RC32 - Public Policy and Administration

Policy & Politics 2015 Conference

Democracy, Inequality and Power: Redefining Classic Concepts for the 21st Century

Bristol Marriott Royal Hotel, College Green, Bristol 15th-16th September 2015

The 800th anniversary of Magna Carta in 2015 provides an opportunity to reflect on both the failures and successes of democratic policy and politics in the UK and abroad. The relationship between democracy, inequality and power has been brought to the fore by recent global events, including:

   austerity politics and the disproportionate impacts on society’s most vulnerable
   increased awareness of disparities in relation to electoral and political participation amongst a range of social groups (leading to concerns about ‘a divided democracy’)
   the reshaping of the relationship between government, business and civil society
   rising ‘urbanisation’ and associated concerns about the governance of place, space and territory
   developments in information and communication technology and its impact on citizens’ engagement with politics and public services
   civic unrest linked to demands for democracy, equality and transparent government
   human rights initiatives around gender, age, race, disability and sexuality, and
   a reconfiguration of the role of the mass media and social media in policy and politics.

Within this global context, the concepts of democracy, inequality and power and their relationship to policy and politics remain pertinent. The 2015 Policy & Politics conference will therefore be based around the theme of ‘Democracy, Inequality and Power’ and welcomes practitioners and scholars from any field and discipline from around the world to engage with this topic.

Relevant questions for panels, papers and posters to explore include:

   How relevant is the concept of inequality in 21st century policy and politics?
   How is the relationship between want and need and inequality changing?
   How many faces does power have in the 21st century?
   How do increasingly fast ‘flows’ (information, people, capital, etc.) affect the relationship between democracy, inequality and power?
   What do we actually know about global patterns of inequality or where power lies?
   How do political structures and new forms of governance affect forms of democracy and inequality?
   What is missing from the research and political debate on democracy, inequality and power?
   Is inequality always a ‘bad’ thing?
   How can the social sciences assist in improving democracy and inequality in the design and delivery of public services?

We are, of course, particularly keen for participants to think creatively and innovatively about this topic so the questions listed here are by no means intended to restrict the scope of papers or panels