The question of how to govern diverse populations has been at the core of political thought from ancient times to the present. The contributors to this volume address this fundamental issue by engaging with the history of ideas regarding democracy, diversity and human nature, from the political thought of Xenophon in ancient Greece to practices of Zapatista governance in modern-day Mexico. Drawn from papers originally presented at the first two meetings of the London Graduate Conference in the History of Political Thought, this volume brings together the innovative contributions of graduate students in the history of political thought and political theory with commentary provided by the fields’ leading scholars to consider this essential question.
Toronto prides itself on being “the world’s most diverse city,” and its officials seek to support this diversity through programs and policies designed to promote social inclusion. Yet this progressive vision of law often falls short in practice, limited by problems inherent in the political culture itself. In Everyday Law on the Street, Mariana Valverde brings to light the often unexpected ways that the development and implementation of policies shape everyday urban life. Drawing on four years spent participating in council hearings and civic association meetings and shadowing housing inspectors and law enforcement officials as they went about their day-to-day work, Valverde reveals a telling transformation between law on the books and law on the streets. She finds, for example, that some of the democratic governing mechanisms generally applauded—public meetings, for instance—actually create disadvantages for marginalized groups, whose members are less likely to attend or articulate their concerns. As a result, both officials and citizens fail to see problems outside the point of view of their own needs and neighborhood. Taking issue with Jane Jacobs and many others, Valverde ultimately argues that Toronto and other diverse cities must reevaluate their allegiance to strictly local solutions. If urban diversity is to be truly inclusive—of tenants as well as homeowners, and recent immigrants as well as longtime residents—cities must move beyond micro-local planning and embrace a more expansive, citywide approach to planning and regulation.
Combining peace and conflict studies with public administration research, Divided Cities critically investigates the roles of public administration and civil servants in resolving issues that are potentially conflictual in divided societies. Zooming in on nine cities with very different legacies and democratic development - Copenhagen, Malmö, Toronto, Belfast, Mostar, Cape Town, Mitrovica, Nicosia, and Jerusalem - the contributors analyze the tools, strategies, and understandings of conflict resolution that are available in different stages between conflict and stability. Exploring how contested issues have been addressed, by whom, and to what effect, this collection of essays examines how public institutions and citizens have interacted to agree on the best course of action for progress in their respective cities.
This book charts new territory by mapping the range of international actors who affect the governance of ethnic diversity and exploring their often contradictory roles and impacts.
This book critically reviews state-religion models and the ways in which different countries manage religious diversity, illuminating different responses to the challenges encountered in accommodating both majorities and minorities. The country cases encompass eight world regions and 23 countries, offering a wealth of research material suitable to support comparative research. Each case is analysed in depth looking at historical trends, current practices, policies, legal norms and institutions. By looking into state-religion relations and governance of religious diversity in regions beyond Europe, we gain insights into predominantly Muslim countries (Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia), countries with pronounced historical religious diversity (India and Lebanon) and into a predominantly migrant pluralist nation (Australia). These insights can provide a basis for re-thinking European models and learning from experiences of governing religious diversity in other socio-economic and geopolitical contexts. Key analytical and comparative reflections inform the introduction and concluding chapters. This volume offers a research and study companion to better understand the connection between state-religion relations and the governance of religious diversity in order to inform both policy and research efforts in accommodating religious diversity. Given its accessible language and further readings provided in each chapter, the volume is ideally suited for undergraduate and graduate students. It will also be a valuable resource for researchers working in the wider field of ethnic, migration, religion and citizenship studies.
In this innovative volume, the author addresses some important challenges related to the effective and equitable governance of marine protected areas (MPAs). These challenges are explored through a study of 20 MPA case studies from around the world. A novel governance analysis framework is employed to address some key questions: How can top-down and bottom-up approaches to MPA governance be combined? What does this mean, in reality, in different contexts? How can we develop and implement governance approaches that are both effective in achieving conservation objectives and equitable in fairly sharing associated costs and benefits? The author explores the many issues that these questions raise, as well as exploring options for addressing them. A key theme is that MPA governance needs to combine people, state and market approaches, rather than being based on one approach and its related ideals. Building on a critique of the governance analysis framework developed for common-pool resources, the author puts forward a more holistic and less prescriptive framework for deconstructing and analyzing the governance of MPAs. This inter-disciplinary analysis is aimed at supporting the development of MPA governance approaches that build social-ecological resilience through both institutional and biological diversity. It will also make a significant contribution to wider debates on natural resource governance, as it poses some critical questions for contemporary approaches to related research and offers an alternative theoretical and empirical approach.
Diversity and dissent have been shown to improve decision-making in small groups. This understanding can be extended to the political arena and in turn it can enlighten ideas about policy-making. This book focuses on the relationship between electoral institutions and policy outcomes in order to effectively explore the impact of diversity and dissent on the political arena. In doing so, it provides an empirical assessment of three key areas: the diversity of political information. policy innovation. pandering. Drawing on economics, psychology, organization theory, and computer science, this innovative volume makes an important contribution to scholarship on the impact of electoral systems and the democratic nature of governments. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of governance, electoral systems, representation, comparative politics, public policy, democratic government and political theory.
Organized to follow the structure of a standard introduction to American politics text, this unique reader highlights the role of diversity in U.S. politics through exploration of engaging, contemporary political issues. Based on the thesis that demographic diversity in America plays an important role in political outcomes and policy processes, this reader covers a wide range of contemporary issues and encompasses a myriad of group cleavages. Carefully selected readings from both academic and popular sources, in conjunction with introductions by the editors and end of chapter resources, present complex issues in an accessible, engaging way.
Gender equality is one of the founding democratic principles of the EU. However, recent studies of the Federation of Olympic Sports in Europe have shown that women occupy only fourteen percent of decision-making positions in sport organizations. This book presents a comprehensive and comparative study of how various regions and countries of Europe have addressed this lack of gender diversity, discussing which strategies have brought about change and to what extent these changes have been successful. With contributions from leading sport sociologists, covering countries such as Germany, Hungary, Norway, Poland, Spain, Turkey and the UK, it provides a foundation for future policymaking, methodological analyses and theoretical developments that can result in sustainable gender equality in European sport governance. Gender Diversity in European Sport Governance is important reading for scholars and students in the fields of sociology of sport, sport management, sociology, gender studies and studies of organization, management and leadership. It is also a valuable resource for policy makers in the EU, as well as national sport organizations and activists.
