New Forms of Democracy?

The Reform and Transformation of Democratic Institutions
Sept. 9-13, 2002

Organizers

Professor Bruce E. Cain
Director, Institute of Governmental Studies
University of California, Berkeley

Professor Russell J. Dalton
Director, Center for the Study of Democracy
University of California, Irvine,

Professor Susan E. Scarrow
Department of Political Science
University of Houston (Texas)

Purpose and Accomplishments


The purpose of our Bellagio workshop was to re-assemble an international team of scholars at the end of a multi-year study of the long-term effects of populist pressures for political reforms in established democracies. As planned, most of the preliminary findings in individual areas had been presented at meetings in May, 2002, so the aim of the Bellagio session was to synthesize the research by focusing on the political and theoretical implications of these findings. These sessions were also intended to provide the opportunity to introduce our work to some outsider observers who are familiar with issues of democratic reform around the world. This part of the plan worked particularly well, as the discussions with Joanne Caddy of the OECD provided us with a much clearer sense of how the changes we are tracking in this project intersect with the concerns of public officials around the world.

As hoped, the Bellagio sessions helped us to form a much clearer picture of widespread and related institutional transformation that has being occurring in multiple political arenas over the past three decades. They also gave us time to debate the possible implications of the observed changes. These discussions were invaluable for helping chapter authors identify common patterns across institutional realms. The results of these discussions will be incorporated into the final versions of each of the chapters, as well as into a concluding chapter which will present our broader findings and our reflections on the possible implications of the trends we have identified. Authors are now preparing the final chapters, which will appear in a volume to be published by Oxford University Press in 2003.

Anticipated Publication

The chapters from this project will appear in a book that will be published by Oxford University Press in the fall of 2003. To obtain a copy of this book, please contact:

Marc Levin, Assistant Director
Institute of Governmental Studies
113A Moses Hall # 2370
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-2370
USA
marcl@uclink.berkeley.edu

Conference Attendees

John Aldrich
Pfizer-Pratt University Professor
Department of Political Science
Duke University

Christopher Ansell
Professor
Department of Political Science
University of California, Berkeley

Henrik P. Bang

Director & Professor
Center for Research on Public Org.
Department of Political Science
University of Copenhagen

Bruce E. Cain
Director & Professor
Institute of Governmental Studies
University of California, Berkeley

Elisabeth Carter

Graduate Student
Department of Government
University of Manchester

Joanne Caddy
Administrator
Public Management Service
Organisation for Economic Co-Operation & Development (OECD)

Russell J. Dalton
Director & Professor
Center for the Study of Democracy
University of California, Irvine

Patrick Egan
Graduate Student
Institute of Governmental Studies
University of California, Berkeley

Sergio Fabbrini
Professor
Dept of Sociology & Social Research
University of Trento

David Farrell
Professor
Department of Government
University of Manchester

Jane Gingrich
Graduate Student
Political Science Department
University of California, Berkeley

Hans-Dieter Klingemann
Director & Professor
Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin fuer
Sozialforschung (WZB)

Marc A. Levin
Assistant Director
Institute of Governmental Studies
University of California, Berkeley

Gillian Peele
Professor
Lady Margaret Hall
Oxford University

Susan Scarrow
Professor
Political Science Department
University of Houston

Mark Warren
Professor
Georgetown University
Department of Government