Journal Article•
Between Facts and Norms: Contributions to a Discourse Theory of Law and Democracy
About: This article is published in Review of Metaphysics.The article was published on 1997-02-01 and is currently open access. It has received 2568 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Democracy.
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01 Jan 2016
TL;DR: This article examined the cultural policies developed and implemented by subnational governments expressing a different national identity from that of their country, in particular, the Canadian province of Québec, the United Kingdom nation of Scotland, and the Spanish region of Catalonia with the purpose of exploring the ways in which cultural policies are used to shape and influence a sense of cultural identity.
Abstract: Cultural policy research typically emphasises national and local policies in its studies, while studies of subnational and regional policies tend to be less common. Between the levels of country and city, however, there is a vast array of cultural policy-types that is often cast aside or underrepresented in the literature – this, despite the fact that a number of prominent subnational governments of national minorities have been extremely active in developing their own cultural policies and institutions. Unlike their national or local counterparts, however, these subnational governments often contend with an additional layer of complexity when developing cultural policies, as their history and their population differ from that of their country’s cultural majority – which often leads to a different understanding and appreciation of their cultural identity and sense of nationalism. It is with this complexity and difference in mind that this thesis examines the cultural policies developed and implemented by subnational governments expressing a different national identity from that of their country – in particular, the Canadian province of Québec, the United Kingdom nation of Scotland, and the Spanish region of Catalonia – with the purpose of exploring the ways in which cultural policies are used to shape and influence a sense of cultural identity. Drawing on the economies of worth framework elaborated by Boltanski and Thévenot and the theory of governmentality developed by Foucault, this thesis developed a type analysis of cultural policy for national minorities as a means of exploring not only the ways in which their policies differ from that of their majority counterparts, but to offer a unique understanding of their culture and cultural/social predicament. Through its type analysis, this thesis found that the cultural policies of national minorities exhibited a unique trend in terms of: their application of the cultural industries as vehicles for the development and growth of their cultural/national identities; their support of culture and art as drivers of economic development and social cohesion; and their appraisal of artists and cultural producers as symbolic and literal ambassadors of cultural identity both nationally and internationally. More specifically, far from simply introducing policies that endeavour to preserve and protect cultural traditions and heritages as it has long been suspected, national minorities are developing policies that emphasise the creative aspects of culture and seek to grow their cultures identities through the production and dissemination of new works or forms of culture and art. In other words, the cultural policies of national minorities exhibit a discursive temporality: there is an acute awareness and appreciations of the culture of the past, juxtaposed by approaches to culture that seek to ensure the culture continues (and evolves) beyond the present.
38 citations
Cites background from "Between Facts and Norms: Contributi..."
...Thus, it is through cultural integration that the “political consciousness” of being part of or having membership in a nation takes hold (Habermas, 1998, p.493)....
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TL;DR: The social contract of the press finds its professional ideal in the intersection between republican and liberal philosophies originating with the classical philosophies of Rousseau, Locke and Hobbes as mentioned in this paper, and the mechanism of contractual reciprocity is appropriated to the relationship between journalism and its audiences to expose hidden ideological traits within the profession.
Abstract: This article traces the political-philosophical background of journalism's social contract metaphor. The social contract of the press finds its professional ideal in the intersection between republican and liberal philosophies originating with the classical philosophies of Rousseau, Locke and Hobbes. From these origins, the mechanism of contractual reciprocity is appropriated to the relationship between journalism and its audiences to expose hidden ideological traits within the profession. The concepts of rights and obligations found within a contractarian perspective thus offer a new way of conceptualising the role of journalism in democracy and the function of journalistic ideology. The press' social contract ideology entails a professional world-view that establishes journalism as a separate contractual partner with a mission to sustain the democratic order as it is expressed in the original political-philosophical social contract. This theoretical investigation of the ideological link between the two ...
38 citations
01 Jan 2009
TL;DR: In this paper, a more complex and nuanced analysis of the political history of Iraq is presented, focusing on four key periods in the history of the country and highlighting its long struggle towards egalitarianism, collective governance and democratic reform.
