On the Autonomy of the Democratic State

1981 Philosophy

Author : Eric A. Nordlinger
Release : 1981
Genre : Philosophy
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Book Synopsis On the Autonomy of the Democratic State by : Eric A. Nordlinger

Download or read book On the Autonomy of the Democratic State written by Eric A. Nordlinger. This book was released on 1981. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this major revisionist study, Eric A. Nordlinger poses two critical questions about democratic politics. How are the public policy decisions of the democratic state in America and Europe to be explained? To what extent is the democratic state an autonomous entity, that is, a state that translates its own policy preferences into public policies? On the Autonomy of the Democratic State challenges the central assumption of liberal and Marxist scholars, journalists, and citizens alike--that elected and appointed public officials are consistently constrained by society in the making of public policy. Nordlinger demonstrates that public officials are not only frequently autonomous insofar as they regularly act upon their own policy preferences, but also markedly autonomous in doing so even in the face of opposition from the most politically powerful groups in society: voters, well-organized and financed interest groups, national associations of farmers, workers, employers, and large corporations. Here is a book in which wide-ranging generalizations are tightly bound up with empirical examples and data. Nordlinger systematically identifies the state's many capacities and opportunities for enhancing its autonomy. These are used by public officials to shape, alter, neutralize, deflect, and resist the policy preferences and pressures of societal groups. Even the highly fragmented national state in America is shown to be far more independent of societal demands than claimed by the conventional wisdom.

Democratic Autonomy

2002 Law

Author : Henry S. Richardson
Release : 2002
Genre : Law
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 919/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Democratic Autonomy by : Henry S. Richardson

Download or read book Democratic Autonomy written by Henry S. Richardson. This book was released on 2002. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Henry Richardson builds a convincing case for a qualified populism and for a strong form of deliberative democracy based on liberal and republican premises.

On the Autonomy of the Democratic State

2008

Author : Samuel DeCanio
Release : 2008
Genre :
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Book Synopsis On the Autonomy of the Democratic State by : Samuel DeCanio

Download or read book On the Autonomy of the Democratic State written by Samuel DeCanio. This book was released on 2008. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abstract: Previous scholarship on states' autonomy from the interests of society has focused primarily on nondemocratic societies, raising the question of whether "state theory" is relevant to modern states. Public-opinion research documenting the ignorance of mass polities suggests that modern states may be as autonomous as, or more autonomous than, premodern states. Premodern states' autonomy was secured by their ability to suppress societal dissent by force of arms. Modern states may have less recourse to overt coercion, but the very thing that legitimates them in the eyes of society - democracy - virtually ensures that society will not control the state, since the putative agent of control, the electorate, cannot possibly be well informed about the multitudinous tasks undertaken by modern governments. Instead of focusing on the autonomy enhancing effects of armies, taxes, and bureaucracies, state theorists should direct their attention to how the vagaries of public opinion and the legitimating effects of popular elections fuel state autonomy in democratic societies.

The Evolution of Political Knowledge

2004 Political science

Author : American Political Science Association. Annual Meeting
Release : 2004
Genre : Political science
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 343/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis The Evolution of Political Knowledge by : American Political Science Association. Annual Meeting

Download or read book The Evolution of Political Knowledge written by American Political Science Association. Annual Meeting. This book was released on 2004. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the course of the last century, political scientists have been moved by two principal purposes. First, they have sought to understand and explain political phenomena in a way that is both theoretically and empirically grounded. Second, they have analyzed matters of enduring public interest, whether in terms of public policy and political action, fidelity between principle and practice in the organization and conduct of government, or the conditions of freedom, whether of citizens or of states. Many of the central advances made in the field have been prompted by a desire to improve both the quality and our understanding of political life. Nowhere is this tendency more apparent than in research on comparative politics and international relations, fields in which concerns for the public interest have stimulated various important insights. This volume systematically analyzes the major developments within the fields of comparative politics and international relations over the past three decades. Each chapter is composed of a core paper that addresses the major puzzles, conversations, and debates that have attended major areas of concern and inquiry within the discipline. These papers examine and evaluate the intellectual evolution and natural history of major areas of political inquiry and chart particularly promising trajectories, puzzles, and concerns for future work. Each core paper is accompanied by a set of shorter commentaries that engage the issues it takes up, thus contributing to an ongoing and lively dialogue among key figures in the field.

Dilemmas of Pluralist Democracy

1983-09-10 Political Science

Author : Robert A. Dahl
Release : 1983-09-10
Genre : Political Science
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Book Rating : 406/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Dilemmas of Pluralist Democracy by : Robert A. Dahl

Download or read book Dilemmas of Pluralist Democracy written by Robert A. Dahl. This book was released on 1983-09-10. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Continuing his career-long exploration of modern democracy, Dahl addresses a question that has long vexed students of political theory: the place of independent organizations, associations, or special interest groups within the democratic state.”—The Wilson Quarterly “There is probably no greater expert today on the subject of democratic theory than Dahl….His proposal for an ultimate adoption here of a ‘decentralized socialist economy,’ a system primarily of worker ownership and control of economic production, is daring but rational, reflecting his view that economic inequality seems destined to become the major issue here it historically has been in Europe.”—Library Journal “Dahl reaffirms his commitment to pluralist democracy while attempting to come to terms with some of its defects.”—Laura Greyson, Worldview “Anyone who is interested in these issues and who makes the effort the book requires will come away the better for it. And more. He will receive an explanation for our current difficulties that differs considerably from the explanation for our current difficulties that differs considerably from the explanation offered by the Reagan administration, and a prescription for the future which differs fundamentally from the nostrums emanating from the White House.”—Dennis Carrigan, The (Louisville, Kentucky) Courier-Journal

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