Promoting Democracy. Social Movements: The Revolutions from within The Democratic Society)

PROMOTING DEMOCRACY.

SOCIAL MOVEMENTS:

  THE REVOLUTIONS FROM WITHIN

THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY

                                 by Diana Rogers

You can read and purchase my book from The Amazon Kindle Store, here for 13.95$.

You can also order and read my book for 11.25$ by clicking the PayPal button below

                               

Book description


My book is a compilation of my articles regarding the challenges faced by democracy and is focused on the idea of building a healthy and authentic civic society.


Convincing citizens to get involved in the democratic political process encourages the emergence of a participative civic culture that holds the keys to citizens’ exercising their democratic rights. 


The metaphor “the revolution from within” refers to the intervention or ascension of a factor or event of great social magnitude (social movements) in the actual democratic model that has the capacity to shift (change) perspectives and to modify the current configuration of power between the players of the democratic game: the political parties, the democratic society and the mass-media.


Social movements are the forces that can generate such extraordinary moments or exceptional times and become events of great sociopolitical importance by their social magnitude and by their capacity to “break” the current pattern regarding the decision-making process in the given democratic system.


The emergence of social movements that prove their ability to change the political decision of the political parties become rode blazing events for both political decision makers and citizens.


From that moment on, political decision makers will have to take into account the citizens’ agenda and citizens will become aware of their power and their capacity to generate political change on continuous bases by active involvement. 


The pattern that envisions the citizen’s power limited at the moment of casting his vote on Elections Day, once in four years, is gone.

The new pattern is the civic activist that has the power to produce political change, to act and react, to participate in the democratic decision-making process.


The citizen’s democratic “tools” or “means” of participating as decision-making agent in the democratic process are initiating or adhering to various civic movements that endorse given civic or political causes according to his strong personal beliefs and attitudes.

The paradigm shift “inside” the democratic model means changing the focus from the political decision maker to the citizen, in terms of the latter exercising his real power to initiate or change a public policy on matters of his concern.


The emergence of social movements proves the existence of the civic society that turns it into a real player in the democratic game.

It is a signal that the old ways of doing politics needs to be changed and that the citizen is the central piece in the democratic puzzle.


It is about citizens achieving conscious awareness of their power in the democratic game if they join forces in collective actions (social movements) in order to stand for their shared beliefs and to influence the political decision within the democratic system.


The emergence of a strong and healthy civic society is an element that is considered a paradigm shift regarding the manner the decision-making process functions in the given democratic system.


Therefore, turning an inert democratic society into an authentic and effervescent civic society is an extraordinary moment that changes the way the democratic mechanism functions.


Turning the passive and prone to absenteeism citizen into a social activist for a cause that matters to him is a shift in the citizen’s self-perception regarding his role and power in the democratic system. 


Promoting the social pattern of active citizenship involvement in political matters and proving the pattern works, in the sense that the previous similar citizens’ collective actions resulted in the expected outcome is a self-sustaining model that has the best chances to perpetuate and generate a progressively growing conscious awareness of each  citizen’s power to act and determine political change.  


The expected outcome of collective actions by citizens adhering to various social movements is the actual political change in terms of the specific political decisions or certain public policies in the direction intended by the cause of the movements.


You can read and purchase my book from The Amazon Kindle Store here.


Book  Title: Promoting Democracy. Social Movements: The Revolutions from within The Democratic Society
        By Diana Rogers


Table of Contents



1. The Revolutions within the Democratic Society
2. Democratic Society, Civic Society, Social Movements and Political Behavior
3. Types of Revolutions and Paradigm Shifts
4. The Rising Power of the Civic Society and the Change in the Balance of Power within the Democratic Game
5. Mapping the Local on the Global Scene
6. Reflections on Beliefs, Values, Attitudes and Behaviors (synthesis)

6.1. From Thought to Action

6.2. The Birth of Belief

6.3. From Action to Idea

6.4. The System of Core Values and Beliefs as the Resultant of Primary Socialization

6.5. The Prevalence of the Emotional over the Cognitive

6.6. Memorable Behaviors and Exceptional Times

6.7. Political Socialization versus Political Evolution

7. Political Participation in Democratic Societies

7.1. Voters versus Absentees

7.2. Political Involvement, Attachments and Identities

7.3. Emotional Involvement, Attachment and Identity

7.4. Civic or Political Involvement as Attachment

8. Political Participation and Civic Involvement (Case Study: E & C Europe)
9. Active and Reactive Voters
10. Absenteeism as Manifest Political Behavior of Dissent

