Connections 2013: Citizens in Democratic Politics

Posted on February 7, 2014 by Courtney Breese

Connections is a yearly periodical published by the Kettering Foundation featuring articles devoted to a theme. Each issue of the foundation’s annual newsletter focuses on a particular area of Kettering’s research and contains articles, feature stories, and book reviews relevant to the foundation’s work. Editing responsibilities for Connections rotate among Kettering program staff.

The 2013 edition focuses on”citizens and the importance of the choices they make in politics.” Below is an excerpt from the introduction…

The foundation’s annual research review in 2013 includes looking at citizens and the importance of the choices they make in politics. In many ways, politics is about choice—not only among policies and candidates in elections, but also among the many actions to address and solve problems.

Two difficulties stand out: Too often, people are on the sidelines of the political system. They don’t make any choices, or they choose by not choosing at all. Furthermore, simply being involved won’t result in good choices unless people make informed and wise decisions about what they should do. Kettering research is both about what motivates people to become involved and about what helps them make sound decisions.

- David Mathews, President of the Kettering Foundation

…along with the contents of the newsletter…

Contents of the 2013 Edition

Getting Off the Sidelines and Making Good Choices
David Mathews

Deliberative Opportunities in Everyday Political Talk
Amy Lee and Erika Mason-Imbody

Public Deliberation from the Jury Room to Initiative Elections
John Gastil

Issue Guides and Issue Frameworks
Brad Rourke

Learning Exchanges with Centers for Public Life
Alice Diebel and Randall Nielsen

A Public Voice: A Long-Running Experiment Bears Promising Fruit
David Holwerk

Reinventing Hampton
Connie Crockett

Learning Exchanges with Professional Organizations
Phillip D. Lurie

Public Learning in Public Schools: How Networks of Teachers and Public Partners Can Support Civic Learning
Libby Kingseed and Stacie Molnar-Main

Active Citizenry in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia: A Case of Citywide Deliberation, Collective Acting, and Civic Capacity Building
Germán Ruiz and Ileana Marin

Online Deliberative Decision Making
Amy Lee

Folk Politics
Randall Nielsen

This edition of their annual newsletter is currently available as both a free download and in print (also free with shipping) from the Kettering Foundation website.

Resource Link: http://kettering.org/periodicals/connections-2013-citizens-in-democratic-politics/

The Ecology of Democracy: Finding Ways to Have a Stronger Hand in Shaping Our Future

Posted on February 7, 2014 by Courtney Breese

This 2014 book written by David Matthews, president of the Kettering Foundation, focuses on how to put more control in the hands of citizens when it comes to shaping the future of their communities and country. It was published by the Kettering Foundation Press.

From the Publisher:

The Ecology of Democracy: Finding Ways to Have a Stronger Hand in Shaping Our Future is for people who care deeply about their communities and their country but worry about problems that endanger their future and that of their children. Jobs are disappearing, or the jobs people want aren’t available. Health care costs keep going up, and the system seems harder to navigate. Many worry that our schools aren’t as good as they should be. The political system is mired in hyperpolarization. Citizens feel pushed to the sidelines.

Rather than giving in to despair and cynicism, some Americans are determined to have a stronger hand in shaping their future. Suspicious of big reforms and big institutions, they are starting where they are with what they have.

This book is also for governmental and nongovernmental organizations, as well as educational institutions that are trying to engage these citizens. Their efforts aren’t stopping the steady erosion of public confidence, so they are looking for a different kind of public participation.

The work of democracy is work. Here are some ideas about how it can be done in ways that put more control in the hands of citizens and help restore the legitimacy of our institutions.

David Mathews is a husband, father, grandfather, gardener, and a member of the Clarke County Historical Society. Although a nonpartisan independent, he served as a Cabinet officer in the Ford administration (Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare). He is a former president of the University of Alabama, where he taught history. Now president of a research organization, the Kettering Foundation, he writes books like Politics for People, which has been translated into eight languages. He doesn’t sail or ski and has no musical talents, but his dog loves him.

