The State of Citizen Participation in America

Edited by:
Hindy Lauer Schachter, New Jersey Institute of Technology
Kaifeng Yang, Florida State University

A volume in the series: Research on International Civic Engagement. Editor(s): Walter Heinecke, University of Virginia. Carah Ong Whaley, University of Virginia.

Published 2012

This book provides a state-of-the-art assessment of citizen participation practice and research in the United States. With contributions from a stellar group of scholars, it provides readers an overview of a field at the heart of democratic governance. Individual chapters trace shifts in participation philosophy and policy, examine trends at different government levels, analyze technology/participation interactions, identify the participation experiences of minority populations, and explore the impact of voluntary organizations on this topic. A five-chapter section illustrates innovative cases. Another section explores the role of various methodologies in advancing participation research.

The scope, depth, and timeliness of the coverage fills two voids in the public administration literature. First, the book provides a unique collection of articles for graduate courses in citizen participation and democratic governance. The volume also offers an excellent compendium for researchers who are at the frontline of participation research and practice.

CONTENTS
Preface. PART I: CIVIC PARTICIPATION IN AMERICA. Introduction: American Civic Participation in the 21st Century, Hindy Lauer Schachter. Looking Back on the Founding: Civic Engagement Traditions in the United States, Masami Nishishiba, Margaret Banyan, and Douglas F. Morgan. PART II: CITIZEN PARTICIPATION AND POLICY. Encouraging Citizenship in U.S. Presidential Administrations: An Analysis of Presidential Records, Thomas A. Bryer. The Usability of Government Information: The Necessary Link Between Transparency and Participation, Suzanne Piotrowski and Yuguo Liao. PART III: CITIZEN PARTICIPATION: TRENDS AND ASSESSMENTS. Citizen Participation at the Local Level, Elaine B. Sharp. Citizen Engagement in Local Environmental Policy: Information, Mobilization, and Media, Deserai Anderson Crow and J. Richard Stevens. Applying Technology to Enhance Citizen Engagement With City and County Government, William (Bill) S. Barnes, Jr. and Brian N. Williams. Engaging Hispanics in Governance: A Social Constructivist Interpretation, Patria de Lancer Julnes. Online Citizen Participation: A Case Study of Illinois Nonprofit Organizations, Alicia M. Schatteman. Voluntary Associations, Nonprofit Organizations, and Civic Engagement, Angela M. Eikenberry and Courtney Jensen. PART IV: CITIZEN PARTICIPATION: INNOVATIVE CASES. Citizen Deliberation on Health Care Costs: A Mock Courtroom Experiment, Larkin Dudley. The Benson-Ames Alliance: An Exercise in Urban Planning, Alan Kopetzky. Deliberative Polling: Theoretical and Methodological Issues of Civic Engagement, Jeremy Harris Lipschultz. Citizen Participation and Performance: A Model for Citizen-Based Government and Performance Management, Marc Holzer and Lauren Bock Mullins. An Analysis of Collaborative Governance Models in the Context of Shared Services, Marc Holzer, Lauren Bock Mullins, Rusi Sun, and Jonathan Woolley. PART V: RESEARCH REFLECTIONS. Researching Participation Through Interpretive Phenomenology: The Case of Neighborhood Organizing, María Verónica Elías. Social Psychological Barriers to Communicative Rationality: A Critical Look at Public Participation, Walter F. Kuentzel and Curtis Ventriss. PART VI: CONCLUSION. Theory Building and Testing in Citizen Participation Research: Reflection and Conjecture, Kaifeng Yang. About the Contributors.