Democracy

Supplementary material 

 

General
Podcast: BBC Radio 4 on Democracy
Podcast: BBC Radio 4 on Hobbes
Podcast: BBC Radio 4 on Anarchism
Youtube:  2014 The British Election Study: Understanding British Democracy (think about how we measure/examine these concepts in the real world)

Representation and suffrage
Book chapter: Book chapter by Sarah Childs & Joni Lovenduski on political representation (from a feminist perspective)
Website: a history of women's suffrage in the UK (consider the democratic criterion of 'participation of adults')
Youtube: Julia Gillard's (epic) misogyny speech (consider how whole systems function. Do you think politics is gendered masculine or feminine?)

Voter apathy
Website: Bristol local election results (you can select the year from the drop down menu) have a look at the turnout rates
Website: BBC News (2012) Low Turnout in the Police and Crime Commissioner Elections
Website: Survation Report: Apathy In the UK? A Look At the Attitudes of Non-voters (consider the democratic criterion of the opportunity to be informed)
Youtube:  Guardian video: What's the point? Voter apathy in inner-city Manchester

Other
Website: BBC News (2014) Study: US is an Oligarchy, Not a Democracy
Website: summary of the Democratic Peace Thesis
Website: The Guardian (2014) Eric Garner: Grand Jury Declines to Indict NYPD Officer Over Chokehold Death. Also see the case of Mike Brown (a grand jury is comprised of regular people, and could be seen as highly democratic, as it removes power from a judge, who operates on behalf of the state. Is this a good thing? More on grand juries)
Website:  Lower education levels goes hand in hand with support for direct democracy

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