Democracy and Association

Cover
Princeton University Press, 2001 - 265 Seiten

Tocqueville's view that a virtuous and viable democracy depends on robust associational life has become a cornerstone of contemporary democratic theory. Democratic theorists generally agree that issue networks, recreational associations, support circles, religious groups, unions, advocacy groups, and myriad other kinds of associations enhance democracy by cultivating citizenship, promoting public deliberation, providing voice and representation, and enabling varied forms of governance. Yet there has been little work to show how and why different kinds of association have different effects on democracy--many supportive but others minimal or even destructive.

This book offers the first systematic assessment of what associations do and don't do for democracy. Mark Warren explains how and when associational life expands the domain, inclusiveness, and authenticity of democracy. He looks at which associations are most likely to foster individuals' capacities for democratic citizenship, provoke political debate, open existing institutions, guide market activities, or bring democratic decision-making to new venues. Throughout, Warren also considers the trade-offs involved, noting, for example, that organizational solidarity can dampen internal dissent and deliberation even as it enhances public deliberation. Blending political and social theory with an eye to social science, Democracy and Association will draw social scientists with interests in democracy, political philosophers, students of public policy, as well as the many activists who fortify the varied landscape we call civil society. As an original analysis of which associational soils yield vigorous democracies, the book will have a major impact on democratic theory and empirical research.

Im Buch

Inhalt

Introduction
6
Approaches to Association
17
What Do We Want from Associational Life?
21
The Influence of the Tocquevillian Paradigm
29
Beyond Tocqueville
31
A Note on Functionalist Language
37
The Concept of Association
39
The Modern Concept of Association
40
Institutional Effects
82
The Associational Terrain Distinctions That Make a Difference
94
Voluntary versus Nonvoluntary Association
96
The Constitutive Media of Association
109
Constitutive Goods of Association
123
The Democratic Effects of Associational Types
134
More Points on the Logic of the Analysis
140
Developmental Effects Efficacy and Information
142

The Associational Democracy of Everyday Life
42
Association versus Community
43
Three Types of Operative Organization
48
Associations versus Associational Relations
54
The Concept of Civil Society
56
The Democratic Effects of Association
60
Democratic SelfRule as Autonomy
62
Developmental Effects on Individuals
70
Public Sphere Effects
77
Public Sphere Effects
162
Institutional Effects
181
Conclusion Democratic Associational Ecologies
206
Democratic Associational Ecologies
207
Agents of Democracy
216
Notes
227
Bibliography
253
Index
261
Urheberrecht

Andere Ausgaben - Alle anzeigen

Häufige Begriffe und Wortgruppen

Autoren-Profil (2001)

Mark E. Warren is Associate Professor of Government at Georgetown University and has written widely on democracy and civil society. He is author of Nietzsche and Political Thought and editor of Democracy and Trust.

Bibliografische Informationen