Participatory or popular forms of democracy are normally approached from an ideal conception. Fung argues for a "different conception of democracy" using what he calls a pragmatic approach to look at alternative grassroots forms of democracy. In his new research he has studied alternative forms of governance in Chicago, India, Brazil and in smaller towns in the United States. Through his pragmatic approach of studying what are essentially localized and thriving models of participatory democracy he constructs a "democracy cube," what he describes as a "menu of institutional alternatives for the power sharing of governance."
Fung sees his approach as providing a different sort of conception of democracy, what he calls deliberative democracy, but what it seems to do is provide a palatable and provable approach for models of participatory democracy on the micro-scale.
One example he discusses and has studied, co-governed community-policing in poor neighborhoods in Chicago, provides a real institutional alternative and policy proposal. From this example, and his look at other alternative governance strategies, he argues for the following: a model of inclusion, more equal consideration of interests, effective consideration of interests, equal and effective opportunity of participation, constructive conflict management and lastly some sort of constraining principle that would allow things to get done and not take for ever. One question I was thinking though; are these micro structures he discuses, while allowing for more-accountablity and social justice, also focused on shifting around limited resources within marginalized communities without building deeper changes within the macro system that they exist? Would they be cut off at some point if they became threatening to elites?
He promotes what he sees as the most scientific approach, a sort of pragmatism, with which he constructs his model by looking at real examples of micro grassroots democracy. That is what I find interesting. It is refreshing as well to see workable models for real policy proposals from political theorists working on grassroots democracy. His work clearly focuses on the micro and on urban communities that have been open and supportive to these types of alternative structures. This also opens it up to some criticism.
His examples are clearly inspiring but there is also a problem of "looking at the world through rose-colored glasses". For example, how would one deal with the issue of hegemony, especially in its blocking a deepening of democracy in most areas, with Fung's model? And also in regards to macro level issues, one participant at the talk mentioned how could this model be used for large campaigns and bringing about big change? And what of the issue of hegemony, class and the conflict over civil society, or what Cox and Gramsci would see as a conflict between hegemonic civil society elites and an emancipatory-counterhegemonic civil society? I see democracy, popular and participatory democracy, as being necessarily a much more conflictual and polarizing process.
