ask the right kinds of questions about the business and politics of social media. This book equips students with the critical thinking they need to understand the complexities and contradictions and make informed judgements. This Second Edition: Lays bare the structures and power relations at the heart of our media landscape Explores the sharing economy of Uber and Airbnb in a brand new chapter Takes us into the politics and economy of social media in China Puts forward powerful arguments for how to achieve a social media that serves the purposes of a just and fair world This book is the essential, critical guide for all students of media studies and sociology. Readers will never look at social media the same way again.

In this revision of their lauded Public Opinion: Democratic Ideals, Democratic Practice, Rosalee A. Clawson and Zoe M. Oxley continue to link the enduring normative questions of democratic theory to the best empirical research on public opinion. Exploring the tension between ideals and their practice, each chapter focuses on exemplary studies so that students gain a richer understanding of key findings and the research process as well as see methods applied in context.

A detailed new examination of the initiatives governments are exploring to reform the institutions and procedures of liberal democracy in order to provide more opportunities for political participation and inclusion. Combining theory and empirical case studies, this is a systematic evaluation of the most visible and explicit efforts to engineer political participation via institutional reforms. Part I discusses the phenomenon of participatory engineering from a conceptual standpoint, while parts II, III and IV take a comparative, as well as an empirical, perspective. The contributors to these sections analyze participatory institutions on the basis of empirical models of democracy such as direct democracy, civil society and responsive government and analyze the impact of these models on political behaviour. Part V includes exploratory regional case studies on specific reform initiatives that present descriptive accounts of the policies and politics of these reforms. Delivering a detailed assessment of democratic reform, this book will of strong interest to students and researchers of political theory, democracy and comparative politics.

After several decades of reform and opening up, China has come to a critical period of transformation and development. How to improve the development strategies to effectively promote China's democratic politics has once again attracted the world's attention. This book compares the commons and differences between western and Chinese theories and practices of democracy model, and proposes a new democracy model for China's political reform — "cooperative-harmonious democracy". Absorbing the core values of democracy, this model draws on Chinese traditional "harmony and cooperation" and "people-oriented" thought, as well as modern cooperative game theory. More importantly, it adopts the new model to analyse some present practice cases in China, involving intra-party democracy, electoral democracy, and deliberative democracy. This book is a valuable theoretical innovation and a significant achievement in promoting the interdisciplinary research of political science and public management. It strategically reflects on how to promote the development of cooperative-harmonious democracy from the perspective of high-level design. The policy suggestions it proposed will be a valuable reference for policy-makers.

The executive branch in Western democracies has been granted a virtually impossible task: expected to 'imperially' direct the life of the nation through thick and thin, it is concurrently required to be subservient to legislation meted out by a sovereign parliament. Drawing on a general argument from constitutional theory that prioritizes dispersal of power over concepts of hierarchy, this book argues that the tension between dominance and submission in the executive branch is maintained by the adoption of various forms of fuzziness, under which a guise of legality masks the absence of substantive limitation of power. Under this 'internal tension' vision of constitutionalism, the executive branch is simultaneously submissive to law and dominant over it, while concepts of substantive legality are compromised. Building on legal and political science research, this volume classifies and analyses thirteen forms of fuzziness, ranging from open-ended or semi-written constitutions to unapplied legislation. The study of this unavoidable yet problematic feature of the public sphere is addressed descriptively and normatively. Adding detailed examples from two fields of law - emergency law and air-pollution law - in two systems (the UK and the US), the book ends with a call for raising the threshold of judicial review, grounded in theories of participatory and deliberative democracy. This book addresses an area that is surprisingly under-researched. Despite the increase in executive power across democratic polities and increasing public interest in the executive branch and executive powers, this much-needed book offers a theoretical foundation that should ground all analysis of arguably the most powerful branch of modern government.