UN Bookshop Launch of Stakeholder Democracy: Represented Democracy in a Time of Fear

A revolution is coming — a revolution which will be peaceful if we are wise enough; compassionate if we care enough; successful if we are fortunate enough — But a revolution which is coming whether we will it or not. We can affect its character; we cannot alter its inevitability.” 

Robert Kennedy, 1966

Can be watched here.

This book represents Felix Dodds 18th his collaborators for this one was Jan-Gustav Strandenaes, Carolina Duque Chopitea, Minu Hemmati, Susanne Salz, Bernd Lakemeier, Laura Schmitz, and Jana Borkenhagen.

The book was launched on the 11th of July at the United Nations Bookshop in New York

Felix Dodds a former Executive Director of the UK Stakeholder Forum for a Sustainable Future (1992-2012)  said:

“We are in difficult times when governments are no longer trusted and at the same time need to take difficult decisions on issues like addressing climate change, the massive wave of new technologies that are coming in the next ten years and their impact on employment and income. Not to mention the something like a 30% shortfall of water availability over demand in parts of the world, a need to increase food production by 40-50% as large developing countries such as China and India develop. The theory of change we have in this book is involving stakeholders in the decision making makes better informed decisions and that those decisions are more likely to be implemented by governments, stakeholders and by working in partnership. In a time of fear this can help stabilize represented democracy."

In the context of sustainable development, this book describes how we are moving from representative to participatory democracy, and how we are now in a "stakeholder democracy," which is working to strengthen represented democracy in a time of fear.

Since the 1992 Rio Earth Summit the idea of stakeholder democracy has grown, with stakeholders engaged in helping governments and intergovernmental bodies make better decisions, and in helping them to deliver those decisions in partnerships amongst various stakeholders, with and without government. Seen through a multi-stakeholder, sector and level lens, this book describes the history of the development of stakeholder democracy, particularly in the area of sustainable development. The authors draw on more than twenty-five years of experience to review, learn from and make recommendations on how best to engage stakeholders  

in policy development. The book illustrates successful practical examples of multi-stakeholder partnerships (MSPs) to implement agreements and outline elements of an MSP Charter. This will provide a benchmark for partnerships, enabling those being developed to understand what the necessary quality standards are and to understand what is expected in terms of transparency, accountability, financial reporting, impact and governance.