STV9432 ¨C Representative Claims and Democratic Innovations

Course content

The current surge of interest in ¡®representative claims¡¯ implies an expansion of the term ¡®representation¡¯ beyond the context of elected democratic assemblies. Representative claims can be made with reference to not just electoral constituencies or even specific groups of people, but also to abstract terms such as "Nature" or certain worldviews. At the same time, the surge of ¡®Democratic innovations¡¯ in the form of mini-publics, deliberative polling and other approaches has further softened the traditional demarcation between 'citizens' and 'representatives' by facilitating and encouraging a more active involvement of citizens in policymaking and implementation. Added to this is increasing emphasis on how governance and informality may contribute to resolving policy problems which cannot easily be solved by traditional government institutions.

While democratic innovations have become increasingly crucial for local governments in addressing complex challenges that traditional institutions may struggle to resolve, the success of democratic innovations is contingent upon individuals' perceptions of the benefits and costs of participation in dialogue-based processes. Furthermore, growing distrust among citizens towards elected representatives and the electoral system needs to be addressed for democratic innovations to realize their potential in terms of improving the representation of diverse perspectives and interests. Moreover, managerial and organizational concerns associated with implementing local democratic innovations - especially as regards co-production of public services - must be resolved through strategic design and management of democratic arenas.

In this PhD course we explore recent advances in our understanding of representation, democratic innovations, governance, and democratic legitimacy.? We put emphasis on the difficulties in embedding participatory processes in representative democratic institutions, and on the democratic potentials and risks pertaining to coproduction and informality. While democratic goodness of innovative participatory arenas so far has been assessed from citizens¡¯ perspective, we discuss possible gains from interactive arenas to strengthen political representation - and thereby representative democracy.

Lecturers:

Prof. Dr. Brigitte Geissel, Goethe-University Frankfurt a.M

Prof. Dr. Angelika Vetter, University of Stuttgart

Prof. Eva S?rensen, Roskilde University

Prof. Sarah Ayres, University of Bristol

Ass. Prof. Dr. Alessandro Sancino, University of Milan-Bicocca

Dr. Camille Bedock, Sciences Po Bordeaux

Prof. Signy Irene Vabo, University of Oslo

Ass. Prof. Jan Erling Klausen, University of Oslo

Prof. Christian Lo, Nord University

Dr. Marte Winsvold, Institute of Social Research

Learning outcome

• Obtain a nuanced understanding of representative claims, democratic innovations, informal governance and democratic legitimacy, both empirically and theoretically;
• Be well acquainted with the major theoretical and empirical approaches;
• Engage in critical discussions, become acquainted with the work of others, and build networks within their chosen field of research

Admission to the course

The course is open to PhD students in political science, public administration and related disciplines with research interests in this area.

Course capacity: 20 students

There is no participation fee. Lunches and (two) dinners are provided. The cost of travel and accommodation, if needed, must be covered by the participants.

All candidates accepted for admission will be registered as guest students at the University of Oslo.

Application deadline: 15 January 2024

Application form

Applicants will be notified about the outcome of their application as quickly as possible after the application deadline.

Overlapping courses

• 3 credits overlap with STV9432B ¨C Representative Claims and Democratic Innovations.

Teaching

The course combines lectures, learning activities and presentations in a workshop format. Each participant must prepare to present their own paper and provide comments for other participants¡¯ papers during the course. Active participation and preparation by all participants are essential.

Examination

Submit a course paper (3000 or 7000 words) A paper of 3000 words will generate 3 ECTS, a paper of 7000 words will generate 7 ECTS. The course paper should emphasize theoretical and/or methodological issues, analyzing a topic that is consistent with the course's purpose and based on (parts of) the literature listed in the syllabus.The deadline for the paper is May 16th.

Language of examination

The course paper must be submitted in English

Grading scale

Grades are awarded on a pass/fail scale. Read more about?the grading system.

More about examinations at UiO

• Use of sources and citations
• Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
• Withdrawal from an exam
• Illness at exams / postponed exams
• Explanation of grades and appeals
• Resitting an exam
• Cheating/attempted cheating

You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.