The dilemmas of pursuing ‘throughput legitimacy’ through participatory mechanisms

Under pressure to open up the ‘black box’ of governance, technocratic bodies are increasingly seeking to include civil society participation in the policy process. This article draws on empirical cases from the European Commission and NHS England to assess the extent to which the participatory mechanisms pursued by these institutions have been successful in eliciting ‘throughput legitimacy’. It is shown that though these mechanisms have taken very different forms – the former a classic instance of ‘window dressing’ participation, the latter closer to ‘best practice’ in this field – they nevertheless share a number of ongoing vulnerabilities. The article outlines the shared organisational, operational and existential dilemmas that technocratic bodies face when eliciting civil society participation, and highlight their reliance on backstage negotiation to sustain stakeholder buy-in. It concludes by highlighting the prospect that the pursuit of throughput legitimacy for technocratic bodies entails inherent limitations and contradictions.     

民主革命时期开滦工人运动在中国工运史上的地位

开滦煤矿是中国近代较大的工业企业之一,有数万产业工人,建矿后的几十年间,矿工进行了数十次罢工运动,沉重打击了晚清政府、英国资本家、日本帝国主义和国民党反动派的反动统治,在中国民主革命时期工人运动史上占有极其重要的地位。     

重组改制条件下国有企业职工民主管理工作思考

重组改制条件下,国有企业职工民主管理工作遇到了许多新情况:民主管理制度需要完善、职工主人翁地位程度被削弱、职工代表参政议政的能力有待进一步提高,等等。造成这种状况的原因是多方面的。改善职工民主管理工作的主要措施有:增强职工主体意识;激发基层民主管理活力;完善民主管理制度与机制。     

制约和谐社会构建的法律问题及对策研究

和谐社会不仅是人与人之间、人与社会之间在经济、政治、文化等各个领域的和谐,也是人和自然的和谐,在市场经济体制下以法治为基本方策来构建和谐社会应是最佳选择.应以和谐社会的内涵与特征解读为逻辑起点,从现存法律制度中存在的主要弊端入手,对现存法律问题进行具体分析,进而为构建和谐社会的法律保障提供基本的路径选择.     

试论村民自治

村民自治是在广大农村实行直接民主的一项基本政治制度,是有中国特色社会主义民主政治的主要形式之一.村民自治的核心内容是民主选举、民主决策、民主管理和民主监督,体现社会主义国家人民当家作主的民主本质,显示社会主义民主的广泛性和真实性特征.村民自治是我国农村经济体制改革的必然要求,为我国农村开辟了一条发展中国特色社会主义民主政治的道路,实行村民自治有着极其重要的战略意义.     

Rising competitive authoritarianism in Turkey

Since the Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in 2002 Turkey has undergone double regime transitions. First, tutelary democracy ended; second, a competitive authoritarian regime has risen in its stead. We substantiate this assertion with specific and detailed evidence from 2015 election cycles, as well as from broader trends in Turkish politics. This evidence indeed confirms that elections are no longer fair; civil liberties are being systematically violated; and the playing field is highly skewed in favour of the ruling AKP. The June 2015 election results and their aftermath further confirm that Turkey has evolved into a competitive authoritarian regime.     

The moment you decide,you divide: How politicians assess procedural fairness

Are politicians more rational decision makers than citizens? This article contributes to the ongoing debate by examining how politicians and citizens assess the fairness of the process leading to a controversial policy decision. It contains theories as to why it is tempting to match the favourability of policy decision with a fairness assessment of the preceding process, and how politicians and citizens differ in their approach to the task. Having derived three hypotheses, parallel scenario experiments are run in large samples of Swedish politicians and citizens, in which the outcome and fairness of a policy decision process are manipulated. As predicted, it is found that both politicians and citizens match the favourability of the decision with the assessment of the process, that these self-serving biases are stronger among politicians, and that policy engagement accounts for the group-level difference.     

Linking democratic anchorage and regulatory authority: The case of internet regulators

Scholars and practitioners have repeatedly questioned the democraticness and the authority of transnational multi‐stakeholder organizations, especially those that regulate the internet. To contribute to this discussion, we studied the “democratic anchorages” and the regulatory authority of 23 internet regulators. In particular, we conducted a fuzzy‐set qualitative comparative analysis assessing whether and which anchorages correspond to necessary and/or sufficient conditions for exerting regulatory authority. Our results show that strong anchorage in democratic procedures is specifically relevant for this outcome. Further, we find that weak anchorage in democratically elected politicians leads to high regulatory authority, confirming the significance of non‐state actors in this policy field. More generally, our findings support but also qualify expectations about the compatibility and mutual reinforcement of democratic quality and regulatory authority at the transnational level.     

Back to the Future: The Pulling Apart of our Towns and Cities

Growing divisions between Britain’s towns and cities have created a dilemma for the Labour Party in seeking to represent very different parts of the country. There are some who argue that Labour must choose the global networked youth—who largely reside in cities—in order to maximise its electoral chances. This is an argument that defies electoral gravity and fails to address the root causes of the gulf between towns and cities. As jobs and investment have gone into cities, many towns have seen the local population age and local economies become unsustainable. In both towns and cities there is a clamour for power to move closer to home and for the renewal of democratic institutions, offering Labour the chance to win power and end the divisions that have come to characterise British politics.     

互联网 + 对中国企业民主管理实践的影响

当前,"互联网+"已经升级为中国国家战略,政府出台政策号召群团组织要拥抱互联网,中华全国总工会积极推动互联网与工会工作例如企业民主管理相融合,互联网正逐渐打破传统企业民主管理政治参与现状,职工由被动参与向主动参与转变,由部分参与向全部参与转变,互联网助推中国企业民主管理回归产业民主实质。