Abstract: The discourses of ‘Western democracy’ and ‘Oriental despotism’ provide for us a
lens through which to view both contemporary political developments and the
ideological and historical context in which they occur. Illuminating this optic is a
particular vision of the past in which the West imagines itself to have an exclusive
claim to democracy, to be the legitimate legatee of this advanced form of governance
and burdened with the responsibility of spreading this doctrine amongst the
uncivilised ‘lesser breeds’. Paradoxically, the political history of the East is viewed
as a dark and brutal wasteland in which megalomania, tyranny and bloodshed has
always triumphed, creating a cultural and historical landscape that is antithetical to
inclusion, diversity and debate. This project therefore begins by documenting the
genealogy of the juxtaposition between these ‘discourses of democracy’, tracing
their twin histories back through many of the seminal texts of the Western scholarly
and literary canon. Moving forward, it notes that this lens has often been brought to
bear on the political history of Iraq, reducing the complexities of Iraqi politics down
to an austere picture in which the benighted and savage Iraqis are seen as simply
incapable of civilising, modernising or democratising. Most recently, the Western
mainstream media has invoked this long-held and deep-seated picture of Iraq in its
coverage of the democratic elections and referendum held across the nation in 2005.
Here, the successes and complexities of post-Saddam Iraqi politics were covered in a
highly racialist and overly dismissive lexicon, one that emphasised the political
ineptitude of Iraq despite the best efforts of the West.
In order to see beyond the doctored image provided for us by the ‘discourses of
democracy’, this thesis utilises a body of work referred to here as critical theory. By
employing such scholarship, this project navigates between ‘Western democracy’
and ‘Oriental despotism’, it investigates their internal contradictions, identifies the
gaps and fissures that fall between them and illuminates alternate histories and
narratives of democracy as they pertain to Iraq. To develop this more complex and
nuanced picture of Iraqi politics, this project focuses on four key periods in the
history of Iraq that demonstrate the nation’s long struggle towards egalitarianism,
collective governance and democratic reform. Beginning with ancient Mesopotamia,
this study finds the political system of ‘Primitive Democracy’ in widespread use
across the region from the very earliest days of civilisation itself. During the
Colonial period (1921-1958) we find that despite British occupation and Hashemite
hegemony, the Iraqi populace nonetheless fosters a thriving public sphere of political
dissent and pro-democracy movements. This continues throughout the series of
oppressive regimes that constitute Post-colonial Iraq (1958-2003) where the central
state’s manipulation of the ‘discourses of democracy’ ultimately undermines their
authority and provides the vacuum in which various ethno-religious political factions
emerge and strengthen. Finally, Re-colonial Iraq (2003-2005) is not only witness to
extensive attempts by both foreign and domestic powers to control the parameters of
debate and discourse, it is also home to an unprecedented spike in political parties
and media outlets keen to encourage a more inclusive political order. A more
thorough analysis of Iraq’s political history therefore reveals an alternative and more
complex lens through which to view Iraq’s past and present. On the one hand it
illuminates the Iraqi people’s resistance to oppression and tyranny as well as their
struggle towards a more robust and democratic order. On the other, it brings to light
various questions about the democratic nature of the West, undermining its claims of
democratic exclusivity and probing its potential as a force of tyranny and despotism.
This study concludes with an examination of the implications and questions it raises
and by identifying recommendations and opportunities for future research. Foremost
amongst these however, is the projects final assertion that further work needs to be
done in order to salvage democracy from discourse. It argues that we need to move
beyond the reductive and simplistic ideologies implicit in the existing ‘discourses of
democracy’ towards a more inclusive and robust narrative, one that includes
marginalised movements, histories and stories. This would not only help to see
beyond the lens provided for us by ‘Western democracy’ and ‘Oriental despotism’ as
it pertains to Iraq, but to develop a more kaleidoscopic image of democracy itself.