10.1. My Theoretical Assumptions on Absenteeism

10.2. Absenteeism as Strategically Thinking

10.3. The Underlying Factors that determine Absenteeism

10.4. The Set of Political Attitudes of the Absentees who dissent the Political Class

10.5. Absenteeism as Political Dissent

10.6. The Political Anomy of the Citizens turning to Absenteeism

11. Mass-media and Political Parties as the “Designers” of the Political Reality
12. Pattern of Thoughts regarding Politics and the Political Class
13. Symbolic Legitimacy, Political Trust and Public Credibility
14. Solutions for changing the Negative Pattern of Thought regarding Politics and the Political Class
15. Setting the Stage for the Emergence of a New Civic or Political Movement
16. Social Movements. From Above to Below
17. Social Movements as the Political Solution for Change from within the Democratic System
18. Reactive Citizens and the Manifestation of the “Negative Vote”
19. Converting Absentees into Activists advocating for a Social Cause
20. The Birth of Civic or Political Movements
21. Engaging Reactive Citizens, amplifying Social Magnitude and becoming a Symbol of Democratic Change
22. Social Movements, Civic Society and Democratic Change 



* I updated the book cover of Promoting Democracy on July 8, 2014.

Here is the new book cover:

 

Global Democratic Society (The Participative Democratic International Society)

The Glob

                  Global Democratic Society

                           Political Visionary

      The Democratic Participative International Society

   From the Birth of the Idea to the Public Policy

 
                     Social Movements & Civic Engagement


                                     By  Diana Rogers


 

            

            Buy my book from Amazon Kindle Store for 6.53$
            
            You can instantly buy my book for 5.25 $ by clicking the PayPal button below

                                         

          The internationalized social movements, in the context of nowadays globalization, represent the form of mobilization and political participation of the future, connecting the local context to the global perspective.


          At the beginning of my endeavor, I point out the importance of having a political vision and try to make the reader aware that we are living in a global reality where we have the possibility to manifest together as a democratic participative international society.

          The modern mass communication means, especially the internet, allow us to interact and to organize as groups based on our common views and interests.


          Our possibility to establish bridges of communication between each other and to join forces in common causes, to cooperate, to motivate, to mobilize and to inspire each other is unprecedented.

          Our world wide communication is facilitated by the internet that plays the role of the virtual "agora".


          In the globalize world of today, the time and space constraints are no longer important, as everyone can participate in live public meetings (by using the internet) that reunite various people from all over the world based on their shared common goals and their commitment to a common cause.


          In my endeavor, I focus upon this fascinating sociopolitical reality of creating and developing a social movement.


          My main assumption is that social media activism is the triggering factor for the spontaneous birth of social movements.


          I fallow the birth of the movement - termed "the global democratic society" or “the democratic participative international society” - that allows us to instantly participate in the events that matter to us, by the touch of a button, to every local reality in the world where we wish to be.


          Everything starts with the inception of an idea or a thought that gains the adhesion of people who join forces, in order to promote their idea as their common cause and make the change come true.


          My endeavor describes the stages undertaken by a social movement born in the virtual space to organize, mobilize and make its voice heard, gaining symbolic legitimacy and making the cause of the movement become priority on the agenda of the media, the citizens and the politicians. 


          In the organization and mobilization phase of the social movement, the adherents become more active in their local environments, gather together in meetings and manifest their ability to convert large masses of citizens as a tremendous force by their enthusiasm and commitment to the cause. 


          Furthermore, the message is conveyed by mass-media, endorsed by the people and integrated in the political agenda of certain political parties. 


          In elections, a political party assumes the cause and integrates it as part of its political program.


          If the party wins the elections, the moment the political party accedes to power, the initial cause turns into public policy and it is implemented by the Government at national level. 


          The entire process, from the birth of an idea (cause) to the implementation of the idea by national governments as public policies, would not have been possible without the means of communication and the setting of the public virtual sphere (“the agora”) provided by the world wide net.


          Read and purchase my book from Amazon Kindle Store here


          Title: The Global Democratic Society
       
Subtitle: The International Participative Democratic Society 
                 
          By Diana Rogers


Table of Contents


1. 1. The Visions and Visionaries of our Times

1.1. The Era of Globalization and its Future Development

1.2. Great Politicians as Visionaries of Their Times

2. Visionary Moments and Politicians in the History of Mankind
3. The Need of Visionaries in the Globalization Era
4. Bridges of Communication and Civil Engagement
5. Conclusions

6. From the Birth to the Development of the Social Movement (synthesis)



*Updated on July 9, 2014: 

I have updated the cover of my Global Democratic Society book on July 8, 2014.

Here is the new book cover.

 




(synthesis)