City and local governments have welcomed public participation, in short-term ways, on issues such... more City and local governments have welcomed public participation, in short-term ways, on issues such as crime prevention, affordable housing, urban planning, service provision, and general budgeting. They have been reluctant, however, to include citizens in substantive, long-term collaborative governance. At a time of budget constraints, multifaceted social problems, declining public trust, changing citizen expectations, and social media transparency, public administrators are motivated to experiment, but only incrementally. Drawing from interviews with reformers, this chapter discusses ad hoc strategies of citizen involvement directed toward specific policy problems, environmental commitments to participation involving multiple forms of citizen engagement, educational innovations such as citizens’ academies, and power-sharing innovations such as participatory budgeting. While some participatory innovations dissipate after a few months, others take root in a self-sustaining civic environment. Factors relevant to sustainability include divisions of labor between citizens and city managers, persistent outreach, substantive work done by citizens, and real power-sharing opportunities.
Dominic Barter develops social technologies that promote dialogue and partnership, focusing prima... more Dominic Barter develops social technologies that promote dialogue and partnership, focusing primarily in the fields of education, justice, culture and social change. In the mid-90s he collaborated in the development of Restorative Circles, a community-based and community-owned practice for dynamic engagement with conflict that grew from conversations with residents in gang-controlled shantytown favelas in Rio de Janeiro. He adapted the practice for the Brazilian Ministry of Justice's award-winning national projects in restorative justice, has introduced it in 22 countries and supports its application in a further 18 countries. In recent years he has supervised the mediation programme for the Police Pacification Units in Rio, served as invited professor at the Standing Group for Consensual Methods of Conflict Resolution, at the High Court of Rio, with a focus on school mediation and bullying, and worked on the development of restorative community. Dominic founded and directed the Dialogue Restoration Project for the State Education Department of Rio, bringing restorative practice to high schools, and established restorative systems in the youth detention systems of 4 states. Projects he has worked with have won the Premio Innovare-the national prize for innovation in justice-four times in ten years. From his youth in England up to recent occupations in Rio he has also been active in street-based social movements, with an emphasis on participatory, dialogical and consensual political forms. 1. Early social activism in London: the pervasive logic of the justice system DZUR: What drew you, as a human being, to problems in criminal justice? Are there certain people or books or experiences or something about you personally that you think moved you down that path? BARTER: I think I knew from quite early on that the world was going to require a certain quality of engagement to change and that change was going to meet
Dominic Barter develops social technologies that promote dialogue and partnership, focusing prima... more Dominic Barter develops social technologies that promote dialogue and partnership, focusing primarily in the fields of education, justice, culture and social change. In the mid-90s he collaborated in the development of Restorative Circles, a community-based and community-owned practice for dynamic engagement with conflict that grew from conversations with residents in gang-controlled shantytown favelas in Rio de Janeiro. He adapted the practice for the Brazilian Ministry of Justice's award-winning national projects in restorative justice, has introduced it in 22 countries and supports its application in a further 18 countries. In recent years he has supervised the mediation programme for the Police Pacification Units in Rio, served as invited professor at the Standing Group for Consensual Methods of Conflict Resolution, at the High Court of Rio, with a focus on school mediation and bullying, and worked on the development of restorative community. Dominic founded and directed the Dialogue Restoration Project for the State Education Department of Rio, bringing restorative practice to high schools, and established restorative systems in the youth detention systems of 4 states. Projects he has worked with have won the Premio Innovare-the national prize for innovation in justice-four times in ten years. From his youth in England up to recent occupations in Rio he has also been active in street-based social movements, with an emphasis on participatory, dialogical and consensual political forms. 1. Early social activism in London: the pervasive logic of the justice system DZUR: What drew you, as a human being, to problems in criminal justice? Are there certain people or books or experiences or something about you personally that you think moved you down that path? BARTER: I think I knew from quite early on that the world was going to require a certain quality of engagement to change and that change was going to meet
This article investigates the practical form of citizen engagement that occurs in collective prob... more This article investigates the practical form of citizen engagement that occurs in collective problem-solving efforts such as civic enterprises, grassroots initiatives and self-help groups. Drawing on extensive empirical evidence from diverse policy fields, it articulates the distinct experimental and disruptive policy work that citizens enact in these citizens’ governance spaces and challenges dominant interpretations which view them as either (i) a testament to the capacity of citizens to effectively solve complex public problems or (ii) a symptom of advanced neoliberalism where states off-load complex problems onto citizens. The article moves beyond this dualism to consider the motivations, challenges, available resources and distinct democratic work enacted by citizens in these spaces of bottom-up governance. Citizens’ governance spaces, the article concludes, offer important lessons – both in terms of potential benefits and risks – for the project of deepening the quality and reach of citizen participation in modern systems of democracy.
