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Democratizing Inequalities: Dilemmas of the New Public Participation

Online ISBN:
9781479800223
Print ISBN:
9781479847273
Publisher:
NYU Press
Book

Democratizing Inequalities: Dilemmas of the New Public Participation

Caroline W. Lee (ed.),
Caroline W. Lee
(ed.)
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Michael McQuarrie (ed.),
Michael McQuarrie
(ed.)
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Edward T. Walker (ed.)
Edward T. Walker
(ed.)
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Published online:
24 March 2016
Published in print:
30 January 2015
Online ISBN:
9781479800223
Print ISBN:
9781479847273
Publisher:
NYU Press

Abstract

Opportunities to “have your say,” “get involved,” and “join the conversation” are everywhere in public life. From crowdsourcing and town hall meetings to government experiments with social media, participatory politics increasingly seem like a revolutionary antidote to the decline of civic engagement and the thinning of the contemporary public sphere. Many argue that, with new technologies, flexible organizational cultures, and a supportive policymaking context, we now hold the keys to large-scale democratic revitalization. This book shows that the equation may not be so simple. Modern societies face a variety of structural problems that limit potentials for true democratization, as well as vast inequalities in political action and voice that are not easily resolved by participatory solutions. Popular participation may even reinforce elite power in unexpected ways. This book reveals surprising insights into how dilemmas of the new public participation play out in politics and organizations. Through investigations including fights over the authenticity of business-sponsored public participation, the surge of the Tea Party, the role of corporations in electoral campaigns, and participatory budgeting practices in Brazil, the book seeks to refresh our understanding of public participation and trace the reshaping of authority in today's political environment.

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