Just published and available my new book Stakeholder Democracy - Represented Democracy in a Time of Fear
Written with my co-authors Jan-Gustav Strandenaes, Carolina Duque Chopitea, Minu Hemmati, Susanne Salz, Bernd Lakemeier, Laura Schmitz, and Jana Borkenhagen for their chapters - which are awesome!! And thanks to Helen Clark for the Foreword.
While underscoring that my co-authors do not necessarily agree with the chapters written by other people.
"To mobilize action globally in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will require buy-in and commitments not just from governments, but from all segments of society. This book addresses a major component of that challenge – involving stakeholders in every part of the process to deliver on the promise of the SDGs. Many of the contributors have long led efforts to build an inclusive and democratic framework for delivering on sustainable development. Their experience, insights and analysis of what works and what doesn’t not only make the case for the benefits of multi-stakeholderism, but allows them to develop crucial practical and detailed guidance on making multi-stakeholder policy dialogues and partnerships legitimate, effective, and accountable." - Steven Bernstein, Professor of Political Science and Co-director of the Environmental Governance Lab, Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto, Canada.
Stakeholder Democracy fits within the paradigm of democracy in general. This book argues that stakeholders strengthen representative democracy while recognizing that the definition of democracy has itself changed over time.
The continuum used in this book is one that moves from representative democracy towards participatory democracy, and the theory of change we have tried to flesh out is that involving stakeholders in the decision-making process makes better-informed policy, which in turn means that stakeholders are more likely to want to be involved in the delivery of that policy by themselves or in partnerships with others.
This book attempts to bridge the space between multi-stakeholder policy engagement and multi-stakeholder partnerships. It is always difficult to combine those two things, but I think we managed it. If you are only interested in understanding how to engage in multi-stakeholder partnerships, there are ideas here on how to do that while improving the work that you already do. If you are interested in how stakeholders have helped develop policy, we have tried to share some examples that you might build from.
The number of different ways to engage more people in democratic discourse is increasing, which is good news. Unfortunately, we have also seen how the same channels can be used by outside forces to undermine democratic institutions.
“We also have to be honest that many people have lost their trust in conventional politics and the vision of the future these are presenting: as in long-term thinking and sustainable development. There is uncertainty as to what this is all about, even among experts. In addition, we see in many countries a growing disconnect between politics and the expectations of the people.” (Bachmann, 2018)
The steps towards a more "global citizen" approach and a more engaged population in countries, cities, and communities will require a more informed population than we have at present.
When science is challenged or undermined by negative corporate or political interests, then we must tread carefully. In recent years, we have witnessed the positive and negative impacts of the internet on news consumption to the point where it is unclear to many which news is factual and which is not.
There will be huge challenges over the coming decade as new technologies impact our lives to an unprecedented degree. The new industrial revolution will build on the digital and information revolution of the past decades, and we will see tipping points on a number of technological and ecological areas.
Just over 20 years ago, Dolly became the world's most famous sheep because she was a clone. As I write this, China has just cloned a monkey. Will we see the first human cloned in the next ten years? If so, what does that mean?
We are now in an era of the internet of things, and we order more and more online. What will be the long-term impact on our local shopping centers? Will we have wearable internet or even have the internet embedded into our bodies? Where will nanotechnology and quantum computing take us? You get the idea.
Are we ready for these disruptive technologies?
Who will be left out of this new revolution?
Are our democratic institutions strong enough to withstand these rapid changes?
Changes can be incorporated into society, and change is often good, but these changes on so many fronts will require stable governments that have long-term strategies – not short-term electoral promises – to ensure we all benefit.
Stakeholder engagement in the policy arena offers a way of helping governments address these new challenges. It offers a way of stabilizing democratic institutions and helping to chart a shared vision for the path forward.
Engaging stakeholders singularly or in groups for help with delivering on policy agreements inevitably means that we will be building more robust communities.
In other words, this approach offers a way to try and ensure that this new industrial revolution is for everyone, not just for the few. This next generation need not be a generation of crisis or fear – it could be a generation of hope and solidarity.
We have the chance to decide to work together. This book shows a path whereby engaging stakeholders increases the likelihood of creating and preserving sustainable communities in which there is less inequality. We want to be able to absorb change quickly and see ourselves working together as part of a global community. Without a vision of this kind, the future looks darker and more dangerous than it might otherwise be.
References
Bachmann, G. (2018) The HLPF We Need to Support the 2030 Agenda, Incheon Songdo, German Council for Sustainable Development. Available online at: https://www.nachhaltigkeitsrat.de/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/20181029_Bachmann_UN_SDTF_2018.pdf
Other books worth considering buying include:
The Vienna Cafe Series
Negotiating the Sustainable Development Goals: A transformational agenda for an insecure world Felix Dodds, Ambassador David Donoghue and Jimena Leiva Roesch
From Rio+20 to a New Development Agenda by Felix Dodds, Liz Thompson, and Jorge Laguna
Only One Earth: The Long Road via Rio to Sustainable Development (Earthscan from Routledge)
by Felix Dodds, Michael Strauss, with Maurice F. Strong
Lobbying book
How to Lobby at Intergovernmental Meetings by Felix Dodds and Michael Strauss
The Human Security Series
The Water, Food, Energy and Climate Nexus: Challenges and an agenda for action (Earthscan Studies in Natural Resource Management) edited by Felix Dodds, Jamie Bartram - Foreword by Prince Charles
Climate Change and Energy Insecurity edited by Felix Dodds, Andrew Higham, Richard Sherman
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Insecurity: A Planet in Peril edited by Ahmed Djoghlaf, Felix Dodds
Human and Environmental Security: An Agenda for Change edited by Felix Dodds, Tim Pippard
The Sustainable Development Governance Series
Governance for Sustainable Development: Ideas for the Post 2015 Agenda (2015) edited by Felix Dodds, Hoonmin Lim, Sara Luna, Oana Rebedea, David Banisar, Quinn McKew
Governance for Sustainable Development Volume 2: Ideas for the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development (2018) edited by Felix Dodds, Akinremi Bolaji, Yengmoo, Cho, Reinhard Krapp, David Banisar, Quinn McKew
Governance for Sustainable Development Volume 3: Preparing for the Heads of State Review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2019) Edited by Felix Dodds, Akinremi Bolaji, Yeongmoo Cho, Verena Klinger-Dering, Cristina Popescu, David Banisar, Quinn McKew
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