Democratizing Inequalities : : Dilemmas of the New Public Participation / / ed. by Caroline W. Lee, Michael McQuarrie, Edward T. Walker.

• MitwirkendeR: Baiocchi, Gianpaolo,; Calhoun, Craig,; Cummins, Emily R.,; Eliasoph, Nina,; Ganuza, Ernesto,; Judge, J. Matthew,; Kreiss, Daniel,; Lee, Caroline W.,; Martin, Isaac William,; McNulty, Kelly,; McQuarrie, Michael,; Meyer, David S.,; Panofsky, Aaron,; Polletta, Francesca,; Pullum, Amanda,; Schleifer, David,; Shaffer, Sarah,; Vallas, Steven,; Walker, Edward T.,
• HerausgeberIn: Lee, Caroline W.,; McQuarrie, Michael,; Walker, Edward T.,
• Place / Publishing House: New York, NY : : New York University Press, , [2015]; ©2015
• Year of Publication: 2015
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource

Opportunities to “have your say,” “get involved,” and “join theconversation” are everywhere in public life. From crowdsourcing and town hallmeetings to government experiments with social media, participatory politics increasinglyseem like a revolutionary antidote to the decline of civic engagement and thethinning of the contemporary public sphere. Many argue that, with newtechnologies, flexible organizational cultures, and a supportive policymakingcontext, we now hold the keys to large-scale democratic revitalization.Democratizing Inequalities shows that the equation may not be sosimple. Modern societies face a variety of structural problems that limitpotentials for true democratization, as well as vast inequalities in politicalaction and voice that are not easily resolved by participatory solutions. Popularparticipation may even reinforce elite power in unexpected ways. Resisting anoversimplified account of participation as empowerment, this collection ofessays brings together a diverse range of leading scholars to reveal surprisinginsights into how dilemmas of the new public participation play out in politicsand organizations. Through investigations including fights over theauthenticity of business-sponsored public participation, the surge of the TeaParty, the role of corporations in electoral campaigns, and participatorybudgeting practices in Brazil, DemocratizingInequalities seeks to refresh our understanding of public participation andtrace the reshaping of authority in today’s political environment.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Foreword -- Part I Introduction -- 1 Rising Participation and Declining Democracy -- Part II Participation and the Reproduction of Inequality -- 2 Civic-izing Markets: Selling Social Profits in Public Deliberation -- 3 Workers’ Rights as Human Rights? Solidarity Campaigns and the Anti-Sweatshop Movement -- 4 Legitimating the Corporation through Public Participation -- Part III The Production of Authority and Legitimacy -- 5 No Contest: Participatory Technologies and the Transformation of Urban Authority -- 6 The Fiscal Sociology of Public Consultation -- 7 Structuring Electoral Participation: The Formalization of Democratic New Media Campaigning, 2000 – 2008 -- 8 Patient, Parent, Advocate, Investor: Entrepreneurial Health Activism from Research to Reimbursement -- Part IV Unintended Consequences and New Opportunities -- 9 Spirals of Perpetual Potential: How Empowerment Projects’ Noble Missions Tangle in Everyday Interaction -- 10 Becoming a Best Practice: Neoliberalism and the Curious Case of Participatory Budgeting -- 11 The Social Movement Society, the Tea Party, and the Democratic Deficit -- 12 Public Deliberation and Political Contention -- Part V Conclusion -- 13 Realizing the Promise of Public Participation in an Age of Inequality -- References -- About the Contributors -- Index