38 citations
TL;DR: This article analysed a citizens' jury experiment held in Dublin on the hot-button issue of waste incineration and found that large opinion shifts were observed in a representative jury; these shifts remained observable nine months later.
Abstract: We analyse a citizens' jury experiment held in Dublin on the ‘hot-button’ issue of waste incineration. The jury was a random sample drawn from the 2002 Irish Election Study (IES), and we compare jurors to non-jurors in the 2002 IES, and in 2003 and 2004 panel studies. Large opinion shifts were observed in a representative jury; these shifts remained observable nine months later. However, as a direct consequence of our choice of a contested issue, the jurors' verdict was framed by the unwillingness of key stakeholders to participate. Stakeholders who expect to be on the ‘losing’ side, including public representatives and officials, may obstruct and delegitimise citizens' juries by withholding participation. This informal gatekeeping power undermines the potential of citizens' juries to empower citizens.
38 citations
Cites background from "Between Facts and Norms: Contributi..."
...On the other hand, theorists may have in mind a regulative ideal of deliberative procedure or norms (Benhabib, 1996; Cohen, 1997; Gutmann and Thompson, 1996; Habermas, 1992; 1996a; 1996b; 1997); or a duty of public reason or ‘answerability’ (Bohman, 1996; Rawls, 2005)....
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that, since the end of the Cold War, the understanding of democratic norm promotion has shifted through three conceptually distinct and chronologically distinguishable stages: the early 1990s view that democratic norms would be universalized with the cold war victory of liberal ideals and the spread of new global norms of good governance; the mid- to late 1990's view that barriers to the promotion of democratic norms could be understood as the product of state or elite self-interests; and the perspective dominant since the 2000s, that the promotion for democratic norms necessarily
Abstract: This article argues that, since the end of the Cold War, the understanding of democratic norm promotion has shifted through three conceptually distinct and chronologically distinguishable stages: the early 1990s view that democratic norms would be universalized with the Cold War victory of liberal ideals and the spread of new global norms of good governance; the mid- to late-1990s view that barriers to the promotion of democratic norms could be understood as the product of state or elite self-interests; and the perspective dominant since the 2000s, that the promotion of democratic norms necessarily involves much deeper and more extensive external intervention in order to transform social institutions and societal practices. Through charting the shifts in the understanding of democratic norm promotion, this article seeks to highlight the problems inherent in norm promotion discourses that emphasize the importance of subjective agency, normative choices, and cultural and ideational frameworks of understanding. A key problem being that, in the downplaying of social and economic context, agency-based understandings tend to degrade the rational capacities of – and to exoticize and problematize – the non-Western subject. The social constructivist approach, which presupposes a closed or endogenous framework of societal reproduction, has thereby been a crucial paradigm through which Western democracy promotion discourses have shifted to emphasizing the subjective policy barrier posed by the allegedly ‘non-liberal’ mindset of the non-Western subject.
38 citations
References
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TL;DR: In this comprehensive social theory of the Internet and the networked information economy, Benkler describes how patterns of information, knowledge, and cultural production are changing--and shows that the way information and knowledge are made available can either limit or enlarge the ways people can create and express themselves.
Abstract: With the radical changes in information production that the Internet has introduced, we stand at an important moment of transition, says Yochai Benkler in this thought-provoking book. The phenomenon he describes as social production is reshaping markets, while at the same time offering new opportunities to enhance individual freedom, cultural diversity, political discourse, and justice. But these results are by no means inevitable: a systematic campaign to protect the entrenched industrial information economy of the last century threatens the promise of today's emerging networked information environment. In this comprehensive social theory of the Internet and the networked information economy, Benkler describes how patterns of information, knowledge, and cultural production are changing--and shows that the way information and knowledge are made available can either limit or enlarge the ways people can create and express themselves. He describes the range of legal and policy choices that confront us and maintains that there is much to be gained--or lost--by the decisions we make today.
4,002 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors develop a framework for understanding the range of institutional possibilities for public participation, including who participates, how participants communicate with one another and make decisions together, and how discussions are linked with policy or public action.