Table of Contents includes:

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Introducing the People Who Make Our Democracy Work

Part I. Democracy Reconsidered

1. Systemic Problems of Self-Rule

2. Struggling for a Citizen-Centered Democracy

3. The Political Ecosystem

Part II. Citizens and Communities

4. “Here, Sir, the People Govern.” Really?

5. Putting the Public Back in the Public’s Business

6. Citizens: Involved and Informed?

7. Public Deliberation and Public Judgment

8. Framing Issues to Encourage Deliberation

9. Opportunities in Communities

10. Democratic Practices

Part III. Institutions, Professionals, and the Public

11. Bridging the Great Divide

12. Experiments in Realignment and Possibilities for Experiments

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Ordering info: The book is currently available for purchase from the Kettering Foundation

Resource Link: http://kettering.org/publications/ecology-of-democracy/

Zombie Politics and Culture in the Age of Casino Capitalism

Posted on December 7, 2013 by Courtney Breese

This 2010 book by Henry Giroux capitalizes upon the popularity of zombies, exploring the relevance of the metaphor they provide for examining the political and pedagogical conditions that have produced a growing culture of sadism, cruelty, disposability, and death in America.

The zombie metaphor may seem extreme, but it is particularly apt for drawing attention to the ways in which political culture and power in American society now operate on a level of mere survival. This book uses the metaphor not only to suggest the symbolic face of power: beginning and ending with an analysis of authoritarianism, it attempts to mark and chart the visible registers of a kind of zombie politics, including the emergence of right-wing teaching machines, a growing politics of disposability, the emergence of a culture of cruelty, and the ongoing war being waged on young people, especially on youth of color. By drawing attention to zombie politics and authoritarianism, this book aims to break through the poisonous common sense that often masks zombie politicians, anti-public intellectuals, politics, institutions, and social relations, and bring into focus a new language, pedagogy, and politics in which the living dead will be moved decisively to the margins rather than occupying the very center of politics and everyday life.

Reviews

“In this timely and compelling critique of U.S. political culture, Henry Giroux makes clear how it is that Americans are living through what Hannah Arendt once called ‘dark times’, times in which the violence and cruelty of human disposability remains hidden in the black light of an increasingly authoritarian public realm. Passionately and incisively argued, Giroux’s critique offers insight into the political and pedagogical conditions that have produced a ‘zombie politics’ and its associated forms of authoritarianism. In this respect, Giroux illuminates what we need to see in order to reconstitute a lost social democratic imagination.”

-Roger I. Simon, University of Toronto

“Henry Giroux offers his most passionate defense yet of democracy and civic values in his new book. This volume is a must-read in dark times like these. Giroux has for decades been an outstanding tribune for democracy, an advocate for civic values and for questioning the unequal status quo. In this new book, he takes up more vigorously than ever the threats to the public sphere from reactionary forces gaining momentum. For Giroux, these threats to humane democracy fit the ‘zombie aesthetic’ now pervading television, film, and popular culture. Politics has become a monstrous caricature of public deliberation with wild propositions and charges spreading fear and division. Giroux explores the hostile forces sucking the blood out of our constitutional rights as well as the vitality out of ordinary families. We have become a society of monopolized wealth and distributed poverty, a culture of endless war, legalized torture, detention without trial, bursting prisons, and schools that turn our bright children into data. These intolerable conditions require the outrage and insight Giroux offers in his new book. He has written a volume inviting us to democratic action and civic restoration before these dark times grow even darker.”

-Ira Shor, Professor, City University of New York

Henry A. Giroux holds the Global TV Network Chair in English and Cultural Studies at McMaster University in Canada. His most recent books include The University in Chains: Confronting the Military-Industrial-Academic Complex (2007), Youth in a Suspect Society: Democracy or Disposability? (2009), Politics Beyond Hope (2010), and Hearts of Darkness: Torturing Children in the War on Terror (2010).