... Alan Gibson, Ancients, Moderns, and Americans: The Republicanism-Liberalism DebateRevisited,... more ... Alan Gibson, Ancients, Moderns, and Americans: The Republicanism-Liberalism DebateRevisited, 26572; Lance Banning, The Republican Interpretation: Retrospect and Prospect, in The Republican Synthesis Revisited: Essays in Honor of George Athan Billias, eds. ...
Evaluation de la these de l'incompatibilite entre le pluralisme des valeurs, fonde sur le fai... more Evaluation de la these de l'incompatibilite entre le pluralisme des valeurs, fonde sur le fait de la difference et sur l'heterogeneite des valeurs, et le liberalisme politique, pronant l'individualisme et l'egalite. Considerant le premier comme une doctrine normative et le second comme une theorie des institutions politiques legitimes, l'A. examine les arguments de la critique pluraliste du liberalisme fondes sur la denonciation des valeurs premieres, sur l'oubli des options sociales et sur l'incompatibilite de l'individualite et de l'egalite, d'une part, et souligne la pertinence du liberalisme au regard de l'exigence d'une morale minimale, d'autre part
The democratic professionals in this study encourage load-bearing work by citizens in education, ... more The democratic professionals in this study encourage load-bearing work by citizens in education, criminal justice, and city government. They share professionalized tasks and encourage lay participation in ways that enhance and enable collective action and deliberation about social issues. Democratic professionalism is an alternative way of understanding professionals’ potential to impact social change that differs from a “social trustee” perspective that ignores their power and a “radical critique” that shuns its use. Democratic professionals relate to society in a particular way: they regard the layperson’s knowledge and agency as critical components in resolving what have been seen as strictly professional issues of education, government, health, justice, and public safety. Contemporary democratic theory has overlooked the kinds of citizen agency and power-sharing encouraged by democratic professionals, so a more grounded theory is needed to bring into focus how individuals come t...
This book develops a grounded theory of democratic change, citizen agency, and institutions as fi... more This book develops a grounded theory of democratic change, citizen agency, and institutions as fields of action. Across the United States democratic professionals are creating innovative power-sharing arrangements in institutions that are usually hierarchical and non-participatory. Often involving laypeople who would not consider themselves activists or even engaged citizens, democratic professionals break down internal barriers, foster social proximity, encourage co-ownership of problems previously seen as beyond laypeople’s abilities, and seek out opportunities for collaborative work. The book focuses on democratic professionals’ efforts in participatory innovation in the fields of K-12 education, criminal justice, and city government. Drawing on qualitative interviews with practitioners involved in democratic schools, restorative and community justice, and collaborative city governance, the book investigates specific motivations that arise in each field for sharing power over tas...
Criminal justice institutions contain multiple access points for innovation, and the professional... more Criminal justice institutions contain multiple access points for innovation, and the professionals working in them have normative, political, and economic motivations for improvement. While dominant tendencies incline toward managerial control and bureaucratic rigidity, pressures to rethink and reform criminal justice professionalism stem from deep concerns about the fairness, efficacy, and sustainability of mass incarceration and from citizen protests spotlighting racial bias and violence in conventional policing. This chapter considers four sites of innovation: community organizations developing restorative justice approaches, police departments using community policing, schools involved in participatory conflict resolution, and prisons opening up to higher education partnerships. Drawing from interviews with reformers, it discusses motivations for encouraging citizen participation, notes barriers to change, and identifies resources available to sustain and expand innovation. Thes...
... of power and authority and raise questions of proper representation and accountabilityall ce... more ... of power and authority and raise questions of proper representation and accountabilityall central concepts for political theoristsprofessional ethics has come to ... It has neglected the politics of newswrit-ing, of source and story selection; the politics of quality of life assessments ...
