Democratizing Inequalities: Dilemmas of the New Public Participation

Opportunities to "have your say," "get involved," and "join theconversation" are everywhere in public life. From crowdsourcing and town hallmeetings to government experiments with social media, participatory politics increasinglyseem like a revolutionary antidote to the decline of civic engagement and thethinning of the contemporary public sphere. Many argue that, with newtechnologies, flexible organizational cultures, and a supportive policymakingcontext, we now hold the keys to large-scale democratic revitalization.Democratizing Inequalities shows that the equation may not be sosimple. Modern societies face a variety of structural problems that limitpotentials for true democratization, as well as vast inequalities in politicalaction and voice that are not easily resolved by participatory solutions. Popularparticipation may even reinforce elite power in unexpected ways. Resisting anoversimplified account of participation as empowerment, this collection ofessays brings together a diverse range of leading scholars to reveal surprisinginsights into how dilemmas of the new public participation play out in politicsand organizations. Through investigations including fights over theauthenticity of business-sponsored public participation, the surge of the TeaParty, the role of corporations in electoral campaigns, and participatorybudgeting practices in Brazil, DemocratizingInequalities seeks to refresh our understanding of public participation andtrace the reshaping of authority in today's political environment.