Democratic professionalism is an approach that enables public service professionals to work more democratically with clients, patients, students and other public service users. This book explores what it means to act in a democratic way and provides practical guidance which will help public service professionals ensure users are at the centre of public services delivery, drawing from examples of different public services around the world. It considers the conflicts and tensions of being an activist and a professional and provides a vision for a future democratic professionalism.
Why do democracies fall apart, and what can be done about it?
This book introduces students to the concept and causes of democratic decay in the modern world. Illustrating the integral link between public commitment to democratic norms and the maintenance of healthy democracies, it examines the key factors in decaying democracies, including:
• Economic inequality;
• Corruption;
• Populist and authoritarian discourse;
• Declining belief in political institutions and processes.
Drawing on real-world developments, and including international case studies, the book outlines the extent to which there is a ‘democratic recession’ in contemporary politics and shows how transnational networks and technology are impacting on this development.
In past decades, most democratic European countries sought to achieve a more equal division of labour between men and women, both within families and organisations. At the same time, they wanted to offer individuals and families sufficient freedom to determine their own roles. But how far can the basic values of ‘equality’ and ‘freedom’ be realised in the daily division of labour in a complex modern society? How can they be linked with other principles, such as ‘solidarity’ and ‘efficiency’?
“Towards a democratic division of labour?” starts from the challenge of balancing these values in all sections of modern society, introducing the Combination Model as a scientific tool for studying the division of professional and family work. Following an integrated conceptual approach, the book explains the historical evolution of the division of labour in modern welfare states. Three policy models are developed to illustrate how a democratic division of labour can be conceived in the long-term and the Complete Combination Model is presented as the most suitable for the development of an integrated policy programme.
“Towards a democratic division of labour?” offers inspiration to all scientists, policy makers, representatives of societal organisations and managers who are searching for new theoretical, empirical and policy perspectives.
91 6 Lessons From Democratic Innovations Graham Smith In telling ourselves the story of democracy, we refer to heady principles of political equality and popular control. But the extent to which either of these principles is enacted in democracy as a practice is open to question. Social and economic differentials across society have a significant bearing on citizens’ capacities to effect political change. As our societies become ever more unequal, so too does the distance from the ideal of democracy. For those committed to forms of participatory democracy
1 1 Creating democratic public services There is a danger that the constitutional, legal, cultural and leadership factors, which together create what is important and distinctive about public services, are not reflected on, or are dismissed as the bureaucratic problem which must be ‘reformed.’ (Matheson, 2002) This book provides a set of ideas which aim to contribute to the creation of democratic public services that value service users and public service professionals so that they support and complement each and are not set against each other. It will aim
21 2 Realism and Democratic Renewal Nick Pearce As the Berlin Wall came tumbling down in 1989, the American political theorist Francis Fukuyama famously declared that liberal democracy was ‘the End of History’. It had defeated all of its twentieth century rivals, from fascism to communism, and had nothing left to fear except the blandness of the prosperous human life it guaranteed (Fukuyama, 1992). Today, we are more likely to read about liberal democracy coming to an end. Western democracies are assailed on all sides: internally, from declining legitimacy
I have discussed social and economic alternative societies or utopias, within and beyond capitalism and current societies. Many involve collective ownership or control on a democratic basis, often in the economy, and socialism has been distinguished by its commitment to collective ownership. In the last two chapters, I focused on utopia and socialism as core approaches that came out of the survey of alternatives in Chapters 1 and 2 . In this chapter, I will go into more detail on collective ownership and control in the economy, especially on contemporary
From the start, the coronavirus crisis was a propaganda contest between democratic and authoritarian capitalist regimes: who is better equipped to fight against the crisis? Authoritarian countries such as China and Singapore were lauded for their draconian and successful measures against the spreading of the crisis, but also detested for their lack of transparency. Later in the crisis, other authoritarian countries such as Russia, in contrast, suffered more from infections than democratic ones. Which type of capitalism will win the propaganda contest
49 SIX Sociology as democratic knowledge John Holmwood John Holmwood is professor of sociology at the University of Nottingham. He did his undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the University of Cambridge, with an interlude as teaching assistant at the University of California, Los Angeles. He has held appointments at the universities of Tasmania, Edinburgh, Sussex and Birmingham. He has been chair of the Council of UK Heads and Professors of Sociology (2007–12) and president of the BSA (2012–14). He is co- founder of the Campaign for the Public
71 FOUR Liberal democratic inclusion Introduction Recognising differences does not counter liberalism’s sacrosanct protection of individual rights. Individual identity must come from somewhere. It is heavily shaped by culture and derives meaning from communal relationships. Differences in political identities contribute to the differences in ideas that democracy requires for its own effectiveness. The ideas that compete for popular ascendancy are not confined to abstract philosophical positions and ‘The unity of society and the allegiance of its citizens
