Citizenship and contemporary direct democracy / David Altman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Altman, David, 1968- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Direct democracy.

Political participation.

Physical Description:

xxiii, 258 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2019.

Summary:

"Standing out from all other books on direct democracy, Citizenship and Contemporary Direct Democracy connects the study of direct democracy to the broader field of comparative democratization and to an important strand in normative democratic theory. Analyzing the relationship between direct democracy and representative government, this book is organized around three main sections: the origins of contemporary direct democracy, its' functioning, and the ways to improve the use of direct democracy and its abuse. David Altman argues that citizen-initiated mechanisms of direct democracy constitute an important and viable way to reinvigorate current representative regimes by strengthening democracies' normative foundations--freedom and equity among citizens--which are particularly fragile in the context of unequal societies. Citizenship and Contemporary Direct Democracy demonstrates how citizen-initiated mechanisms of direct democracy empowers citizens, channels social demands, defuses violence, re-enchants citizens with politics, and breaks through some of the institutionalized barriers to accountability that arise in representative systems"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Democratic innovations for representative governments

Breaking through: the rebirth of direct democracy in the age of the nation-

Catching on: waves of adoption of citizen-initiated mechanisms of direct democracy since World War I

Status quo bias: political change through direct democracy

Left or right: investigating potential ideological biases in contemporary direct democracy

Why adopt direct democracy: much more than a simple vote

How can direct democracy be improved: citizens' commissions and citizens' counterproposals

Conclusions: a new democratic equilibrium.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781108496636

1108496636

9781108721776

110872177X

OCLC:

1054266917