Activism, Inclusion, and the Challenges of Deliberative Democracy - Hardcover

Drake, Anna

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0774865164 ISBN 13: 9780774865166

Publisher: UBC Press, 2021

Synopsis

Deliberative democracy – whereby people debate competing ideas before agreeing upon political action – must surely rest on its capacity to include all points of view. But how does this inclusive framework engage with activism that occurs outside of, and in opposition to, deliberative systems themselves?

Activism, Inclusion, and the Challenges of Deliberative Democracy challenges the inherent contradiction of a framework that includes activism but doesn’t require sustained exchange with activists, instead measuring the value of their efforts in terms of broader deliberative democratic outcomes. Through the examples of ACT UP, Black Lives Matter, and other contemporary activism, Anna Drake explores the systemic oppression that prevents activists from participating in deliberative systems as equals.

This nuanced study concludes that deliberative democrats must address activism on its own terms, external to and separate from deliberative systems that are shaped by injustices. Only then can activism’s distinct democratic contribution be taken seriously.

About this title

About the Author

Anna Drake is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Waterloo. She has published in journals such as Contemporary Political Theory and Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism, and has contributed to collected volumes on topics including diversity in democratic politics and normative justifications for democratic design.

Edition details

• Publisher: UBC Press
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0774865164
• ISBN 13: 9780774865166
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 296