Resource Link: http://www.amazon.com/Politics-Culture-Capitalism-Popular-Everyday/dp/1433112264

Mental Illness in America: How Can We Address a Growing Problem? (NIF Issue Advisory)

Posted on December 4, 2013 by Courtney Breese

In October 2013, National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI) released an Issue Advisory that contains materials that can be used in deliberating over the issue of the impact of mental illness in America. This “issue advisory” is not a full NIF issue guide, but a basic outline of the options, entitled Mental Illness in America: How Do We Address a Growing Problem? It can be downloaded here.

From the introduction…

Many Americans share a sense that something is wrong with how we address mental health and mental illness. More and more of us are taking medications for depression, hyperactivity, and other disorders. Meanwhile, however, dangerous mental illnesses are going undetected and untreated.

According to some, recent violent incidents reflect the need to increase security and increase our ability to detect mental illness. Others point to increasing numbers of veterans returning from overseas with post-traumatic stress disorders as a major concern. One in five Americans will have mental health problems in any given year. Unaddressed mental illness hurts individuals and their families and results in lost productivity. In rare cases, it can result in violence.

This Issue Advisory presents a framework that asks: How can we reduce the impact of mental
illness in America?

This issue advisory presents three options for deliberation, along with their drawbacks:

Option One: Put Safety First – more preventive action is necessary to deal with mentally ill individuals who are potentially dangerous to themselves or others.
Option Two: Ensure Mental Health Services are Available to All Who Need them – people
should be encouraged to take control over their own mental health and be provided the tools to do so.
Option Three: Let People Plot their Own Course – we should not rely on so many medical approaches and allow people the freedom to plot their own course to healthy lives.

Resource Link: http://nifi.org/stream_document.aspx?rID=25092&catID=6&itemID=25088&typeID=8 (pdf)

Importing Democracy: The Role of NGOs in South Africa, Tajikistan, & Argentina

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Courtney Breese

This 2013 book written by Julie Fisher and published by the Kettering Foundation Press, focuses on the roles of democratization nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in three countries in the developing world: South Africa, Tajikistan, and Argentina.

The book is organized around three chapters for each country, South Africa, Tajikistan, and Argentina. The first chapter of each country’s section begins with the historical, political, and economic context and continues with a discussion of the general contours of civil society. The second chapter in each section deals with the role of democratization NGOs in promoting both loyal opposition and law-based civil liberties. The third chapter focuses on their role in promoting political culture and political participation. Loyal opposition and law-based civil liberties help define democratization at the national level, whereas changes in political culture and increased political participation often occur throughout society. Following the nine country chapters, the book concludes with a comparative overview and implications for international policy.

Fisher, a former Kettering Foundation program officer, writes that the idea that democracy can be exported has lost credibility in recent years. In many countries, however, democratization NGOs are importing democratic ideas and recovering local democratic traditions.

From the book’s Introduction:

Nothing has so discredited the attempt to export democracy militarily as the Iraq and Afghan wars. Both Iraq and Afghanistan remind us that democracy must be built from within. Even peaceful efforts to export democracy, undertaken with the best of intentions, can founder on the reefs of simplistic Western visions of other societies.

A common response to this failure is to assume that many countries are simply not suited to democracy, at least for the foreseeable future. This book is about the people of three countries–South Africa, Tajikistan, and Argentina–who refuse to be so easily dismissed and who have already started the long, arduous process of democratization from within. They have done this, first, by “importing” democratic ideas from abroad and, second, by rediscovering indigenous democratic traditions….

