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Author: Geraint Parry
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 1992-01-16
Total Pages: 532
ISBN-13: 9780521336024
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →The results of a survey on the level and patterns of political involvement in Britain.
Author: David Jeevendrampillai
Publisher: UCL Press
Published: 2021-10-12
Total Pages: 228
ISBN-13: 1800080530
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →A study of the conditions of being a citizen, belonging and democracy in suburban Britain, this book focuses on understanding how a community takes on the social responsibility and pressures of being a good citizen through what they call ‘stupid’ events, festivals and parades. Building a community is perceived to be an important and necessary act to enable resilience against the perceived threats of neoliberal socio-economic life such as isolation, selfishness and loss of community. Citizenship, Democracy and Belonging in Suburban Britain explores how authoritative knowledge is developed, maintained and deployed by this group as they encounter other ‘social projects’, such as the local council planning committee or academic projects researching participation in urban planning. The activists, who call themselves the ‘Seething Villagers’, model their community activity on the mythical ancient village of Seething where moral tales of how to work together, love others and be a community are laid out in the Seething Tales. These tales include Seething ‘facts’ such as the fact that the ancient Mountain of Seething was destroyed by a giant. The assertion of fact is central to the mechanisms of play and the refusal of expertise at the heart of the Seething community. The book also stands as a reflexive critique on anthropological practice, as the author examines their role in mobilising knowledge and speaking on behalf of others. Citizenship, Democracy and Belonging in Suburban Britain is of interest to anthropologists, urban studies scholars, geographers and those interested in the notions of democracy, inclusion, citizenship and anthropological practice.
Author: Matt Cole
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Published: 2006-04-03
Total Pages: 192
ISBN-13: 0748626697
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →This textbook brings together an introduction to the political theory of democracy since Ancient times and a critical picture of its place in Britain today.The author examines the work of Plato and Aristotle, Rousseau and Mill, Marx and Weber, and locates them and others in the debate about what democracy means. He then scrutinises Britain's claim to be a developing democracy, from the power of the Prime Minister and the role of political parties to the influence of pressure groups and the media, as well as recent constitutional changes.In the context of declining public trust in political institutions and increasing reluctance to vote, crucial questions are tackled: do we have a democracy, and why does it matter? Key Features:*A wide-ranging, accessible introduction to the place of Democracy in Britain today*Divided into two halves: on democratic theory (reflecting its history, development, and key concepts) and democratic practice (examining political institutions)*Offers examples of documentary material to illustrate the ideas presented*Up-to-date: includes material written after the 2005 General Election
Author: Patrick Dunleavy
Publisher: LSE Press
Published: 2018-11-01
Total Pages: 521
ISBN-13: 1909890464
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →The UK’s Changing Democracy presents a uniquely democratic perspective on all aspects of UK politics, at the centre in Westminster and Whitehall, and in all the devolved nations. The 2016 referendum vote to leave the EU marked a turning point in the UK’s political system. In the previous two decades, the country had undergone a series of democratic reforms, during which it seemed to evolve into a more typical European liberal democracy. The establishment of a Supreme Court, adoption of the Human Rights Act, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish devolution, proportional electoral systems, executive mayors and the growth in multi-party competition all marked profound changes to the British political tradition. Brexit may now bring some of these developments to a juddering halt. The UK’s previous ‘exceptionalism’ from European patterns looks certain to continue indefinitely. ‘Taking back control’ of regulations, trade, immigration and much more is the biggest change in UK governance for half a century. It has already produced enduring crises for the party system, Parliament and the core executive, with uniquely contested governance over critical issues, and a rapidly changing political landscape. Other recent trends are no less fast-moving, such as the revival of two-party dominance in England, the re-creation of some mass membership parties and the disruptive challenges of social media. In this context, an in-depth assessment of the quality of the UK’s democracy is essential. Each of the 2018 Democratic Audit’s 37 short chapters starts with clear criteria for what democracy requires in that part of the nation’s political life and outlines key recent developments before a SWOT analysis (of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) crystallises the current situation. A small number of core issues are then explored in more depth. Set against the global rise of debased semi-democracies, the book’s approach returns our focus firmly to the big issues around the quality and sustainability of the UK’s liberal democracy.
