THE ANALYSIS OF THE SOCIAL FACTORS` BEHAVIOUR INVOLVED IN THE ESTABLISMENT OF EASTERNEUROPEAN PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY

Authors

  • Stefania BEJAN Academia Româna, Bursier POSDRU/89/1.5/S/56815 Societatea Bazata pe Cunoastere si cercetari, dezbateri, perspective;

Keywords:

cathodic legitimacy, representative democracy, information society, cyberdemocracy, network thinking, deliberative democracy, citizenship, political culture

Abstract

The deliberative form of modern Western democracies (now a desideratum, rather than a social reality of the post-communist Eastern Europe) constitutes, at the moment, an opportunity in researchers` debates and academic writings, and is less subject to practice. The representative manner to be "participating" in the affairs of the "city" is very widespread in the societies with liberal, pluralist claims, and already announces a crisis of structure: the elected by equal vote (knowingly or as a consequence of misinformation, intoxication, manipulation) are abusing, under the protection of the legislation in force, the conferred legitimacy and they frequently "forget" to represent the interests of the electorate won by promises, and avoid selfresponsibility, thus raising currents favourable to the replacement of representativeness (more and more bureaucratic and formal) by a method of direct involvement in the "deep and continuous democratisation". In a public sphere that is irrevocably publicised (up to "telecracy" and "pollocracy"), in the absence of a citizen-press partnership in which "cathodic democracy" would serve rather the public opinion than the politicians, the electronic arena fills the classical dialogic deficits, and is populated with actors of citizen journalism ready to assume a mission of free and efficient public communication.

References

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Section

THE HISTORY OF SOCIOLOGY AND SOCIAL WORK