Table of Contents includes:

Preface & Acknowledgments

Chapter 1 Introduction

Chapter 2 South Africa: History, Politics, & Civil Society

Chapter 3 The Role of Civil Society in South Africa: Building a Loyal Opposition & Law-Based Civil Liberties

Chapter 4 The Role of Civil Society in South Africa II: Nurturing a Democratic Political Culture & Deepening Political Participation

Chapter 5 Tajikistan: History, Politics & Civil Society

Chapter 6 The Role of Civil Society in Tajikistan: Building a Loyal Opposition & Law-Based Civil Liberties

Chapter 7 The Role of Civil Society in Tajikistan II: Nurturing a Democratic Political Culture & Deepening Political Participation

Chapter 8 Argentina: History, Politics, & Civil Society

Chapter 9 The Role of Civil Society in Argentina: Loyal Opposition, Strengthening the State, and Law-Based Civil Liberties

Chapter 10 The Role of Civil Society in Argentina II: Nurturing a Democratic Political Culture & Deepening Political Participation

Chapter 11 Conclusions

Chapter 12 International Implications & Recommendations

Appendix I List of Interviews

Appendix II Democratization NGOs in Other Countries

Appendix III An Overview of Democracy Assistance

Appendix IV Research Methods

List of Acronyms

Bibliographies

Ordering info: The book is currently available for purchase from the Kettering Foundation or from Amazon.com

Resource Link: http://kettering.org/publications/importing-democracy/

Importing Democracy: The Role of NGOs in South Africa, Tajikistan, & Argentina

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Courtney Breese

From the book’s Introduction:

Table of Contents includes:

Preface & Acknowledgments

Chapter 1 Introduction

Chapter 2 South Africa: History, Politics, & Civil Society

Chapter 3 The Role of Civil Society in South Africa: Building a Loyal Opposition & Law-Based Civil Liberties

Chapter 4 The Role of Civil Society in South Africa II: Nurturing a Democratic Political Culture & Deepening Political Participation

Chapter 5 Tajikistan: History, Politics & Civil Society

Chapter 6 The Role of Civil Society in Tajikistan: Building a Loyal Opposition & Law-Based Civil Liberties

Chapter 7 The Role of Civil Society in Tajikistan II: Nurturing a Democratic Political Culture & Deepening Political Participation

Chapter 8 Argentina: History, Politics, & Civil Society

Chapter 9 The Role of Civil Society in Argentina: Loyal Opposition, Strengthening the State, and Law-Based Civil Liberties

Chapter 10 The Role of Civil Society in Argentina II: Nurturing a Democratic Political Culture & Deepening Political Participation

Chapter 11 Conclusions

Chapter 12 International Implications & Recommendations

Appendix I List of Interviews

Appendix II Democratization NGOs in Other Countries

Appendix III An Overview of Democracy Assistance

Appendix IV Research Methods

List of Acronyms

Bibliographies

Ordering info: The book is currently available for purchase from the Kettering Foundation or from Amazon.com

Resource Link: http://kettering.org/publications/importing-democracy/

Tackling Wicked Problems Takes Resident Engagement

Posted on August 19, 2013 by Courtney Breese

This August 2013 article addresses the increasing need for local governments to utilize public engagement and collaboration in order to address local, national and global issues despite the trend of citizen detachment from public problem solving, and the challenge of may government officials not having the resources or knowledge to do so.

It was written by NCDD Supporting Member Mike Huggins and Cheryl Hilvert for the International City/County Management Association’s (ICMA) magazine, Public Management. ICMA’s mission is to create excellence in local governance by developing and fostering professional management to build better communities.

From the article:

In dealing with the local impacts of national and global issues and the myriad other problems confronting local governments, managers must do so in a public policy context more frequently characterized by widely dispersed expertise in the community, rapidly expanding social media platforms and venues for sharing information and opinions, more organized and active advocacy groups, more incivility in public discourse, and a declining public trust in government.

The difficult issues and challenging environments confronting local governments result in managers operating more and more in the realm of what may be called wicked problems: complex, interdependent issues that lack a clear problem definition and involve the conflicting perspectives of multiple stakeholders.

While collaboration and engagement are suggested as an appropriate approach to wicked problems, to many this represents a challenge that is wicked in and of itself. Many managers simply don’t know where to begin, how to plan effective programs for engagement, how to measure their efforts, or where to turn for resources and assistance.