Author: Dr Ella Dzelzainis
Publisher: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
Published: 2013-11-28
Total Pages: 411
ISBN-13: 1409473120
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →In nineteenth-century Britain, the effects of democracy in America were seen to spread from Congress all the way down to the personal habits of its citizens. Bringing together political theorists, historians, and literary scholars, this volume explores the idea of American democracy in nineteenth-century Britain. The essays span the period from Independence to the First World War and trace an intellectual history of Anglo-American relations during that period. Leading scholars trace the hopes and fears inspired by the American model of democracy in the works of commentators, including Thomas Paine, Mary Wollstonecraft, Alexis de Tocqueville, Charles Dickens, John Stuart Mill, Richard Cobden, Charles Dilke, Matthew Arnold, Henry James and W. T. Stead. By examining the context of debates about American democracy and notions of ‘culture’, citizenship, and race, the collection sheds fresh light on well-documented moments of British political history, such as the Reform Acts, the Abolition of Slavery Act, and the Anti-Corn Law agitation. The volume also explores the ways in which British Liberalism was shaped by the American example and draws attention to the importance of print culture in furthering radical political dialogue between the two nations. As the comprehensive introduction makes clear, this collection makes an important contribution to transatlantic studies and our growing sense of a nineteenth-century modernity shaped by an Atlantic exchange. It is an essential reference point for all interested in the history of the idea of democracy, its political evolution, and its perceived cultural consequences.
Author: David Beetham
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2002-09-11
Total Pages: 544
ISBN-13: 1134864116
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Democratic Institutions and Practices is the second study carried out under the Democratic Audit of the UK. This volume explores the formal institutions and processes of the liberal democratic state: including the executive, elections, parliament and the civil service.
Author: Colin Pilkington
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Published: 1997
Total Pages: 308
ISBN-13: 9780719048180
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →In the aftermath of the Scott Report and the Nolan Committee this new study looks at the declining accountability of government in Britain, and the growth of quangos and agencies as well as the Monarchy and House of Lords are examined.
Author: F.N. Forman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2007-08-09
Total Pages: 584
ISBN-13: 1137021594
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Containing all the information and analysis needed to understand the British system of Government and politics, Mastering British Politics is an essential text. This fifth edition has been fully revised and updated to reflect the results of and developments since the 2005 General Election.
Author: Adrian Williamson
Publisher: Boydell Press is
Published: 2019
Total Pages: 0
ISBN-13: 9781783274437
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →This book explores Britain's gradual disenchantment with both social democracy and the EEC/EU, culminating in the 2016 vote for Brexit. It offers a much-needed historical perspective to the current political crisis in Britain. 2020 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title Award Winner Between about 1957 and 1979, British governments pursued policies loosely based on social democracy, with a strong commitment to full employment and egalitarianism. At this time, there was almost unlimited enthusiasm on the Rightof British politics for membership of the EEC. The real debate was within the British Left, and the dividing line was between socialists and social democrats. The former wished to march on towards the promised land of real socialism; the latter were broadly content with the status quo. 1975, when the nation voted by 2 to 1 to stay in the EEC, was a triumph for those who had always been passionate supporters of the European project. It was also the high water mark of the UK's commitment to social democracy. Full employment remained the central goal of macro-economic strategy, and the nation's income and wealth were more evenly distributed than ever before or since. Since thelate 1970s, social democracy in the UK has been in continuous retreat. For the Conservatives, this retreat has been headlong since the rise of Thatcherism in the mid-1970s. Under New Labour, a viable alternative model to Thatcherism was never identified. This mixture of metropolitan social liberalism and freewheeling, finance-based capitalism came unstuck in the crisis of 2007-9. The ostensibly pro-European forces thus came into the 2016 referendum campaign in a very weak state. Tories were, at best, unenthusiastic and many were hostile. Eurosceptic socialists had taken back control of Labour. The forces of social democracy, triumphant in 1975, were beleaguered. It is perhaps notsurprising that Remain lost. This book explores the nation's gradual disenchantment with both social democracy and the EEC/EU, culminating in the 2016 vote for Brexit. It tells the story of the declining fortunes of these two intertwined concepts, for which no one has yet devised any plausible successor project. ADRIAN WILLIAMSON is a QC and practicing barrister at Keating Chambers, London, an Elected Fellow of the Royal Historical Society andthe author of Conservative Economic Policymaking and the Birth of Thatcherism, 1964-1979 (Palgrave, 2015).
