Democracy in the Age of Globalization and Mediatization

by Kriesi, Hanspeter; Bochsler, Daniel; Matthes, Jörg; Lavenex, Sandra; Bühlmann, Marc; Esser, Frank

• ISBN13: 9781137299864
• ISBN10: 113729986X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2013-01-18
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

This book provides a comprehensive overview over the models of contemporary democracy, its social, cultural, economic and political prerequisites, empirically existing varieties, and the two major challenges globalization and mediatization confronting established democracies today. As the boundaries of the national political communities increasingly dissolve, democracy as we know it is put into question. Similarly, as the role of the media in politics increases, the way established democracies function is being transformed. The book covers the transformation of established democracies, democracy's global expansion into new countries, as well as its spread into supranational polities such as the European Union. It confronts head on democracy's constantly changing nature; its diversity of institutions and practices; its repeated need to respond to exogenous challenges and, most importantly, its perpetually unsatisfactory quest to make 'real-existing democracy' conform better to 'potentially ideal democracy.'

Author Biography

HANSPETER KRIESI holds the Stein Rokkan Chair in Comparative Politics at the European University Institute in Florence. Previously, he has been teaching at the universities of Amsterdam, Geneva and Zurich. His wide ranging research interests include the study of direct democracy, social movements, political parties and interest groups, public opinion, the public sphere and the media. He is the director of a Swiss national research programme on the 'Challenges to democracy in the 21st century'.

DANIEL BOCHSLER is Assistant Professor in Democratisation at NCCR Democracy at the University of Zurich. His research deals with elections and representation in ethnically divided countries, democratisation, and the quality of democracy, and he is particularly interested in Central and Eastern European politics.

JÖRG MATTHES is a Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Vienna. His reseacrh interests include political communication, political behaviour and advertising research.

SANDRA LAVENEX is Professor of International Politics at the University of Lucerne (Switzerland) and Visiting Professor at the College of Europe in Natolin (Warsaw). She holds a PhD from the European University Institute in Florence and works on democratization in the international realm, EU external relations, and international migration policy.

MARC BÜHLMANN has published in the fields of participation behaviour, methods, social capital, democratic theory, and comparative politics. At the National Centre of Competence in Research's 'Challenges to Democracy,' he has led a project that aims to measure the quality of democracy. He currently works at the Institute of Political Science at the University of Bern where he is executive director of the Swiss Political Yearbook.

FRANK ESSER is Professor of International and Comparative Media Research at the University of Zurich and co-director of the NCCR Democracy. He publishes cross-national research on news, journalism, political communication and media systems and co-edited the books 'Comparing Political Communication' and 'Handbook of Comparative Communication Research'.

Table of Contents

Introduction – The New Challenges To Democracy; H.Kriesi
Globalization
Mediatization
Content Of The Volume
PART I: DEMOCRACY – A MOVING TARGET OF GREAT COMPLEXITY AND VARIABILITY
Democracy As A Moving Target; H.Kriesi
The Existence Of A Demos
The Existence Of A State
The Cultural Preconditions
The Economic Preconditions
The International Context And Diffusion
The Preconditions For Political Communication
Conclusion
Models For Democracy; M.Bühlmann & H.Kriesi
Responsiveness
Accountability
Extensions Of The Model For Representative Democracy
Conclusion
Varieties Of Democracy; H.Kriesi & D.Bochsler
Five Dimensions Of Democracy
Measurement
The Overall Configuration
The Positioning Of The Democracies In The Five-Dimensional Space
Trade Offs
Conclusion
PART II: THE CHALLENGES OF GLOBALIZATION AND MEDIATIZATION
Globalization And The Vertical Challenge To Democracy; S.Lavenex
The Vertical Transformation Of Democracy
Models Of International Polity Formation
Challenges To Democracy
Conclusion
Globalization And The Horizontal Promotion Of Democracy; S.Lavenex
Models Of External Democracy Promotion
Effectiveness Of EU Democracy Promotion
Conclusion
Mediatization As A Challenge: Media Logic Versus Political Logic; F.Esser
Mediation And Mediatization
Mediatization Of Politics: An Institutionalist Perspective
Self-Mediatization Of Politics
The Political Logic
The Media Logic
Conclusion
Mediatization Effects On Political News, Political Actors, Political Decisions And Political Audiences; F. Esser & J.Matthes
Mediatization Of Politics As A Multi-Dimensional Concept
Precondition: Independence Of The News Media From Political Institutions
Challenge 1: Mediatization Of Political Reality In 'News'
Challenge 2: Consequences Of Mediatization On Political Actors And Organizations
Challenge 3: Consequences Of Mediatization On Political Organizations And Decisions Making Institutions
Challenge 4: Consequences Of Mediatized Information For Citizens 236
Conclusion
Conclusion: An Assessment Of The State Of Democracy Given The
Challenges Of Globalization And Mediatization; H.Kriesi
The Global Spread Of Democracy
The Vertical Spread Of Democracy
The Democratization Of Established Democracies
Conclusion
References