GOV 97 Chapter Mair: Gov 97 Readings - Week Nine (Mair Readings)
20 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
"A#semi-sovereign#people"#:#the#term#coined#to#suggest#that#control#over#
political#decision-making#might#lie#beyond#the#reach#of#the#ordinary#citizen
•
"Democracy#without#a#demos"
•
Non-sovereignty:#indifference#towards#politics#and#democracy
•
Democracy# was#also#becoming# more#of#an#issue#on#the#daily#political# agenda:# debates#
on#institutional# reform#took#shape#in#many#Western# polities;# emphases# on#‘participatory#
governance’# began#to#emanate# from#the#World#Bank#and#other#international#
organizations.# Discussions# of#the#reform#of#the#European# Union#polity#achieved# a#degree#
of#salience# that#would#have#been#almost# unimaginable# ten# years#before.
•
For,#far#from#seeking#to#encourage# greater# participation,# or#trying#to#make# democracy#
more# meaningful# for#the# ordinary#citizen,# many# of# the# contributions# on#institutional#
reforms#or#democratic# theory#seem# to#concur#in#favouring#options#that#actually#
discourage# mass#engagement.
•
‘what# we#need#in#politics# today# is#not#more# democracy# but#less.’12
•
Here#the#benefits# of#transparency,# legality# and#the#provision#of#access# to#stakeholders#
are#held#up#against# the#limits# and#distortions# induced#by#partisan#politics,# and#are#seen#
to# lead# to#a#process# which# can offer#‘a#fair#and#democratic# substitute# for#electoral#
accountability.’
•
"But#we#can# also#read#it#the#other# way# around,#to#suggest# that# the#failure#of#parties#
might# indeed# imply# the# failure# of#democracy,# or#at# least# of#representative# government"#
(32).
•
Week$Nine$(Mair$Readings)
Tuesday,# April#5,#2016
10:18#AM
