Conclusion: Reflections on Deliberative Democracy, Public Participation, and the Future of Policy Making

2020 ◽  
pp. 375-386
Author(s):  
David Judge ◽  
Cristina Leston-Bandeira ◽  
Louise Thompson

This concluding chapter reflects on the future of parliamentary politics by identifying key puzzles implicit in previous discussions which raise fundamental questions about what Parliament is and why it exists. The goal is to determine the ‘predictable unknowns’ as starting points for exploring the future. Three principal puzzles that need ‘hard thinking’ in order to understand legislatures are considered: representation, collective decision-making, and their role in the political system. The chapter also examines the difficulties in reconciling ideas about popular sovereignty and direct public participation with notions of parliamentary sovereignty and indirect public participation in decision-making; the implications of the legislative task of disentangling UK law from EU law in the wake of Brexit for Parliament's recent strengthened scrutiny capacity; and how Parliament has integrated the core principles of representation, consent, and authorization into the legitimation of state policy-making processes and their outputs.


2004 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Williams

New Labour's conceptualisation of public participation in local government creates a tension in public participation practice. Government legislation and guidance require local authorities to develop and provide citizen-centred services, engage the public in policy-making and respond to the public's views. Seen in this light, New Labour policy draws from radical democratic discourse. However, local authority staff are also expected to act in accordance with the direction set by their line managers, the Council and the government and to inform, engage and persuade the public of the benefit of their authority's policies. In this respect, New Labour policy draws from the discursive model of civil society, conceptualising public participation as a method for engendering civil ownership of the formal structures of representative democracy. Tension is likely to arise when the ideas, opinions and values of the local authority differ from those expressed by the participating public. This paper uses a local ‘public participation’ initiative to investigate how the tension is managed in practice. The study shows how decision-makers dealt with the tension by using participatory initiatives to supply information, understand the views of the public and encourage public support around pre-existing organisational agendas. Problems occurred when citizens introduced new agendas by breaking or manipulating the rules of participation. Decision-makers responded by using a number of distinctive methods for managing citizens’ agendas, some of which were accompanied by strategies for minimising the injury done to citizens’ motivations for further participation. The paper concludes that New Labour policy fails to deal with the tensions between the radical and discursive models of participation and in the final analysis draws mainly from the discursive model of participation. Furthermore, whilst New Labour policy promotes dialogue between the public and local authority, it does not empower local authority staff to achieve the goal of citizen-centred policy-making.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter M. Shane

Given the ubiquity of computer networks and our reliance as a society on their integrity and robustness, the quality of cyber-security is an issue that affects everyone. Yet, cyber-security policy making has remained almost entirely within the purview of lobbyists and technical experts. This article argues for both the plausibility and normative imperative of greater public participation in cyber policy making.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmet Geys Elseyidissa ◽  
◽  
Zein Hbous

After any disaster that happens, whether natural or war, all governments and organizations accelerate to respond at all levels, humanitarian and others, to restore the damage. If this disaster is huge, it will result in a great change so that what comes after it does not resemble what it was before. In this study, it will be discussed how to respond effectively and how local and foreign authorities can cooperate to achieve the required response. Measuring the effectiveness of disaster response is not by the speed of this response, despite its importance, but the nature of intervention and its effects on the lives of people. It’s important to measure whether this intervention leads to the strengthening of urban aspects and increases the public participation and whether it gives stability to the city and population or not, and to what extent this intervention defines the future of this city in general.


Author(s):  
Bruce K. Rutherford

This chapter observes that the path of institutional change advocated by market liberals shares important areas of agreement with the reforms advocated by supporters of liberal constitutionalism and Islamic constitutionalism. Each of these groups favors the creation of a more liberal state with effective constraints on its power, a clear and unbiased legal code, and protection of civil and political rights. However, there is no comparable degree of consensus on the value of broadening public participation in politics. This fact suggests that liberalism and democracy have become de-linked in the Egyptian case. Liberalism is likely to progress steadily in the future, while democracy is likely to advance slowly and unevenly. This trajectory may eventually lead to democracy at some point in the future, particularly if liberalism enhances the private sector's independence from the state and leads to a more autonomous and politically active middle class. However, this outcome is not inevitable.


