Book Review: General Politics: The United Nations Democracy Agenda: A Conceptual History
| Date | 01 May 2013 |
| DOI | 10.1111/1478-9302.12016_76 |
| Author | Fernando Cavalcante |
| Published date | 01 May 2013 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
Part II starts with a chapter by James Fishkin reflect-
ing on the insights into deliberative polling gleaned
over several decades of experimentation.Graham Smith
offers a practical illustration of Fishkin’s deliberative
theory via ‘mini-publics’ and concludes ‘that there is
practical and theoretical value in evaluating mini-
publics in light of developments in democratic theory’
(p. 107).The value of exploring deliberative democracy
in social movements is emphasised in Dieter Rucht’s
chapter.
Part III aims to compare democratic innovations.
The section feels premature, but is nevertheless useful.
Ken Newton, Brigitte Geissel and Julien Talpin each
contribute a chapter that brings various innovations
into the conversation.While the volume runs to over
200 pages, a few more chapters might have been
included. Additional chapters (complementing Dieter
Rucht’s chapter) that address horizontalism in social
movements including the alter-globalisation move-
ment, the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street would
be welcome.
Readers will find further insight into democratic
innovations by consulting Dryzek (2010),1Smith
(2009)2and Goodin (2008).3
Notes
1 Dr yzek, J.S. (2010) Foundations and Frontiers of Deliberative
Governance. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
2 Smith, G. (2009) Democratic Innovations: Designing Institutions
for Citizen Participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
3 Goodin, R. E. (2008) Innovating Democracy: Democratic
Theory and Practice after the DeliberativeTurn. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Jeffrey D. Hilmer
(Northern Arizona University)
The United Nations Democracy Agenda:A Con-
ceptual History by Kirsten Haack. Manchester:
Manchester University Press, 2011. 256pp., £65.00,
ISBN 978 0719079818
The book under review provides an insightful con-
ceptual historical analysis of the origins and develop-
ment of the idea of democracy at the United
Nations. Departing from a ‘practice-focused’ perspec-
tive (p. 7), Kirsten Haack, from Northumbria Univer-
sity, delves into the conceptual trajectory that helps to
understand how the organisation has been able to
support and even promote democracy internationally,
most especially via peace-building initiatives, despite
the fact that democracy assistance is usually regarded
as an intrusive practice that undermines state sover-
eignty. In doing so, the author places a special empha-
sis on the role played by successive UN Secretaries-
General, particularly Boutros Boutros-Ghali (1992–6)
and Kofi Annan (1997–2006), in fostering a discourse
favourable to democracy promotion within the world
body.
As democracy is such a contested concept, the
author proposes a ‘democratic continuum’ (p. 16) to
situate different understandings of democracy and to
serve as a framework to evaluate the UN’s own inter-
pretations of democracy against the backdrop of the
mainstream Western theories of democracy. Four dif-
fering meanings are thus located on a spectrum:
democracy as civilisation, as elections,as good govern-
ance, and developmental democracy.Each one contains
not only visions about what democracy is, but also
what democracy should be. As such, the author con-
cludes by raising questions about the extent to which
the UN will be able to foster a democracy agenda
based on a substantial understanding of democracy.
Although the questions raised do not lead to straight-
forward answers, Haack rightly ascer tains that debates
over democracy will remain part of the world body
agenda in the years to come.
The book is very accessible and presents a wealth of
historical information about the United Nations
throughout the years under analysis, which should
appeal not only to students of international organisa-
tions, international relations and political theory, but
also to the informed public interested in the history of
the organisation. From a more theoretical perspective,
there is one aspect of the book that could have been
explored at greater length. In fact, although the author
departs from a ‘practice-focused perspective’, she does
not discuss the meaning of this option in depth or how
this perspective relates to other developments related to
the so-called ‘practice turn’ in the social sciences and
international relations, for instance. Hence, addressing
the strengths and shortcomings of the proposed
approach or how it related to current theoretical
debates would have made the book more robust and
relevant theoretically.
Fernando Cavalcante
(University of Bradford)
274 GENERAL POLITICS
© 2013 TheAuthors. Political Studies Review © 2013 Political Studies Association
Political Studies Review: 2013, 11(2)
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