LibGuides: Citizen Participation: Politics/Government

Books

Citizen Participation in the Information Society by Sissel Hovik (Editor); G. Anthony Giannoumis (Editor); Kristin Reichborn-Kjennerud (Editor); José Manuel Ruano de la Fuente (Editor); Ian McShane (Editor); Sveinung Legard (Editor)
ISBN: 9783030999391
Publication Date: 2022-05-21
This open access book examines how digital technologies are used to promote citizen participation in democratic urban development. It assesses the emergence, use, applicability and functions of digital modes of citizen participation in multiple cities around the world, where political regimes invite ordinary citizens to partake in policy processes through information technologies. The book also explores these initiatives alongside issues of democracy, social justice and power. It is an essential reference for practitioners, policymakers and academics interested in the relationship between citizen participation, technology and urban governance.
Citizen Participation in Multi-Level Democracies by Cristina Fraenkel-Haeberle (Editor); Sabine Kropp (Editor); Francesco Palermo (Editor); Karl-Peter Sommermann (Editor)
ISBN: 9789004287938
Publication Date: 2015-03-27
Citizen Participation in Multi-level Democracies offers an overview of new forms of participatory democracy in federally and regionally organised multi-level states. Its four sections focus on the conceptual foundations of participation, the implementation and instruments of democracy, examples from federal and regional States, and the emergence of participation on the European level. There is today a growing disaffection amongst the citizens of many states towards the traditional models of representative democracy. This book highlights the various functional and structural problems with which contemporary democracies are confronted and which lie at the root of their peoples' discontent. Within multi-level systems in particular, the fragmentation of state authority generates feelings of powerlessness among citizens. In this context, citizens' participation can in many cases be a useful complement to the representative and direct forms of democracy.
Contemporary Trends in Local Governance by Carlos Nunes Silva (Editor)
ISBN: 9783030525156
Publication Date: 2020-10-08
This book addresses and explores recent trends in the field of local and urban governance. It focuses on three domains: institutional reforms in local government; inter-municipal cooperation; and citizen participation in local governance. In the last decades, in different regions of the world, there is ample evidence that sub-national government, in particular the field of local governance, is in a permanent state of change and reflux, although with differences that reflect national particularities. Since these institutional changes have an impact in the local policy process, in the delivery of public services, in the local democracy, and in the quality of life, it is mandatory to monitor these continued institutional changes, to learn and develop with these changes, if possible before these experiences are transferred and replicated in other countries. The editor and contributors address issues of interest for a wide audience, comprising of students and researchers in various disciplines, and policy makers at both national and sub-national tiers of government.
Democratic Innovations by Graham Smith
ISBN: 9780521514774
Publication Date: 2009-07-02
Can we design institutions that increase and deepen citizen participation in the political decision making process? At a time when there is growing disillusionment with the institutions of advanced industrial democracies, there is also increasing interest in new ways of involving citizens in the political decisions that affect their lives. This book draws together evidence from a variety of democratic innovations from around the world, including participatory budgeting in Brazil, Citizens' Assemblies on Electoral Reform in Canada, direct legislation in California and Switzerland and emerging experiments in e-democracy. The book offers a rare systematic analysis of this diverse range of democratic innovations, drawing lessons for the future development of both democratic theory and practice.
Innovative Citizen Participation and New Democratic Institutions Catching the Deliberative Wave by OECD
ISBN: 9789264837621
Publication Date: 2020-08-10
Public authorities from all levels of government increasingly turn to Citizens' Assemblies, Juries, Panels and other representative deliberative processes to tackle complex policy problems ranging from climate change to infrastructure investment decisions. They convene groups of people representing a wide cross-section of society for at least one full day - and often much longer - to learn, deliberate, and develop collective recommendations that consider the complexities and compromises required for solving multifaceted public issues. This "deliberative wave" has been building since the 1980s, gaining momentum since around 2010. This report has gathered close to 300 representative deliberative practices to explore trends in such processes, identify different models, and analyse the trade-offs among different design choices as well as the benefits and limits of public deliberation. It includes Good Practice Principles for Deliberative Processes for Public Decision Making, based on comparative empirical evidence gathered by the OECD and in collaboration with leading practitioners from government, civil society, and academics. Finally, the report explores the reasons and routes for embedding deliberative activities into public institutions to give citizens a more permanent and meaningful role in shaping the policies affecting their lives.

Political Campaigns and Elections

Electing people to public office requires effectively matching key ingredients - candidates, volunteers, finance, literature and messages, etc. No one ever gets aelected working alone. Some research indicates less than 10% of the eligible voters get involved in election campaigns, yet that level of involvement matters a great deal to the success of a candidacy. Whether donating funds, volunteering, writing letters to local papers, or even posting yard signs all contribute to successful elections. Websites below offer some guidance and some sources of useful information.

Federal Election Commission - search or download data of contributions and expenditures for all federal races by contributor, PAC, or candidate.

National Institute on Money in State Politics - Tracks contributions and expenditures for candidates, PACs, committees, ballot measures, and independent expenditures for each state. Easy to use tool allows you to type in your street address to identify your districts of state representation.

OpenSecrets.org : Analyzes campaign finance filings in every imaginable way: by political party, zip code, state, individual donor, industry, and more. Although the front-page emphasis is federal, state-level data is available for more than half of the nation as well. The states with coverage are shown in green on the map under the Get Local! tab. The site offers profiles of state representatives, of political parties and their committees, and of the top individual donors in the current (or most recent) election.

Citizen Participation

Participatory Budgeting

Ballot Initiatives

Writing Government Officials

Books

Political Campaigns and Elections

MSU Libraries

Research Guides

Citizen Participation

Books

Political Campaigns and Elections