MAZAHIB ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad Rofii

The making of the 2004 Constitution was a significant moment amidst the continuing conflicts in Afghanistan. It was an attempt to transform differences and conflicts into a shared agenda for the future of the country. The process of constitution-making in Afghanistan was marked by intense negotiations between the international community and actors, on the one hand, and domestic actors, on the other. The outcome would be called a “win-win solution”. This essay focuses on the making of the Islam-related clauses: How was the public participation? How has the negotiation been undertaken? What was the result and why? This essay is an attempt to answer those questions. It will argue that the process of constitution-making in Afghanistan particularly with regard to the Islam clauses is the acts of negotiations between different competing actors. The Constitution is the product of negotiations not only between international and domestic actors, but also between domestic actors. As evident in the making of the Islam clauses, these negotiations might be characterized as between puritan Islamist and more moderate Muslim actors.Pembuatan Konstitusi Afghanistan tahun 2004 adalah momen penting di tengah konflik yang terus berkecamuk. Ia merupakan upaya untuk mentranformasi perbedaan dan konflik menjadi agenda bersama bagi masa depan negeri ini. Proses pembuatan konstitusi Afghanistan ditandai oleh negosiasi yang intens antara masyarakat dan aktor-aktor international di satu sisi, dan aktor-aktor domestik di sisi lain. Hasilnya dapat disebut ‘win-win solution’. Tulisan ini fokus pada pembuatan klausul-klausul Islam: Bagaimana partisipasi publiknya? Bagaimana negosiasi dilakukan? Apa hasil dan mengapa? Tulisan ini adalah upaya untuk menjawab pertanyaan-pertanyaan tersebut. Ia akan beragumen bahwa proses pembuatan Konstitusi di Afghanistan khususnya terkait dengan klausul-klausul Islam merupakan tindakan negosiasi antara aktor-aktor yang berbeda. Konstitusi Afghanistan tidak saja merupakan produk negosiasi antara aktor-aktor internasional dan domestik, tetapi juga di antara aktor-aktor domestik itu sendiri. Sebagaimana terbukti dari pembuatan klausul-klausul Islam, negosiasi-negosiasi tersebut dapat dikarakteristikan sebagai negosiasi antara aktor puritan Islamis and aktor yang lebih moderat.


2018 ◽  
pp. 75-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tina Nabatchi ◽  
Suyeon Jo

Author(s):  
Serdar Türkeli

In this chapter, the content sophistication (legislative-executive and techno-economic conception and implementation) of the R&D Law No. 5746 of Turkey is analyzed by the constructed general framework of reference for content sophistication analysis with respect to the framing principles of neo-classical (optimizing) and evolutionary (adaptive) policy making and policy implementation approaches (Metcalfe, 1995) through their distinct underlying conceptions and implementations regarding to the “nature of technology,” “using, creating, diffusing technology and knowledge,” “specificity, variety, and mode of transfer,” “externalities,” and “risk/uncertainty” (Lall & Teubal, 1998). According to the results of the analysis, it is shown that, for the time being, the R&D Law No. 5746 of Turkey exhibits features of neo-classical (optimizing) policy making frames from conception to implementation in legislative-executive and techno-economic spheres of research and technology development. In comparison to these neoclassical features, features of evolutionary (adaptive) policymaking frames in other economies around the world are exemplified separately. By concentrating on “Iter Legis”: “path that a law takes from its conception to its implementation,” this chapter aims to contribute to discussions and recommendations on “Lex Lata”: “the current law” and “de lege Ferenda”: “future law” for R&D and innovation in any country where “the future cannot be predicted, but futures can be invented” (Gabor, 1963) through legislative-executive terms of techno-economic demand and imagination.


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