Dr John Boswell, Associate Professor in Politics has published 'Mending Democracy' with Oxford University Press
The fabric of democracy is threadbare in many contemporary societies. Connections that are vital to the functioning and integrity of our democratic systems are wearing thin. Citizens are increasingly disconnected from their elected representatives and from each other in polarised public spheres, and alienated from complex systems of public policy.
The book
- presents colourful case studies that reveal the creative power of everyday people to strengthen democratic connections within existing political institutions and practices.
- advances the novel concept of 'democratic mending' to capture the incremental small-scale work of everyday actors aimed at repairing connections across democratic systems
- provides detailed and pragmatic guidance for how to enable democratic repair in disconnected times