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Democratic Accountability : Why Choice in Politics Is Both Possible and Necessary / Leif Lewin.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press, [2007]Copyright date: 2007Description: 1 online resource (264 p.)Content type:
Media type:
Carrier type:
ISBN:
  • 9780674274792
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 321.8 22
LOC classification:
  • JC423 .L4857 2007
Other classification:
  • online - DeGruyter
Online resources:
Contents:
Frontmatter -- Contents -- CHAPTER 1 Introduction: The Politics of Blame Avoidance -- CHAPTER 2 History Is Not Predetermined -- CHAPTER 3 Nation-States Need Not Go to War -- CHAPTER 4 Globalization Has Not Wiped Out the Freedom to Choose -- CHAPTER 5 Power-Sharing Does Not Exclude Accountability -- CHAPTER 6 Implementation May Well Be Immaculate -- CHAPTER 7 Consequences May Well Be as Intended -- CHAPTER 8 Action Can Be Meaningful Even if Irrational -- CHAPTER 9 Conclusion: The Necessity for Choice -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Acknowledgments -- Index
Summary: It is common for political leaders to claim they have no control over bad outcomes. Indeed, they often cite the arguments of political theorists and public intellectuals as to why: history rushes onward oblivious of human will; force and violence overcome political aims; globalization undermines the actions of national leaders; the bureaucracy sabotages their intentions; bad outcomes are often the unintended result of actions. In Democratic Accountability, Leif Lewin examines these reasons and argues that they are unconvincing. He makes his case by describing and analyzing counterexamples in seven cases, including the prevention of a communist takeover in Europe after World War II, the European Union's preventing another European war, and Margaret Thatcher's taming of the bureaucracy in Britain. In a staunch defense of the possibility for meaningful and profound democratic decision making, Lewin finds that, in fact, not only do political leaders exert a good measure of control and therefore can be assigned responsibility, but the meaning of the functioning democracy is that the people hold their leaders accountable.
Holdings
Item type Current library Call number URL Status Notes Barcode
eBook eBook Biblioteca "Angelicum" Pont. Univ. S.Tommaso d'Aquino Nuvola online online - DeGruyter (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Online access Not for loan (Accesso limitato) Accesso per gli utenti autorizzati / Access for authorized users (dgr)9780674274792

Frontmatter -- Contents -- CHAPTER 1 Introduction: The Politics of Blame Avoidance -- CHAPTER 2 History Is Not Predetermined -- CHAPTER 3 Nation-States Need Not Go to War -- CHAPTER 4 Globalization Has Not Wiped Out the Freedom to Choose -- CHAPTER 5 Power-Sharing Does Not Exclude Accountability -- CHAPTER 6 Implementation May Well Be Immaculate -- CHAPTER 7 Consequences May Well Be as Intended -- CHAPTER 8 Action Can Be Meaningful Even if Irrational -- CHAPTER 9 Conclusion: The Necessity for Choice -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Acknowledgments -- Index

restricted access online access with authorization star

http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_16ec

It is common for political leaders to claim they have no control over bad outcomes. Indeed, they often cite the arguments of political theorists and public intellectuals as to why: history rushes onward oblivious of human will; force and violence overcome political aims; globalization undermines the actions of national leaders; the bureaucracy sabotages their intentions; bad outcomes are often the unintended result of actions. In Democratic Accountability, Leif Lewin examines these reasons and argues that they are unconvincing. He makes his case by describing and analyzing counterexamples in seven cases, including the prevention of a communist takeover in Europe after World War II, the European Union's preventing another European war, and Margaret Thatcher's taming of the bureaucracy in Britain. In a staunch defense of the possibility for meaningful and profound democratic decision making, Lewin finds that, in fact, not only do political leaders exert a good measure of control and therefore can be assigned responsibility, but the meaning of the functioning democracy is that the people hold their leaders accountable.

Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.

In English.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 26. Aug 2024)

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