Compromises in Democracy

Compromises in Democracy
Author: Sandrine Baume
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 249
Release: 2020-05-26
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 3030408027

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This book provides an interdisciplinary examination of the relationship between compromise and democracy. Compromises have played a significant role in our representative democracies and yet the nature of the relationship between compromise and democracy has generally raised tricky theoretical questions and generated ambiguous evaluations. This book focuses on the relationship between compromise and liberal democracies from both a cultural and institutional perspective and addresses new and lesser-explored aspects of the relationship. It explores a variety of topics including: compromise and in-commensurable values, antagonist paradigms, compromise and majority decisions, compromise and publicity, compromise and post-conflict societies, compromise and anti-system political parties, and compromise and the understanding of political representation. Compromises in Democracy offers an original perspective on the topic by assembling contributions from the fields of philosophy, sociology, political theory, political science and history of ideas.

The Spirit of Compromise

The Spirit of Compromise
Author: Amy Gutmann
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2014-04-27
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1400851246

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Why compromise is essential for effective government and why it is missing in politics today To govern in a democracy, political leaders have to compromise. When they do not, the result is political paralysis—dramatically demonstrated by the gridlock in Congress in recent years. In The Spirit of Compromise, eminent political thinkers Amy Gutmann and Dennis Thompson show why compromise is so important, what stands in the way of achieving it, and how citizens can make defensible compromises more likely. They urge politicians to focus less on campaigning and more on governing. In a new preface, the authors reflect on the state of compromise in Congress since the book's initial publication. Calling for greater cooperation in contemporary politics, The Spirit of Compromise will interest everyone who cares about making government work better for the good of all.

The Spirit of Compromise

The Spirit of Compromise
Author: Amy Gutmann
Publisher:
Total Pages: 279
Release: 2012
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780691153919

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Argues that bipartisan compromise is essential to effective governing, and claims that the dominance of political campaigning in the United States has blocked compromise and threatened the effectiveness of American government.

Against Political Compromise

Against Political Compromise
Author: Alexander Ruser
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 100
Release: 2017-07-14
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1351599879

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Political compromise is emerging as a preferred solution for numerous apparently intractable problems. Many have pointed to the rising degree of political polarisation around issues such as climate change, immigration and abortion. These are ‘wicked problems’ that are clearly not conducive to any sort of political consensus. The groups and individuals who are party to these issues disagree, often both fully and fiercely. As an alternative, political compromise seemingly offers a way of respecting difference while simultaneously generating a decision upon which policy can move forward. But proponents of political compromise should also acknowledge its significant weaknesses and dangers. Invoking recent examples from various policy areas to illustrate their claims, the authors assert that compromise can disguise inequality, reduce plurality and heighten uncertainty. In short, compromise can weaken democracy and must not be seen as some sort of political panacea. This concise, accessible text offers a strong and provocative argument that provides a crucial counterpoint to the promise of compromise. It should prove of interest to students and scholars interested in compromise and consensus as well as democratic governance, social inequality, political apathy and environmental politics.

The U.S. Congress: A Very Short Introduction

The U.S. Congress: A Very Short Introduction
Author: Donald A. Ritchie
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 169
Release: 2016-06-21
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0190280166

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In the second edition of The U.S. Congress, Donald A. Ritchie, a congressional historian for more than thirty years, takes readers on a fascinating, behind-the-scenes tour of Capitol Hill, pointing out the key players, explaining their behavior, and translating parliamentary language into plain English. No mere civics lesson, this eye-opening book provides an insider's perspective on Congress, matched with a professional historian's analytical insight. After a swift survey of the creation of Congress by the constitutional convention, he begins to unscrew the nuts and pull out the bolts. What is it like to campaign for Congress? To attract large donors? To enter either house with no seniority? He answers these questions and more, explaining committee assignments and committee work, the role of staffers and lobbyists, floor proceedings, parliamentary rules, and coalition building. Ritchie explores the great effort put into constituent service-as representatives and senators respond to requests from groups and individuals-as well as media relations and news coverage. He also explores how the grand concepts we all know from civics class--checks and balances, advise and consent, congressional oversight--work in practice in an age of strong presidents and a muscular Senate minority.

Compromises and Deals

Compromises and Deals
Author: Charlie Samuels
Publisher: Greenhaven Publishing LLC
Total Pages: 50
Release: 2018-12-15
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 1534566724

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Many pieces of important legislation are passed because of compromises and deals struck between lawmakers. The U.S. Constitution was created through a complex system of compromises, and this process continues in American government today. Readers get an inside look at this part of the political system as they discover historical and modern examples of influential compromises and deals. Sidebars and discussion questions invite readers to form their own point of view on this controversial part of the political process, and full-color photographs of famous politicians fill each page.

