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 2006
2,797 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.;
1,338 citations
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
References
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TL;DR: For some, the transnationalization of political action and communicative space in the European Union heralds an emergent cosmopolitan order Need that be so? There are supranational institutions in the EU as well as transnational political and cultural spaces and cross-border communicative flows However, the Union's member states remain key controllers of citizenship rights and purveyors of collective identities as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: ■ For some, the transnationalization of political action and communicative space in the European Union heralds an emergent cosmopolitan order Need that be so? There are supranational institutions in the EU as well as transnational political and cultural spaces and cross-border communicative flows However, the Union's member states remain key controllers of citizenship rights and purveyors of collective identities And for many purposes they still maintain strongly bounded national public spheres Because the EU's overall character as a polity remains unresolved, this has consequences for the organization of communicative spaces The EU is a field of tensions and contradictions that is inescapably rooted in institutional realities Wishful thinking about cosmopolitanism can get in the way of clear analysis ■
32 citations
TL;DR: The Lisbon Treaty gave the European Parliament (EP) considerable new powers in the field of external trade policy as discussed by the authors, which is puzzling, as there is little to support dominant explanations such as bargaining on the part of the EP or member states making it a priority to enhance the EP's role in trade.
Abstract: The Lisbon Treaty gave the European Parliament (EP) considerable new powers in the field of external trade policy. This is puzzling, as there is little to support dominant explanations such as bargaining on the part of the EP or member states making it a priority to enhance the EP’s role in trade. The article shows how the EP (together with the Commission) was able to convince the Convention that extending the EP’s trade powers was reasonable because there were no valid arguments for exempting trade from the general rule of linking qualified majority voting and codecision. The findings challenge established accounts of the EP’s empowerment by demonstrating how the principle of parliamentary representation is not an uncontested source of legitimacy, despite its constitutional status. In situations where institutional foundations are debated, even the principle of parliamentary representation may be put to the test. The article also adds to the debate about the role of norms in political decision-ma...
32 citations
TL;DR: Tajfel, H., M. Walker, R. Tully, J. Williams, A.Zurn, C.Tully, and C.F. Flament as mentioned in this paper discuss the importance of status recognition in international relations.
Abstract: University of Chicago Press. Slaughter, A.M. 1995. ‘‘International Law in a World of Liberal States.’’ European Journal of International Law 6:503–38. Tajfel, H. 1981. Human Groups and Social Categories: Studies in Social Psychology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Tajfel, H., M.G. Billig, R.P. Bundy, and C. Flament. 1971. ‘‘Social Categorization and Intergroup Behaviour.’’ European Journal of Social Psychology 1(2):149–78. Taylor, C. 1995. ‘‘The Politics of Recognition.’’ In Philosophical Arguments, edited by Taylor, S., 255–56. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Tully, J. 2000. ‘‘Struggles over Recognition and Distribution.’’ Constellations 7(4):469–82. —— 2001. ‘‘The Struggles of Indigenous Peoples for and of Freedom.’’ In Political Theory and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, edited by Ivison D., Patton P. and Saunders W., 36–59. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Walker, R.B.J. 2009. After the Globe, Before the World. London: Routledge. Wendt, A. 1999. Social Theory of International Relations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. —— 2003. ‘‘Why a World State is Inevitable.’’ European Journal of International Relations 9(4):491–542. —— 2004. ‘‘The State as Person in International Theory.’’ Review of International Studies 30(2):289–316. Wight, M. 1972. ‘‘International Legitimacy.’’ International Relations 4(1):1–28. Williams, R.R. 1997. Hegel’s Ethics of Recognition. Berkeley: University of California Press. Wolf, R. 2011. ‘‘Respect and Disrespect in International Politics: The Significance of Status Recognition.’’ International Theory 3(1):105–42. Zarakol, A. 2010. After Defeat: How the East Learned to Live with the West. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Zurn, C.F. 2003. ‘‘Identity or Status? Struggles over ‘Recognition’ in Fraser, Honneth, and Taylor.’’ Constellations 10(4):519–37.
32 citations
Dissertation•
01 Jan 2006
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors employed a Grounded Theory based methodology on data collected from Botswana, Ireland, Malawi, South Africa and the UK to discern Botswana's preparedness for FOI legislation in line with the country's national aspiration, Vision 2016.
Abstract: Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation is mostly adopted on the presumption that good records management exists. However, it is pertinent that the functionality of records management in the creation, management and making records available for access internally within government and externally to citizens be established as the legislation is being planned for. Through the planning process, the capacities of records management in providing access to information will be known. This study employs a Grounded Theory based methodology on data collected from Botswana, Ireland, Malawi, South Africa and the UK to discern Botswana's preparedness for FOI legislation in line with the country's national aspiration, Vision 2016. It also uses the same data to unearth relationships that exist between records management and FOI legislation. The study has established that constitutional guarantees on access to information are an inadequate measure to enable citizens to gain direct access to official information. As a result, countries which regulate access to information through the guarantees have to adopt FOI legislation so as to effectuate them. The adoption of the legislation should be founded on the democratic ideal of enhancing the capacity of citizens in developing and offering informed consent including improving their participation in their governance. The law should also be predicated on the obligation of government in accounting to citizens as well as empowering them to hold it to account. In addition, the law should be based on an environment which would enable citizens to formulate, develop and demonstrate trust in the governance process. Lastly FOI legislation should be built on a good records management system which will provide an assurance that the governance process is well documented, and its records can be availed for access. Through the diverse case study countries, the study has established that Botswana is prepared for the adoption of FOI legislation. However, as the country works towards adoption of the legislation, it should strive to evaluate the efficacy of public sector records management.
32 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors take Habermas's treatment of civil disobedience as a litmus test of the way in which he relates to the imperfectness of a mature constitutional democracy.
Abstract: In this article, I take Habermas's treatment of civil disobedience as a litmus test of the way in which Habermas relates to the imperfectness of democracy. The case of civil disobedience, which Habermas deems to be a normal part of a mature constitutional democracy, shows that Habermas is ultimately unable to submit all decisions and distinctions to the public use of reason as envisaged in his deliberative account of democracy. As a consequence, I argue that we must take the imperfectness of democracy as constitutive and our conceptualization of civil disobedience and democracy must start from there. The reading of Habermas and the argument for an alternative approach are inspired by the work of Jacques Derrida, central to which is an idea of democracy and justice ‘to-come’ focusing our attention on the performative role of civil disobedience in creating more legitimate laws.
32 citations