City and local governments have welcomed public participation, in short-term ways, on issues such... more City and local governments have welcomed public participation, in short-term ways, on issues such as crime prevention, affordable housing, urban planning, service provision, and general budgeting. They have been reluctant, however, to include citizens in substantive, long-term collaborative governance. At a time of budget constraints, multifaceted social problems, declining public trust, changing citizen expectations, and social media transparency, public administrators are motivated to experiment, but only incrementally. Drawing from interviews with reformers, this chapter discusses ad hoc strategies of citizen involvement directed toward specific policy problems, environmental commitments to participation involving multiple forms of citizen engagement, educational innovations such as citizens’ academies, and power-sharing innovations such as participatory budgeting. While some participatory innovations dissipate after a few months, others take root in a self-sustaining civic environment. Factors relevant to sustainability include divisions of labor between citizens and city managers, persistent outreach, substantive work done by citizens, and real power-sharing opportunities.
Dominic Barter develops social technologies that promote dialogue and partnership, focusing prima... more Dominic Barter develops social technologies that promote dialogue and partnership, focusing primarily in the fields of education, justice, culture and social change. In the mid-90s he collaborated in the development of Restorative Circles, a community-based and community-owned practice for dynamic engagement with conflict that grew from conversations with residents in gang-controlled shantytown favelas in Rio de Janeiro. He adapted the practice for the Brazilian Ministry of Justice's award-winning national projects in restorative justice, has introduced it in 22 countries and supports its application in a further 18 countries. In recent years he has supervised the mediation programme for the Police Pacification Units in Rio, served as invited professor at the Standing Group for Consensual Methods of Conflict Resolution, at the High Court of Rio, with a focus on school mediation and bullying, and worked on the development of restorative community. Dominic founded and directed the Dialogue Restoration Project for the State Education Department of Rio, bringing restorative practice to high schools, and established restorative systems in the youth detention systems of 4 states. Projects he has worked with have won the Premio Innovare-the national prize for innovation in justice-four times in ten years. From his youth in England up to recent occupations in Rio he has also been active in street-based social movements, with an emphasis on participatory, dialogical and consensual political forms. 1. Early social activism in London: the pervasive logic of the justice system DZUR: What drew you, as a human being, to problems in criminal justice? Are there certain people or books or experiences or something about you personally that you think moved you down that path? BARTER: I think I knew from quite early on that the world was going to require a certain quality of engagement to change and that change was going to meet
Dominic Barter develops social technologies that promote dialogue and partnership, focusing prima... more Dominic Barter develops social technologies that promote dialogue and partnership, focusing primarily in the fields of education, justice, culture and social change. In the mid-90s he collaborated in the development of Restorative Circles, a community-based and community-owned practice for dynamic engagement with conflict that grew from conversations with residents in gang-controlled shantytown favelas in Rio de Janeiro. He adapted the practice for the Brazilian Ministry of Justice's award-winning national projects in restorative justice, has introduced it in 22 countries and supports its application in a further 18 countries. In recent years he has supervised the mediation programme for the Police Pacification Units in Rio, served as invited professor at the Standing Group for Consensual Methods of Conflict Resolution, at the High Court of Rio, with a focus on school mediation and bullying, and worked on the development of restorative community. Dominic founded and directed the Dialogue Restoration Project for the State Education Department of Rio, bringing restorative practice to high schools, and established restorative systems in the youth detention systems of 4 states. Projects he has worked with have won the Premio Innovare-the national prize for innovation in justice-four times in ten years. From his youth in England up to recent occupations in Rio he has also been active in street-based social movements, with an emphasis on participatory, dialogical and consensual political forms. 1. Early social activism in London: the pervasive logic of the justice system DZUR: What drew you, as a human being, to problems in criminal justice? Are there certain people or books or experiences or something about you personally that you think moved you down that path? BARTER: I think I knew from quite early on that the world was going to require a certain quality of engagement to change and that change was going to meet
This article investigates the practical form of citizen engagement that occurs in collective prob... more This article investigates the practical form of citizen engagement that occurs in collective problem-solving efforts such as civic enterprises, grassroots initiatives and self-help groups. Drawing on extensive empirical evidence from diverse policy fields, it articulates the distinct experimental and disruptive policy work that citizens enact in these citizens’ governance spaces and challenges dominant interpretations which view them as either (i) a testament to the capacity of citizens to effectively solve complex public problems or (ii) a symptom of advanced neoliberalism where states off-load complex problems onto citizens. The article moves beyond this dualism to consider the motivations, challenges, available resources and distinct democratic work enacted by citizens in these spaces of bottom-up governance. Citizens’ governance spaces, the article concludes, offer important lessons – both in terms of potential benefits and risks – for the project of deepening the quality and reach of citizen participation in modern systems of democracy.
