How Sick Is British Democracy?

How Sick Is British Democracy?
Author: Richard Rose
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 200
Release: 2021-05-21
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 3030731235

Forecasts of the death of democracy are often heard and the United Kingdom is on the death watch list. This book challenges such a gloomy view by carefully examining the health of the British body politic from Tony Blair’s time in Downing Street to the challenges of Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic. It finds some parts are in good health, for example, elections are free and losers as well as winners accept the results, unlike the United States. Other parts show intermittent symptoms of ill health, such as Cabinet ministers avoiding accountability. There is also a chronic problem of managing the unity of the United Kingdom. None of the symptoms is fatal. The book identifies effective remedies for some symptoms, placebos that offer assurance without cure, and perennially popular prescriptions that are politically impossible. Being a healthy democracy does not promise effectiveness in dealing with economic problems, but a big majority of Britons do not want to trade the freedom that comes with democracy for the promises of undemocratic leaders.

Democracy in Britain

Democracy in Britain
Author: Matt Cole
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Total Pages: 192
Release: 2006-04-03
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0748626697

This textbook brings together an introduction to the political theory of democracy since Ancient times and a critical picture of its place in Britain today.The author examines the work of Plato and Aristotle, Rousseau and Mill, Marx and Weber, and locates them and others in the debate about what democracy means. He then scrutinises Britain's claim to be a developing democracy, from the power of the Prime Minister and the role of political parties to the influence of pressure groups and the media, as well as recent constitutional changes.In the context of declining public trust in political institutions and increasing reluctance to vote, crucial questions are tackled: do we have a democracy, and why does it matter? Key Features:*A wide-ranging, accessible introduction to the place of Democracy in Britain today*Divided into two halves: on democratic theory (reflecting its history, development, and key concepts) and democratic practice (examining political institutions)*Offers examples of documentary material to illustrate the ideas presented*Up-to-date: includes material written after the 2005 General Election

The Death of Consensus

The Death of Consensus
Author: Phil Tinline
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2023-09-07
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9781805260356

This dissertation concerns the nature and rationality of self-fulfilling beliefs: beliefs whose contents will be true just in case you believe them, because you believe them. Examples of this phenomenon span the quotidian - a child's belief that she will be fed may prompt a parent to begin her feeding - to the complex - as in cases, from the psychology of education, in which student performances match the expectations of their instructors. These examples can be difficult to fit into traditional theories of theoretical reasoning, where the role of theoretical reasoning is to get us on to some independent fact of the matter, by following our evidence. Since there is no independent fact of the matter to track when a belief is self-fulfilling, there will be no evidence of that fact for us to follow. But we are not Cartesian egos, apart from the world and observing it. We ourselves are part of the world we are trying to represent, and so, sometimes, what we believe can affect what the objective world is like. We need an account of theoretical reasoning which can accommodate this fact, and explain how we ought to deliberate about those states of affairs effected by our deliberating

Living in Democracy

Living in Democracy
Author: Rolf Gollob
Publisher: Council of Europe
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2008-01-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9789287163325

This is a manual for teachers in Education for Democratic Citizenship (EDC) and Human Rights Education (HRE), EDC/HRE textbook editors and curriculum developers. Nine teaching units of approximately four lessons each focus on key concepts of EDC/HRE. The lesson plans give step-by-step instructions and include student handouts and background information for teachers. In this way, the manual is suited for trainees or beginners in the teaching profession and teachers who are receiving in-service teacher training in EDC/HRE. The complete manual provides a full school year's curriculum for lower secondary classes, but as each unit is also complete in itself, the manual allows great flexibility in use. The objective of EDC/HRE is the active citizen who is willing and able to participate in the democratic community. Therefore EDC/HRE strongly emphasize action and task-based learning.