Abstract: The multifaceted challenges of contemporary governance demand a complex account of the ways in which those who are subject to laws and policies should participate in making them. This article develops a framework for understanding the range of institutional possibilities for public participation. Mechanisms of participation vary along three important dimensions: who participates, how participants communicate with one another and make decisions together, and how discussions are linked with policy or public action. These three dimensions constitute a space in which any particular mechanism of participation can be located. Different regions of this institutional design space are more and less suited to addressing important problems of democratic governance such as legitimacy, justice, and effective administration.
1,526 citations
01 Dec 2000
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the current debate about the nature of democracy and discuss the main theses of the approach called "deliberative democracy" in its two main versions, the one put forward by John Rawls, and the other one put forth by Jurgen Habermas.
Abstract: This article examines the current debate about the nature of democracy and discusses the main theses of the approach called 'deliberative democracy' in its two main versions, the one put forward by John Rawls, and the other one put forwardby Jurgen Habermas. While agreeing with them as regards to the need to develop a more of democracy than the one offered by the 'aggregative' model, I submit that they do not provide an adequate understanding of the main task of democracy. No doubt, by stating that democracy cannot be reduced to a question of procedures to mediate among conflicting interests, deliberative democrats defend a conception of democracy that presents a richer conception of politics. But, albeit in a different way thanthe view they criticize, their vision is also a rationalist one which leaves aside the crucial role played by 'passions' and collective forms of identifications in the field of politics. Moreover, in their attempt to reconcile the liberal tradition with the democratic one, deliberative democrats tend to erase the tension that exist between liberalism and democracy and they are therefore unable to come to terms with the conflictual nature of democratic politics. The main thesis that I put forward in this article is that democratic theory needs to acknowledge the ineradicability of antagonism and the impossibility of achieving a fully inclusive rational consensus. I argue that a model of democracy in terms of 'agonistic pluralism' can help us to better envisage the main challenge facing democratic politics today: how to create democratic forms of identifications that will contribute to mobilize passions towards democratic designs.;
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TL;DR: Public diplomacy, as the diplomacy of the public, not of the government, intervenes in this global public sphere, laying the ground for traditional forms of diplomacy to act beyond the strict negotiation of power relationships by building on shared... as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The public sphere is the space of communication of ideas and projects that emerge from society and are addressed to the decision makers in the institutions of society. The global civil society is the organized expression of the values and interests of society. The relationships between government and civil society and their interaction via the public sphere define the polity of society. The process of globalization has shifted the debate from the national domain to the global debate, prompting the emergence of a global civil society and of ad hoc forms of global governance. Accordingly, the public sphere as the space of debate on public affairs has also shifted from the national to the global and is increasingly constructed around global communication networks. Public diplomacy, as the diplomacy of the public, not of the government, intervenes in this global public sphere, laying the ground for traditional forms of diplomacy to act beyond the strict negotiation of power relationships by building on shared...
936 citations
Book•
05 Oct 2012
TL;DR: Tweets and the Streets as mentioned in this paper examines the relationship between the rise of social media and the emergence of new forms of protest, arguing that activists' use of Twitter and Facebook does not fit with the image of a "cyberspace" detached from physical reality.
Abstract: Tweets and the Streets analyses the culture of the new protest movements of the 21st century. From the Arab Spring to the "indignados" protests in Spain and the Occupy movement, Paolo Gerbaudo examines the relationship between the rise of social media and the emergence of new forms of protest. Gerbaudo argues that activists' use of Twitter and Facebook does not fit with the image of a "cyberspace" detached from physical reality. Instead, social media is used as part of a project of re-appropriation of public space, which involves the assembling of different groups around "occupied" places such as Cairo's Tahrir Square or New York's Zuccotti Park. An exciting and invigorating journey through the new politics of dissent, Tweets and the Streets points both to the creative possibilities and to the risks of political evanescence which new media brings to the contemporary protest experience.
911 citations