Strategies:

The article outlines several emerging strategies coming from a variety of sources, including Carolyn Lukensmeyer and the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2). Following a review of the research findings, the author’s provide a list of 10 suggestions that managers should consider in building an effective engagement strategy for their communities:

Take stock of what you are already doing, distinguishing between exchange and engagement efforts.
Assess how receptive your organization is to initiatives from community groups and to what extent your organizational culture supports civic engagement.
Work with your elected officials to convene a community conversation on engagement to hear from residents how they wish to be involved in shaping community life and how local government could contribute to meeting their aspirations.
Identify potential issues that need resident engagement and involvement, including new ways staff could interact with residents in the day-to-day delivery of services.
Plan an engagement event by matching the purpose and intended outcomes with the appropriate technique and activity.
Actively recruit diverse stakeholder groups beyond the “usual suspects” who always participate.
Provide participants multiple opportunities to compare values and interests and articulate self-interests, and include opportunities in both large forums and small-group discussions.
Seek to combine both online and face-to-face engagement opportunities and venues.
Design engagement initiatives to move from talk to action by identifying tangible goals and desired outcomes; then, measure your success.
Develop an ongoing program in partnership with residents and community organizations to build meaningful engagement and facilitate resident problem solving in the work of local government.

Article conclusions:

At the end of the day, effective civic action and problem solving depends on ordinary individuals thinking of themselves as productive people who hold themselves accountable—people who can build things, do things, come up with ideas and resources, and be bold in their approach. Communities need places and spaces where people can develop their civic capacities and their public lives.

Local governments need to recognize the importance of engagement work as well as the need for effective plans for engagement and ways to measure the results of their efforts. The local government manager will play a key leadership role in achieving these goals.

Resource Link: http://webapps.icma.org/pm/9507/public/cover.cfm?title=Tackling+Wicked+Problems+Takes+Resident+Engagement++&subtitle&author=Mike+Huggins+and+Cheryl+Hilvert

NoVo Foundation

Posted on August 18, 2013 by Courtney Breese

NoVo Foundation is dedicated to catalyzing a transformation in global society, moving from a culture of domination to one of equality and partnership. It supports the development of capacities in people—individually and collectively—to help create a caring and balanced world. NoVo envisions a world that operates on the principles of mutual respect, collaboration, and civic participation, thereby reversing the old paradigm predicated on hierarchy, violence, and the subordination of girls and women.

The foundation places a high priority on a compassionate view of the world and on the highest definition of philanthropy — in the roots of the words anthro and philo — “for the love of human beings.” NoVo sees itself as a learning organization and they believe they can be most impactful by being aware of the interconnectedness of all things.

They structure grantmaking around initiatives, rather than by program areas. These initiatives are varied in form, but all reflect NoVo’s commitment to building authentic partnerships with grantees and other funders, and to taking calculated risks.

NoVo initiatives include:

Empowering adolescent girls
Ending violence against girls and women
Advancing social and emotional learning
Promoting local living economies

NoVo was created in 2006 after Warren Buffett pledged to donate 350,000 shares of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. stock to the foundation.

About Jennifer & Peter Buffett
Jennifer and Peter Buffett are the Co-Chairs of NoVo Foundation; Jennifer also serves as President. Peter Buffett is the youngest son of investor Warren Buffett. Jennifer and Peter have been active philanthropists since 1997. They were named in Barron’s list of top 25 most effective philanthropists in 2009 and 2010.

Learn more about NoVo at www.novofoundation.org/about-us/.

Resource Link: www.novofoundation.org

Rulemaking 2.0: Understanding and Getting Better Public Participation

Posted on August 1, 2013 by Courtney Breese

This 2013 report from the IBM Center for The Business of Government is based on five case studies of e-rulemaking experiments to better engage the public, and offers advice on how agencies can increase the quantity and quality of public participation. By authors Cynthia R.Farina and Mary J.Newhart with CeRI (the Cornell eRulemaking Initiative).

