Why Politics Matters: Making Democracy Work - Hardcover

Gerry Stoker

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9781403997395: Why Politics Matters: Making Democracy Work

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 140399739X ISBN 13: 9781403997395

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006

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Achieving mass democracy was the great triumph of the last century. Learning to live with it will be the greatest achievement of this one. Stoker suggests that democracy must create a new politics, making it as easy as possible for as many people to participate. Winner of the Political Studies Association Book of the Year Prize 2006

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From the Back Cover:

In an era of burgeoning anti-politics, public perceptions of politics and politicians appear increasingly marred by either indifference or cynicism. Yet with democratic regimes triumphing as the dominant form of governance globally, it is perhaps surprising that citizens worldwide seem disinclined to engage with and participate in political activity.

The second edition of this prize-winning text once again explores the reasons behind this discrepancy. Drawing on the author’s original research and extensive experience of the field, it gives an original theoretical take on the roots of anti-politics and also outlines a number of possibilities for reform with the aim of improving public participation in all contemporary democracies. In doing so, Stoker’s highly discerning account covers focal questions in the study of politics, including what politics actually is, why it is omnipresent, and why, from wealth distribution to environmental impacts, no one is untouched by political activity.

Thoroughly updated and revised throughout, the second edition of Why Politics Matters is the perfect introduction for students with an interest in the importance of political debate and participation.

About the Author:

GERRY STOKER is Professor of Politics and Governance at the University of Southampton, and is the author or editor of more than 20 books on various aspects of politics.

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