Teze o přelití v participativní demokracii: Empirická relevance a normativní udržitelnost

ČAMBORA, Jan and Pavel DUFEK. Teze o přelití v participativní demokracii: Empirická relevance a normativní udržitelnost (The Spillover Thesis in Participatory Democratic Theory: Empirical Relevance and Normative Defensibility). Politologická revue. 2016, vol. 22, No 2, p. 75-102. ISSN 1211-0353.

Basic information

• Original name: Teze o přelití v participativní demokracii: Empirická relevance a normativní udržitelnost
• Name (in English): The Spillover Thesis in Participatory Democratic Theory: Empirical Relevance and Normative Defensibility
• Authors: ČAMBORA, Jan (203 Czech Republic, belonging to the institution) and Pavel DUFEK (203 Czech Republic, guarantor, belonging to the institution).
• Edition: Politologická revue, 2016, 1211-0353.

Other information

• Original language: Czech
• Type of outcome: Article in a journal
• Field of Study: 50601 Political science
• Country of publisher: Czech Republic
• Confidentiality degree: is not subject to a state or trade secret
• WWW: URL
• RIV identification code: RIV/00216224:14230/16:00088535
• Organization unit: Faculty of Social Studies
• Keywords (in Czech): přelití; Carole Pateman; demokracie na pracovišti; participativní demokracie; deliberativní demokracie
• Keywords in English: spillover; Carole Pateman; Workplace Democracy; Participatory Democracy; Deliberative Democracy
• Tags: Reviewed

Abstract

The paper focuses on the “spillover thesis” which constitutes a pillar of much of contemporary participatory democratic theory; specifically, we assess the claim that workplace democratization leads to a higher degree of political participation amongst labourers. The paper analyses the thesis as formulated by Carole Pateman, including its later revisions triggered by ambiguous results of empirical studies aiming to (dis)prove it. The spillover thesis is then confronted with important methodological and theoretical critiques, the upshot being that in order to be able to arrive at determinate conclusions, more carefully designed empirical studies are needed. Normatively speaking, however, blame can always be laid on the wider environment of market economy and/or representative democracy, to the effect that the spillover thesis is both difficult to disprove and radically subversive. Given the recent dominance of deliberative democratic theory which incorporates a strong participatory element, we finally discuss whether a recent innovation – namely, the concept of deliberative systems – could be fruitfully employed as a flexible umbrella-type framework for the spillover thesis and the participatory ideals related to it.

Abstract (in English)

The paper focuses on the “spillover thesis” which constitutes a pillar of much of contemporary participatory democratic theory; specifically, we assess the claim that workplace democratization leads to a higher degree of political participation amongst labourers. The paper analyses the thesis as formulated by Carole Pateman, including its later revisions triggered by ambiguous results of empirical studies aiming to (dis)prove it. The spillover thesis is then confronted with important methodological and theoretical critiques, the upshot being that in order to be able to arrive at determinate conclusions, more carefully designed empirical studies are needed. Normatively speaking, however, blame can always be laid on the wider environment of market economy and/or representative democracy, to the effect that the spillover thesis is both difficult to disprove and radically subversive. Given the recent dominance of deliberative democratic theory which incorporates a strong participatory element, we finally discuss whether a recent innovation – namely, the concept of deliberative systems – could be fruitfully employed as a flexible umbrella-type framework for the spillover thesis and the participatory ideals related to it.

Links

• GA16-13980S, research and development project: Name: Liberální demokracie v době krize

Investor: Czech Science Foundation