... Alan Gibson, Ancients, Moderns, and Americans: The Republicanism-Liberalism DebateRevisited,... more ... Alan Gibson, Ancients, Moderns, and Americans: The Republicanism-Liberalism DebateRevisited, 26572; Lance Banning, The Republican Interpretation: Retrospect and Prospect, in The Republican Synthesis Revisited: Essays in Honor of George Athan Billias, eds. ...
Evaluation de la these de l'incompatibilite entre le pluralisme des valeurs, fonde sur le fai... more Evaluation de la these de l'incompatibilite entre le pluralisme des valeurs, fonde sur le fait de la difference et sur l'heterogeneite des valeurs, et le liberalisme politique, pronant l'individualisme et l'egalite. Considerant le premier comme une doctrine normative et le second comme une theorie des institutions politiques legitimes, l'A. examine les arguments de la critique pluraliste du liberalisme fondes sur la denonciation des valeurs premieres, sur l'oubli des options sociales et sur l'incompatibilite de l'individualite et de l'egalite, d'une part, et souligne la pertinence du liberalisme au regard de l'exigence d'une morale minimale, d'autre part
The democratic professionals in this study encourage load-bearing work by citizens in education, ... more The democratic professionals in this study encourage load-bearing work by citizens in education, criminal justice, and city government. They share professionalized tasks and encourage lay participation in ways that enhance and enable collective action and deliberation about social issues. Democratic professionalism is an alternative way of understanding professionals’ potential to impact social change that differs from a “social trustee” perspective that ignores their power and a “radical critique” that shuns its use. Democratic professionals relate to society in a particular way: they regard the layperson’s knowledge and agency as critical components in resolving what have been seen as strictly professional issues of education, government, health, justice, and public safety. Contemporary democratic theory has overlooked the kinds of citizen agency and power-sharing encouraged by democratic professionals, so a more grounded theory is needed to bring into focus how individuals come t...
This book develops a grounded theory of democratic change, citizen agency, and institutions as fi... more This book develops a grounded theory of democratic change, citizen agency, and institutions as fields of action. Across the United States democratic professionals are creating innovative power-sharing arrangements in institutions that are usually hierarchical and non-participatory. Often involving laypeople who would not consider themselves activists or even engaged citizens, democratic professionals break down internal barriers, foster social proximity, encourage co-ownership of problems previously seen as beyond laypeople’s abilities, and seek out opportunities for collaborative work. The book focuses on democratic professionals’ efforts in participatory innovation in the fields of K-12 education, criminal justice, and city government. Drawing on qualitative interviews with practitioners involved in democratic schools, restorative and community justice, and collaborative city governance, the book investigates specific motivations that arise in each field for sharing power over tas...
Criminal justice institutions contain multiple access points for innovation, and the professional... more Criminal justice institutions contain multiple access points for innovation, and the professionals working in them have normative, political, and economic motivations for improvement. While dominant tendencies incline toward managerial control and bureaucratic rigidity, pressures to rethink and reform criminal justice professionalism stem from deep concerns about the fairness, efficacy, and sustainability of mass incarceration and from citizen protests spotlighting racial bias and violence in conventional policing. This chapter considers four sites of innovation: community organizations developing restorative justice approaches, police departments using community policing, schools involved in participatory conflict resolution, and prisons opening up to higher education partnerships. Drawing from interviews with reformers, it discusses motivations for encouraging citizen participation, notes barriers to change, and identifies resources available to sustain and expand innovation. Thes...
... of power and authority and raise questions of proper representation and accountabilityall ce... more ... of power and authority and raise questions of proper representation and accountabilityall central concepts for political theoristsprofessional ethics has come to ... It has neglected the politics of newswrit-ing, of source and story selection; the politics of quality of life assessments ...
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