Democracy and Political Ignorance

Democracy and Political Ignorance
Author: Ilya Somin
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Total Pages: 277
Release: 2013-10-02
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0804789312

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One of the biggest problems with modern democracy is that most of the public is usually ignorant of politics and government. Often, many people understand that their votes are unlikely to change the outcome of an election and don't see the point in learning much about politics. This may be rational, but it creates a nation of people with little political knowledge and little ability to objectively evaluate what they do know. In Democracy and Political Ignorance, Ilya Somin mines the depths of ignorance in America and reveals the extent to which it is a major problem for democracy. Somin weighs various options for solving this problem, arguing that political ignorance is best mitigated and its effects lessened by decentralizing and limiting government. Somin provocatively argues that people make better decisions when they choose what to purchase in the market or which state or local government to live under, than when they vote at the ballot box, because they have stronger incentives to acquire relevant information and to use it wisely.

Compromise and Disagreement in Contemporary Political Theory

Compromise and Disagreement in Contemporary Political Theory
Author: Christian F. Rostbøll
Publisher:
Total Pages: 204
Release: 2017-10-31
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9781315317823

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Until recently, discussions of compromise have been largely absent in political theory. However, political theorists have become increasingly interested in understanding the practice and justification of compromise in politics. This interest is connected to the increased concern with pluralism and disagreement. Compromise and Disagreement in Contemporary Political Theoryprovides a critical discussion of when and to what extent compromise is the best response to pluralism and disagreement in democratic decision-making and beyond. Christian F. Rostbøll and Theresa Scavenius draw together the work of ten established and emerging scholars to provide different perspectives on compromise. Organized into four parts, the book begins by discussing the justification and limits of compromise. Part 2 discusses the practice of compromise and considers the ethics required for compromise as well as the institutions that facilitate compromise. Part 3 focuses on pluralism and connects the topic of compromise to current discussions in political theory on public reason, political liberalism, and respect for diversity. Part 4 discusses different challenges to compromise in the context of the current political environment. The book will be of interest to a wide range of scholars in the social sciences, philosophy, and law. It will be useful in introducing scholars to a variety of approaches to compromise and as readings for graduate courses in political theory and political philosophy, ethics, the history of ideas, and the philosophy of law.

Democracy Disfigured

Democracy Disfigured
Author: Nadia Urbinati
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 318
Release: 2014-02-25
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0674726383

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In Democracy Disfigured, Nadia Urbinati diagnoses the ills that beset the body politic in an age of hyper-partisanship and media monopolies and offers a spirited defense of the messy compromises and contentious outcomes that define democracy. Urbinati identifies three types of democratic disfiguration: the unpolitical, the populist, and the plebiscitarian. Each undermines a crucial division that a well-functioning democracy must preserve: the wall separating the free forum of public opinion from governmental institutions that enact the will of the people. Unpolitical democracy delegitimizes political opinion in favor of expertise. Populist democracy radically polarizes the public forum in which opinion is debated. And plebiscitary democracy overvalues the aesthetic and nonrational aspects of opinion. For Urbinati, democracy entails a permanent struggle to make visible the issues that citizens deem central to their lives. Opinion is thus a form of action as important as the mechanisms that organize votes and mobilize decisions. Urbinati focuses less on the overt enemies of democracy than on those who pose as its friends: technocrats wedded to procedure, demagogues who make glib appeals to "the people," and media operatives who, given their preference, would turn governance into a spectator sport and citizens into fans of opposing teams.

Federalism

Federalism
Author: Malcolm Feeley
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2009-12-21
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0472024833

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Federalism is one of the most influential concepts in modern political discourse as well as the focus of immense controversy resulting from the lack of a single coherent definition. Malcolm M. Feeley and Edward Rubin expose the ambiguities of modern federalism, offering a powerful but generous treatise on the modern salience of the term. “Malcolm Feeley and Edward Rubin have published an excellent book.” —Sanford Levinson, University of Texas at Austin “At last, an insightful examination of federalism stripped of its romance. An absolutely splendid book, rigorous but still accessible.” —Larry Yackle, Boston University “Professors Feeley and Rubin clearly define what is and is not federal system. This book should be required for serious students of comparative government and American government.” —G. Ross Stephens, University of Missouri, Kansas City “Feeley and Rubin have written a brilliant book that looks at federalism from many different perspectives—historical, political, and constitutional. Significantly expanding on their earlier pathbreaking work, they have explained the need for a theory of federalism and provided one. This is a must read book for all who are interested in the Constitution.” —Erwin Chemerinsky, Duke University School of Law