After Democracy: Imagining Our Political Future

By: Zizi Papacharissi

Sign Up Now! Already a Member? Log In
You must be logged into Bookshare to access this title. Learn about membership options, or view our freely available titles.

Synopsis: What do ordinary citizens really want from their governments? Democracy has long been considered an ideal state of governance. What if it&’s not? Perhaps it is not the end goal but, rather, a transition stage to something better. Drawing on original interviews conducted with citizens of more than thirty countries, Zizi Papacharissi explores what democracy is, what it means to be a citizen, and what can be done to enhance governance. As she probes the ways governments can better serve their citizens and evolve in positive ways, Papacharissi gives a voice to everyday people, whose ideas and experiences of capitalism, media, and education can help shape future governing practices. This book expands on the well-known difficulties of realizing the intimacy of democracy in a global world—the &“democratic paradox&”—and presents a concrete vision of how communications technologies can be harnessed to implement representative equality, information equality, and civic literacy.