Arguments about the American ballot initiative process date back to the Progressive Era, when processes allowing citizens to decide policy questions directly were established in about half of the states. When political scientists began to systematically examine whether the state ballot initiative process had spillover consequences, they found the initiative process had a positive impact on civic engagement. Recent scholarship casts doubt on these conclusions, determining the ballot initiative process did not make people believe they could influence the political process, trust the government, or be more knowledgeable about politics in general. However, in some circumstances, it got them to show up at the polls, and increased interest groups’ participation in the political arena. In Initiatives without Engagement, Dyck and Lascher develop and test a theory that can explain the evidence that the ballot initiative process fails to provide the civic benefits commonly claimed for it, and the evidence that it increases political participation. This theory argues that the basic function of direct democracy is to create more conflict in society.

Arguments about the American ballot initiative process date back to the Progressive Era, when processes allowing citizens to decide policy questions directly were established in about half of the states. When political scientists began to systematically examine whether the state ballot initiative process had spillover consequences, they found the initiative process had a positive impact on civic engagement. Recent scholarship casts doubt on these conclusions, determining the ballot initiative process did not make people believe they could influence the political process, trust the government, or be more knowledgeable about politics in general. However, in some circumstances, it got them to show up at the polls, and increased interest groups’ participation in the political arena. In Initiatives without Engagement, Dyck and Lascher develop and test a theory that can explain the evidence that the ballot initiative process fails to provide the civic benefits commonly claimed for it, and the evidence that it increases political participation. This theory argues that the basic function of direct democracy is to create more conflict in society.

This book intends to theoretically conceptualize and empirically investigate upcoming and established practices of community-based initiatives in various countries in which both citizens and governments join efforts and capacities to solve wicked issues. It aims to include and compare cases from various countries, departing from the notion that community-based initiatives take place in an institutional context of governmental structures, rules, procedures, regulations, and routines. This leads to government involvement in these initiatives and sharing the public space. Furthermore, the editors take into account what kind of leadership roles, knowledge, and resources are present and how they evolve in this collaborative or coordinative effort, which in turn can enhance the capacities of community-based initiatives. This book joins excellent researchers from renowned universities all over the world, aiming for a balance between upcoming scholars and renowned scholars in the field of community-based initiatives and governance capacity. Contributors were carefully selected on the basis of their experience in the field of community-based initiatives, citizens’ engagement and governance capacity approaches. Aimed at researchers and academics, this volume will be of interest to those in the fields of business, economics, public administration, political science, social enterprise, sociology and third sector studies.

"To understand the expansion of marijuana access and policies in the United States, you must start with the role of the states"--

This book has a simple philosophy that makes it uniquely different in the market. It makes managing change real, relevant and practical; and It makes it simple to find what you are looking for. This book is not intended to be a textbook on managing change, per se, for two reasons: firstly, which practicing manager has the time to read a text book? And secondly, just because its a textbook doesnt mean the answers that managers may have are readily available especially when needed by the manager. Many organizations not only have internal skilled resources to draw on for the conduct of change projects, but they also have the resources to hire expensive change consultants when needed. But what about those companies that dont have the internal resources to expertly handle change projects and that dont have the funds to pay expensive consultants? This book addresses this gap. It also provides invaluable assistance to all managers, since all managers need to manage change; and all change consultants, because there are very few who know it all or have all the answers. This book does not align itself to any particular school of thought regarding the management of change; however it does draw on the practical experience of professionals in the area - as well as fundamental principles common to many change methodologies.

There are growing calls for Higher Education Institutions to become more civically engaged and socially relevant in their local regions. The central aim of the Communities and Students Together (CaST) project has been to advance our knowledge and understanding of the myriad forms of Engaged Learning and to develop a deeper understanding of engagement. The project highlighted the diversity and flexibility to be found within Engaged Learning initiatives in each of the participating universities. The examples provided range widely in their structure and intended outcomes. However, the one constant is each initiative’s commitment to a concept where reciprocity between the students, universities and communities is prioritised. This volume includes discussions on the practical methodology, pedagogical strategies and approaches of Engaged Learning, as well as perspectives from both higher education institutes and communities, of the benefits of Engaged Learning in different contexts. The authorshave chosen the title: ‘Voices across Europe’ - in order to represent the wide range of stakeholders’ perspectives involved in Engaged Learning.

This book examines two civic initiatives in Europe and analyses their evolution through the institutionalisation of their practices, local public effects, and established models for action at broader scales. Drawing from the concepts of civic action, problematic situations, public problems, and experience, this book coins the concept of direct civic action to explore civic initiatives beyond sectorial categories. It draws from the histories, everyday activities, and encounters with new problematic situations of a Slovak and a French initiative. It analyses the institutionalisation of their internal practices, their public cultural services, the models for action they establish in broader networks of initiatives, and how institutionalisation affects their experimentation and innovation. This book uses two case studies of civic initiatives in France and Slovakia, examining how the experimental and institutionalised approaches to problematic situations of civic initiatives are associated with the generation and continuative reproduction of public goods and policies. It also explores how local initiatives establish national and international networks and models for direct civic action. This book is aimed at scholars interested in civic initiatives, urban planning, public policies, innovation studies, and urban sociology. It is intended to engage members of civic initiatives by offering insights into organisational dynamics and their impact on public issues. Furthermore, it appeals to public officials and policy-makers who aim to establish policies that promote civic initiatives and encourage direct civic action.