Informing and engaging citizens
The Brazilian experience: democracy, at its fullest, saves lives
Brazil is a deeply unequal democracy which enjoyed an economic boom in the 2000s – and is now suffering from a recession and the threat of austerity cuts. Michael Touchton, Natasha Borges Sugiyama and Brian Wampler analysed the factors that led to falls in infant mortality. They found that while competitive local elections were important, they alone […]
Book review | Behavioural Economics: A Very Short Introduction
In Behavioural Economics: A Very Short Introduction, Michelle Baddeley offers a new compact guide outlining the emergence of behavioural economics as an endeavour that diverges from traditional approaches to the discipline, and reflects on its lessons. Suggesting that a blended approach might ultimately be the most fruitful, this is a valuable introductory text that will be […]
May’s conservative statecraft gives us a little democracy now to avoid an outbreak later
Approaching its second general election in two years, with a referendum squeezed in between, you would be forgiven for thinking that Britain was in the midst of a democratic bonanza. Think again, writes Craig Berry. He argues that the Prime Minister’s decision to call a snap election signifies a rather cynical, undemocratic turn in British […]
Trolling democracy: anonymity doesn’t cause conflicts, bad site design does
‘Don’t feed the trolls’, people on social media are told. By forcing people to use their real names online, the managers of online forums hope to shame trolls into silence. But, Jennifer Forestal argues, this fails to tackle the root of the problem: a lack of the ‘close and direct intercourse and attachment’ which John Dewey […]
Who don’t young people vote? Self-confessed ignorance, and dislike of the mainstream
Consistently low turnout rates among young people are often interpreted as apathy. But this is not the case, argues Iro Konstantinou. They acknowledge their ignorance of politics and are unhappy with the citizenship curriculum, wanting it widened to include practical democratic issues rather than just party politics. Many regard social media activism and individual actions as more […]
Plagued by delays: the June election is bad news for the Intelligence and Security Committee
The only two female members of the Intelligence and Security Committee are leaving the Commons at the general election, and the whole Committee will have to be re-formed after June. Andrew Defty says one of its reports has been rushed out before the election with the government’s redactions unchallenged, and a long-delayed inquiry into the UK intelligence […]
Essay | William Davies on populism and the limits of neoliberalism
Coinciding with the release of a revised edition of The Limits of Neoliberalism: Authority, Sovereignty and the Logic of Competition, previously reviewed on LSE Review of Books in 2015, William Davies argues that the recent surge in ‘populism’ must be understood in relation to the structures of political, cultural and moral economy, in particular the inability […]
She does God: Theresa May, a PM with strong views but little ideology
The daughter of a High Anglican vicar, Theresa May describes herself as a “practising Christian”. In an edited extract from The Mighty and the Almighty: How Political Leaders Do God, Nick Spencer examines what we can glean about the influence of her Christianity on May’s politics. Theresa May arrives at Westminster Abbey, March 2017. Photo: […]
Book review | Participation and Non-Participation in Student Activism, by Alexander Hensby
What motivates some students to translate their political interests and commitments into direct action, while others do not? In Participation and Non-Participation in Student Activism: Paths and Barriers to Mobilising Young People for Political Action, Alexander Hensby draws upon the 2010-11 UK student protests as a case study through which to examine the factors shaping political […]
To fend off populism, we must stop believing in the will of the People
Populists rely on an idea of the people as a single, united force. Unfortunately, argues Luke Temple, traditional conceptions of democracy itself depend on a very similar notion. Unity and concordance is prized. This makes it difficult to challenge the underlying basis of populists’ arguments. But there is another way of understanding democracy – as […]
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