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Journal Article

Between Facts and Norms: Contributions to a Discourse Theory of Law and Democracy

01 Feb 1997-Review of Metaphysics-Vol. 51, Iss: 1, pp 153-155
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.
Citations
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Archon Fung1
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

Journal ArticleDOI
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: The additions of a preliminary planning phase to Kemmis and McTaggart’s PAR description as well as the use of the professional co-development group, an action-oriented data collection method are described to help PAR co-participants achieve improved scientific rigour.
Abstract: The persistent theory-practice gap shows how challenging it can be for healthcare professionals to keep updating their practices. The continuing education challenges are partly explained by the tre...

21 citations

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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors draw on entrepreneurial and deliberative perspectives on urban governance, and work out criteria for assessing network performance, and ask whether it is possible to strike a balance between democratic procedural standards and producing the desired outcomes.
Abstract: Governance networks are increasingly important in urban planning, in policy implementation and in service provision, and are often organized to improve efficiency and innovation in the pursuit of some public purpose. We argue that their democratic merits, in addition to their efficiency and output aspects, must be taken into consideration if they are to be understood as legitimate problem solvers on behalf of a local democratic authority. Here we draw on entrepreneurial and deliberative perspectives on urban governance, and work out criteria for assessing network performance. The insights of both perspectives are needed, we argue, to study legitimacy in contemporary urban policies, and we ask whether it is possible to strike a balance between democratic procedural standards and producing the desired outcomes. Empirically we compare the performance of a network with a strong entrepreneurial orientation with that of a network with a deliberative orientation, both located in the same city and operating withi...

21 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss the history of Acehnese wars and the progress of peace in Aceh after the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Aceh Freedom Movement, or Gerakan Aceh Merdeka (GAM), and the Republic of Indonesia in Helsinki on August 15th, 2005 Prior to this, Aceh was a tense region and home to the longest armed conflict in Southeast Asia.
Abstract: This paper aims to discuss the history of Acehnese wars and the progress of peace in Aceh after the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Aceh Freedom Movement, or Gerakan Aceh Merdeka (GAM), and the Republic of Indonesia in Helsinki on August 15th, 2005 Prior to this, Aceh was a tense region and home to the longest armed conflict in Southeast Asia – underway since 1982 The people of Aceh were fighting to realize the concept of self-independence However, the movement came to a stop when the devastating tsunami hit Aceh on December 26th, 2004 The purpose of this paper is to discuss the root of Acehnese wars The paper will provide the current political, social, economic and cultural achievements since Aceh entered into a new chapter of peace Using qualitative approach, the theory of inequality and conflict and Fanon’s ideas, this paper offers a comprehensive perspective on learning from Aceh wars and conflicts This study found that the motive of wars in Aceh can be divided from group motive, private motivation, failure of social contract and environment scarcity Moreover, the research confirms that social and economic progress in Aceh has not been as successful as its political achievements Furthermore, in terms of culture, progress has been ambiguous This paper aims to provide a better understanding of how to maintain peace in Aceh by addressing social, political, economic and cultural issues with the goal of attaining prosperity and well-being for the people of Aceh

20 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, participatory action synthesis is presented as a new approach to qualitative synthesis, which may be used to facilitate the promotion and use of qualitative research for policy and practice.
Abstract: This article presents participatory action synthesis as a new approach to qualitative synthesis which may be used to facilitate the promotion and use of qualitative research for policy and practice...

20 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Collective memories of totalitarianism and the industrialized slaughter of the Holocaust have exerted a profound influence on postwar European politics and philosophy as discussed by the authors, and two of the most prominent poli...
Abstract: Collective memories of totalitarianism and the industrialized slaughter of the Holocaust have exerted a profound influence on postwar European politics and philosophy. Two of the most prominent pol...

20 citations