Democratic Accountability : Why Choice in Politics Is Both Possible and Necessary

Leif Lewin

ISBN 10: 0674024753 / ISBN 13: 9780674024755

Published by Harvard University Press Mär 2007, 2007

About this Item

Neuware - It is common for political leaders to claim they have no control over bad outcomes. In a staunch defence of the possibility for meaningful democratic decision making, the author finds that the political leaders exert a good measure of control, and the meaning of the functioning democracy is that the people hold their leaders accountable.

Seller Inventory # 9780674024755

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Democratic Accountability : Why Choice in Politics Is Both Possible and Necessary
• Publisher: Harvard University Press Mär 2007
• Publication Date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0674024753
• ISBN 13: 9780674024755
• Binding: Buch
• Condition: Neu

About this title

Synopsis

It is common for political leaders to claim they have no control over bad outcomes. Indeed, they often cite the arguments of political theorists and public intellectuals as to why: history rushes onward oblivious of human will; force and violence overcome political aims; globalization undermines the actions of national leaders; the bureaucracy sabotages their intentions; bad outcomes are often the unintended result of actions.

In Democratic Accountability, Leif Lewin examines these reasons and argues that they are unconvincing. He makes his case by describing and analyzing counterexamples in seven cases, including the prevention of a communist takeover in Europe after World War II, the European Union's preventing another European war, and Margaret Thatcher's taming of the bureaucracy in Britain. In a staunch defense of the possibility for meaningful and profound democratic decision making, Lewin finds that, in fact, not only do political leaders exert a good measure of control and therefore can be assigned responsibility, but the meaning of the functioning democracy is that the people hold their leaders accountable.

About the Author

Leif Lewin is Johan Skytte Professor of Eloquence and Government, Uppsala University, Sweden.