Doing Democracy Differently: Political Practices and Transnational Civil Society

Transnational civil society networks have become increasingly important democratizing actors in global politics. Still, the exploration of democracy in such networks remains conceptually and methodologically challenging. Practice theory provides a framework to study democracy as routinized performances even in contexts of fluid boundaries, temporal relations and a diffuse constituency. The author attempts to understand how new forms of democratic practice emerge in the interaction between political actors and their structural environments.

Table of Contents:
Figures Tables Abbreviations Abstract Introduction Part I Conceptual Foundations of Democratic Practice in Transnational Civil Society Networks 1 Participatory Democracy 1.1 The Theoretical Foundations of Participatory Democracy 1.2 The Triad of Participation, Equality and Freedom 1.3 From System Change to Integration: Participatory Democracy vis-a-vis State and Society 1.4 The Prospects of Participatory Democracy for Transnational Civil Society Networks 1.4.1 A Model for Participatory Transnational Democracy: Global Stakeholder Democracy 1.4.2 Internal Democracy in Civil Society Groups 2 Democratic Representation 2.1 The Roots of Democratic Representation 2.2 Democratic Norms and Forms of Representation 2.2.1 Representation as Description 2.2.2 The Representative's Freedom 2.3 The Prospects of Non-electoral Representation for Transnational Civil Society Networks 2.3.1 Holding Representatives Accountable by a Blurred Constituency 2.3.2 Trust as a Basis for Unelected Representatives 2.3.3 The Substantive Practice of Representation 3 Deliberative Democracy 3.1 The Epistemic Perspective on Deliberation 3.1.1 Valid Norms and Enlightened Decisions i- the Goals of Deliberation 3.1.2 Beyond Expert Rationality in Deliberation 3.2 The Participatory Claims of Deliberative Democracy 3.2.1 Shared Notions and Differences between Participatory and Deliberative Democracy 3.2.2 Pluralism and Impartiality in Deliberative Processes 3.3 The Prospects of Deliberative Democracy for Transnational Civil Society Networks 4 Democracy as Practice 4.1 Social Practices 4.2 Conceptualizing Democracy as Practice 4.3 Evaluation Criteria for Democratic Practice 4.3.1 Participation Practices 4.3.2 Deliberation Practices 4.3.3 Representation Practices Part II Democratic Practice in Two Transnational Civil Society Networks 5 Research Design 5.1 Methodological Assumptions of a Reconstructive Analysis 5.2 Case Selection 5.3 Qualitative Semi-structured Interviews 5.4 The Method of Reconstructive Analysis 6 Political Practices in Transnational Civil Society Networks i- An Exploration 6.1 A Campaign for Better Working Conditions in the Garment Industry: the CCC 6.2 A Network for Environmental Protection Worldwide: FoE 6.3 The Political Practices of Representation, Participation and Deliberation 6.3.1 Inside the transnational civil society networks: general perceptions 6.3.2 Participation Practices 6.3.3 Deliberation Practices 6.3.4 Representation Practices 6.3.5 Conclusions 7 How Democratic are the Political Practices Explored? 7.1 Participation Practices 7.2 Deliberation Practices 7.3 Representation Practices 8 Conclusions: Democracy in Contexts of Dissolving Boundaries References Annex

About the Author :
Dr. Henrike Knappe works for the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies e.V. (IASS) in Potsdam, Germany.