Political culture for a new democratic process

Abstract

In a very schematic way, this lesson proposes to reflect on the difficulties of establishing a common democratic political culture (as well as a common democratic identity) in a general context marked by economic inequality and uncertainties, socio-cultural cleavages, and democratic deterioration (evidenced this last by the rise of citizen disaffection and the rise of authoritarianism at a global level, but particularly noticeable so in the countries with the greatest wealth and democratic tradition). Based on his work on the crisis of Western democracies and the various proposals for democratic innovation, the lesson suggests the need to explore the possibilities of transforming current democratic processes (institutions and political culture), underlining the convenience of promoting a democratic political culture that reinforces both the legitimacy and effectiveness of the democratic idea and processes through actions that favour, on the one hand, competent and conscious decision-making, improving access to enlightened knowledge on matters that affect people's personal lives; and, on the other hand, but simultaneously, by arousing inclusive feelings that facilitate a transversal democratic identity. Speaker - Roberto L. Barbeito, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid (URJC) He occupies a post of 'Profesor Titular' (Associate Professor) of Sociology at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid (URJC). He holds the General Secretariat of the Spanish Research Committee on Political Sociology, and of the Euromediterranean Observatory of Democracy and Public Space (URJC. He has also held the Executive Secretariat of the Spanish Federation of Sociology (FES). His current main research focuses on democratic innovation—especially at the local level—with main attention to digital technologies and problems related to socioeconomic and knowledge inequalities, as well as other glocal phenomena, such as social movements, immigration, and climate change. Last selected publications Barbeito, R.L., Iglesias Alonso, Á.H. (2022). Citizen Participation and Democratic Innovation in Spanish Local Governance. In: Alonso, Á.I. (eds) Local Governance in Spain. Local and Urban Governance Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14804-0_8 Barbeito, R. (2022) Asociaciones científicas de la sociología española: proceso de institucionalización y situación actual. En Fernández Esquinas, M. y Amorós i Domínguez, M. (Eds.). La Sociología en España: Diagnóstico y Perspectivas de Futuro, Madrid, Marcial Pons Editores. ISBN: 978-84-1381-341-7 Disponible en: https://fes-sociologia.com/uploads/attached/3_cap2_asociaciones_cientificas_Barbeito%20Iglesias.pdf Barbeito, R., & Iglesias, Á. (2021). Political emotions and digital political mobilization in the new populist parties: the cases of Podemos and Vox in Spain. International Review of Sociology---Revue Internationale de Sociologie, 31(1). https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/TE2IYTNSTEXTH4KDIPA9/full?target=10.1080/03906701.2021.1947948 Iglesias, Á. & Barbeito, R. (2021) «Local Self-Government in Spain». En Brezovnik, B; Hoffman, I. & Kostrubiec, J. (eds.) (2021). Local Self-Government in Europe, Maribor: Lex Localis Press, pp. 379-410. ISBN: 978-961-7124-00-2 . https://doi.org/10.4335/978-961-7124-00-2.12 Barbeito, R. (2020). «Facing Xenophobic Populism through Democratic Innovation». En La Rocca, G., Di Maria, R. & Frezza, G. (eds.). (2020). Media, Migrants and Human Rights. In the Evolution of the European Scenario of Refugees’ and Asylum Seekers’ Instances. Bern, Switzerland: Peter Lang D., pp. 33-61. https://doi.org/10.3726/b17162 Barbeito, R.L. & Iglesias, Á. (2020) «Democracias en cuarentena: Respuestas políticas a la COVID-19 y sus efectos sobre la democracia», Revista Española de Sociología, 29 (3), pp. 703-714. https://doi.org/10.22325/fes/res.2020.44 Iglesias, Á. & Barbeito, R. (2020) «El papel de los gobiernos locales en los problemas medioambientales y la lucha contra el cambio climático». En: Tardivo, G., Barbeito, R. & Díaz Cano, E. (2020). Cuestiones sobre cambio climático, Valencia, Tirant Lo Blanch, pp. 165-184. Iglesias, Á., Barbeito, R. (2020). «Participatory Democracy in Local Government: An Online Platform in the City of Madrid», Croatian and Comparative Public Administration (HKJU-CCPP), 20(2), pp. 241-268. http://doi.org/10.31297/hkju.20.2.3 Barbeito, R.L. (2019) «Querer saber y querer hacer saber: dificultades y dilemas de la comunicación sociológica en la sociedad mediática», Revista Española de Sociología, vol. 28 (3, supl. 2), p. 151-160. http://doi.org/10.22325/fes/res.2019.44