Groups, Representation and Democracy: Between Promise and Practice

329 Pages·2010·0.956 MB·English

by  Darren R. Halpin

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Groups, representation
and democracy
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PERSPECTIVES ON DEMOCRATIC PRACTICE
series editors: SHIRIN M. RAI and WYN GRANT
With the ebbing away of the “third wave” of democratisation, democratic
practice is unfolding and consolidating in different ways. While state based
representative democracy remains central to our understanding of the
concept, we are also conscious of the importance of social movements,
non-governmental organisations and governance institutions. New mecha-
nisms of accountability are being developed, together with new political
vocabularies to address these elements in democratic practice. The books
published in this series focus on three aspects of democratic practice:
analytical and normative democratic theory, including processes by which
democratic practice can be explained and achieved; new social and protest
movements, especially work with a comparative and international focus;
and institution-building and practice, including transformations in demo-
cratic institutions in response to social and democratic forces. Their
importance arises from the fact that they are concerned with key questions
about how power can be more fairly distributed and how people can be
empowered to have a greater influence on decisions that affect their lives.
This series takes forward the intellectual project of the earlier MUP
series, Perspectives on Democratization.
Already published
John Anderson Christianity and democratisation: from pious subjects to
critical participants
Susan Buckingham and Geraldine Lievesley (eds) In the hands of women:
paradigms of citizenship
Bart Cammaerts Internet mediated policy processes beyond the nation
state
Francesco Cavatorta The international dimension of the failed Algerian
transition: democracy betrayed?
Katherine Fierlbeck Globalizing democracy: power, legitimacy and the
interpretation of democratic ideas (2nd edn)
Stella Gaon (ed.) Democracy in crisis: violence, alterity, community
Carina Gunnarson Cultural warfare and trust: fighting the Mafia in
Palermo
Jennifer S. Holmes Terrorism and democratic stability revisited (2nd edn)
Anca Pusca Revolution, democratic transition and disillusionment: the
case of Romania
Paul Routledge and Andrew Cumbers Global justice networks: geographies
of transnational solidarity
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Groups, representation
and democracy
Between promise and practice
DARREN HALPIN
Manchester University Press
Manchester and New York
distributed in the United States exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan
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Copyright © Darren Halpin 2010
The right of Darren Halpin to be identified as the author of this work has
been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.
Published byManchester University Press
Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9NR, UK
and Room 400, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA
www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk
Distributed in the United States exclusively by
Palgrave Macmillan, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York,
NY 10010, USA
Distributed in Canada exclusively by
UBC Press, University of British Columbia, 2029 West Mall,
Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z2
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data applied for
ISBN 978 0 7190 7652 7 hardback
First published 2010
The publisher has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs
for any external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book,
and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will
remain, accurate or appropriate.
Typeset
by Action Publishing Technology Ltd, Gloucester
Printed in Great Britain
by the MPG Books Group, Bodmin
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For Jenny and Matilda
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Contents
List of tables page ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgements xiii
List of abbreviations xv
1 Groups as agents of democracy? 1
2 Interest group aliases: towards definitional
commensurability? 30
3 Democratic expectations: the representation
account 57
4 Between representation and solidarity:
(re)calibrating democratic expectations 84
5 Democratic promises and practices: some empirical
evidence 112
6 The orthodox case: the drift from representation
towards solidarity 138
7 Making Olson work: rejuvenating ‘supply-side’
explanations 169
8 Are ‘protest businesses’ contemporary phenomena? 202
9 Democratic transformation: fulfilling the promise
of representation 239
10 Between promise and practice 267
References 290
Index 306
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List of tables
2.1 The commensurability of ‘group’ labels page 52
4.1 Assumptions guiding interactions between the
representative and their constituency 91
4.2 What generalized type of advocacy is
promised/possible? 102
4.3 Summary of expectations for group democratic
practices 102
4.4 Summary of group labels, characteristics and
categorization tests 105
5.1 Member influence by constituency type 127
5.2 Ideal type legitimacy strategies 132
6.1 Membership participation in AGM and Elections
for FSB 161
6.2 FSB income and expenditure related to member
expansion, 1990–2001 162
7.1 NSWFA membership since establishment 181
7.2 ‘Why are you a member of the NSW Farmers’
Association?’ 186
7.3 ‘What would entice you to become a member of
the NSWFA?’ 186
8.1 Membership of groups by year 213
8.2 RSPB Membership Numbers, selected years 226–7
8.3 The National Trust, AGM attendance and
voting (2004–7) 230
8.4 RNIB Fundraising account data, selected years 233
9.1 RNIB Executive Council composition, as at 1949 250
9.2 Composition of Executive Council of RNIB
1966–2001, selected years 252
9.3 Executive Council/Assembly composition,
post-2001 257