Author Archive: Democratic Audit UK
Book Review: Realpolitik: A History by John Bew
While ‘realpolitik’ has often been understood negatively, associated primarily with Henry Kissinger and used to denote cynical approaches to foreign policy, this new book by John Bew, Realpolitik: A History, offers a more nuanced history of the term by tracing its development from its initial conception in mid-nineteenth-century Germany to the present day. Robert Ledger applauds […]
Without supportive measures the minimum wage increase will do little to reduce inequality in the UK
National minimum wage increases over the next four years are – on their own – unlikely to solve the escalating inequality in the UK, or the widening gap between business owners and wage-earners. Teemu Alexander Puutio writes that more ambitious measures are needed, and suggests that shareholder ownership plans could offer a private-sector driven and […]
Public consultations do not currently enable all stakeholders to effectively contribute to the legislative process
In a recent study, Helen Taylor and Axel Kaehne looked at responses to the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Bill to consider how effective the public consultation process is at incorporating wider expertise into the legislative process. The findings highlighted a number of issues relating to both the nature of responses and the way in […]
Five minutes with Srdja Popović and Yogendra Yadav: “Every non-violent struggle supports the same principle – it becomes efficient the moment people take it personally”
In January, Serbian activist Srdja Popović and Indian academic-turned-anti-corruption campaigner Yogendra Yadav both spoke at the LSE India Summit 2016. During a pause in the conference, they met to discuss political theory and the practicalities of fostering non-violent mass movements in the 21st Century. Similar PostsBook Review: Networked Publics and Digital Contention: The Politics of Everyday […]
To speak of populist radical right parties as a ‘corrective to democracy’ is—in terms of turnout—a misunderstanding
In America a right-wing populist has sparked debate about the state of American democracy, while European countries have increasing experience of populist radical right parties. The presence and popularity of these parties raises significant questions about their consequences for democracy, democratic legitimacy, and political participation. In a recent study, Tim Immerzeel and Mark Pickup examined […]
Incomplete Europeans: Polish migrants’ experience of discrimination in the UK is complicated by their whiteness
Although Central-East Europeans have officially been a part of the EU for more than a decade, they have not been completely embraced. This is especially true in the UK. Yet this topic has remained very much on the sidelines of the Brexit debate. Dagmar Myslinska’s research on Polish migrants brings a better understanding of the circular, temporal, and open-ended nature of free movement which has affected […]
Book Review: Angry White People: Coming Face-to-Face with the British Far Right by Hsiao-Hung Pai
In Angry White People: Coming Face-to-Face with the British Far Right, the investigative journalist Hsiao-Hung Pai documents conversations and encounters with members of the English Defence League (EDL) and other key figures within the British far right, supplementing this with the responses of Luton residents, anti-racist activists and Muslim communities affected by the EDL’s rise. […]
Who speaks for Europe? The UK referendum as a pan-European affair
The Brexit debate greatly affects Europe yet commentary from EU figures and European heads of state has been surprisingly muted. Andrew Glencross writes that this is is a significant part due to the fact the British in/out vote is understood as a manifestation of political exceptionalism. The Brexit vote will therefore ultimately be won or lost on British […]
‘Too close to call’? Accounting for satisfaction with party leadership would have helped better predict the General Election
A good predictor of electoral outcomes over the past nine UK general elections has been survey questions asking about satisfaction with the leaders of the two main parties. That measure, however, combines responses from people who support the party and those who don’t. Here, Ruth Dixon explores leader satisfaction among party supporters as a way of measuring the level of ‘enthusiastic […]
EVEL is unlikely to offer a sustainable solution to the West Lothian question
Last month the House of Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee published a report on English votes for English laws in which significant doubts were raised about whether the new standing orders are a sustainable solution to the West Lothian question. The committee’s chair, Bernard Jenkin, outlines his committee’s findings and argues that the government […]
Democratic Audit's core funding is provided by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. Additional funding is provided by the London School of Economics.