Imperfect Democracies
The Democratic Deficit in Canada and the United States
Patti Tamara Lenard editor Richard Simeon editor
Format:Hardback
Publisher:University of British Columbia Press
Published:5th Oct '12
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
In light of calls to make democracy more open to citizen participation, this timely book seeks to measure and evaluate the democratic deficit on both sides of the border.
This timely book evaluates and compares alleged democratic deficits in Canada and the United States and proposes solutions to remedy them.
Canada and the United States are consistently ranked among the most democratic countries in the world, yet voices expressing concern about the quality of these democracies are becoming louder and more insistent. Critics maintain that the two countries suffer from a “democratic deficit,” a deficit that raises profound questions about the legitimacy and effectiveness of their democratic institutions.
Imperfect Democracies brings together Canadian and American scholars to compare and contrast the democratic deficit in the two nations. Blending normative theory and empirical analysis, they focus on three key questions: Why talk about a democratic deficit? In what ways are Canadian and American democracies falling short? What can be done to remedy the deficit? An important contribution to the field of democratic theory and the study of democratic institutions, this timely book will spark debate on both sides of the border.
Imperfect Democracies offers a broad and unprecedented comparison of democratic institutions in Canada and the United States that will considerably advance scholarly debate about democracy in each country. It is both substantive and accessible as an exploration of what the “democratic deficit” means in each country. -- Jonathan Malloy, author of Between Colliding Worlds: The Ambiguous Existence of Government Agencies for Aboriginal and Women’s Policy
Imperfect Democracies combines theoretical studies of the “democratic deficit” with approaches that use survey data and are more behaviouralist. The authors, many of whom are leaders in their fields, address a timely subject, and the Canada-US comparison makes a novel contribution. The volume will be useful for students of comparative politics, democratic institutions, or Canada-US politics courses.
-- Jonathan Rose, co-author of When Citizens Decide: Lessons from Citizens AssembliesISBN: 9780774823760
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 660g
360 pages