Democracy and Association

"Democracy and Association is an important contribution not only to the field of political theory but also to empirical political science. Warren's multifaceted typologies are a major advance."---Margaret Kohn, Political Theory

Autorentext

Mark E. Warren

Klappentext

Tocqueville's view that a virtuous and viable democracy depends on robust associational life has become a cornerstone of contemporary democratic theory. Democratic theorists generally agree that issue networks, recreational associations, support circles, religious groups, unions, advocacy groups, and myriad other kinds of associations enhance democracy by cultivating citizenship, promoting public deliberation, providing voice and representation, and enabling varied forms of governance. Yet there has been little work to show how and why different kinds of association have different effects on democracy--many supportive but others minimal or even destructive. This book offers the first systematic assessment of what associations do and don't do for democracy. Mark Warren explains how and when associational life expands the domain, inclusiveness, and authenticity of democracy. He looks at which associations are most likely to foster individuals' capacities for democratic citizenship, provoke political debate, open existing institutions, guide market activities, or bring democratic decision-making to new venues. Throughout, Warren also considers the trade-offs involved, noting, for example, that organizational solidarity can dampen internal dissent and deliberation even as it enhances public deliberation. Blending political and social theory with an eye to social science, Democracy and Association will draw social scientists with interests in democracy, political philosophers, students of public policy, as well as the many activists who fortify the varied landscape we call civil society. As an original analysis of which associational soils yield vigorous democracies, the book will have a major impact on democratic theory and empirical research.

Zusammenfassung
Assesses what associations do and don't do for democracy. This book explains how and when associational life expands the domain, inclusiveness, and authenticity of democracy. It looks at which associations are most likely to foster individuals' capacities for democratic citizenship.

Inhalt
List of Tables vii Acknowledgments ix Chapter One: Introduction 3 Chapter Two: Approaches to Association 17 For and against Theoretical Generalization 17 What Do We Want from Associational Life? 21 The Influence of the Tocquevtllian Paradigm 29 Beyond Tocqueville 31 A Note on Functionalist Language 37 Chapter Three: The Concept of Association 39 Hobbes and Locke: The Modern Concept of Association 40 Tocqueville: The Associational Democracy of Everyday Life 42 G. D. H. Cole: Association versus Community 43 Parsons: Three "Types of Operative Organization" 48 Associations versus Associational Relations 54 The Concept of Civil Society 56 Chapter Four: The Democratic Effects of Association 60 Democratic Self-Rule as Autonomy 62 Developmental Effects on Individuals 70 Public Sphere Effects 77 Institutional Effects 82 Chapter Five: The Associational Terrain: Distinctions That Make a Difference 94 Voluntary versus Nonvoluntary Association 96 The Constitutive Media of Association 109 Constitutive Goods of Association 123 Chapter Six: The Democratic Effects of Associational Types 134 Dimensions of Associational Types 134 More Points on the Logic of the Analysis 140 Developmental Effects 142 Public Sphere Effects 162 Institutional Effects 181 Chapter Seven: Conclusion: Democratic Associational Ecologies 206 Democratic Associational Ecologies 207 Agents of Democracy 216 Notes 227 Bibliography 253 Index 261