From Center Executive Director Dan Chenok’s announcement:

This report provides important insights in how governments can improve the rulemaking process by taking full advantage of Rulemaking 2.0 technology, building on the progress made by the U.S. Government’s longstanding Regulations.Gov initiative. The report’s findings and recommendations are based on five experiments with Rulemaking 2.0 conducted by CeRI researchers, four in partnership with the Department of Transportation and one with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

While geared specifically to achieving better public participation in rulemaking, the concepts, findings, and recommendations contained in the report are applicable to all government agencies interested in enhancing public participation in a variety of processes. The report offers advice on how government organizations can increase both the quantity and quality of public participation from specific groups of citizens, including missing stakeholders, unaffiliated experts, and the general public.

The report describes three barriers to effective participation in rulemaking: lack of awareness, low participation literacy, and information overload. While the report focuses on rulemaking, these barriers also hinder public participation in other arenas. The report offers three strategies to overcome such barriers:

Outreach to alert and engage potential new participants
Converting newcomers into effective commenters
Making substantive rulemaking information accessible

This report makes an excellent companion piece to two previous IBM Center reports. In 2011, the Center published Assessing Public Participation in an Open Government Era: A Review of Federal Agency Plans, by Carolyn Lukensmeyer, Joe Goldman, and David Stern. That report addresses how public participation can be increased via online public participation, face-to-face public participation, and formal public participation (such as rulemaking and federal advisory committees). An earlier IBM Center report, The Management of Regulation Development: Out of the Shadows, by American University President Cornelius Kerwin, addressed the need to government to give increased attention to its role in regulation development and rulemaking.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Introduction
- Purpose of this Report
- Intended Audience and Outline
Understanding the Barriers to Rulemaking Participation
- Case Studies
- Barriers to Effective Participation
Understanding Types of Potential Rulemaking Participants
- Type One: Sophisticated Commenters
- Type Two: Missing Stakeholders
- Type Three: Unaffiliated Experts
- Type Four: Members of the General Public
Strategies to Lower Participation Barriers and Enhance Participation Quality
- Strategy One: Outreach to Alert and Engage Potential New Participants
- Strategy Two: Converting Newcomers to Effective Commenters
- Strategy Three: Making Substantive Rulemaking Information Accessible
Recommendations
- Understanding and Getting Broader and Better Rulemaking Participation
- Building a New Culture of Rulemaking Participation—From Inside the Agency Out
References
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Key Contact Information

About the IBM Center for The Business of Government
The IBM Center for The Business of Government connects public management research with practice. Since 1998, the Center has helped public sector executives improve the effectiveness of government with practical ideas and original thinking. They sponsor independent research by top minds in academe and the non-profit sector, and create opportunities for dialogue on a broad range of public management topics. The Center’s publications focus on the major management issues facing all governments today: e-government, financial management, human capital management, managing for performance and results, market-based government, and innovation, collaboration and transformation.

Resource Link: http://www.businessofgovernment.org/blog/business-government/new-report-examines-state-rulemaking-20

Direct Download: http://www.businessofgovernment.org/sites/default/files/Rulemaking%202%200.pdf

Civic Studies

An intellectual community of researchers and practitioners dedicated to building the emerging field of civic studies

Author Archives: Courtney Breese

Connections 2013: Citizens in Democratic Politics

The Ecology of Democracy: Finding Ways to Have a Stronger Hand in Shaping Our Future

Zombie Politics and Culture in the Age of Casino Capitalism

Reviews

Mental Illness in America: How Can We Address a Growing Problem? (NIF Issue Advisory)

From the introduction…

Importing Democracy: The Role of NGOs in South Africa, Tajikistan, & Argentina

Importing Democracy: The Role of NGOs in South Africa, Tajikistan, & Argentina

Tackling Wicked Problems Takes Resident Engagement

NoVo Foundation