Hubert Heinelt – författare

This book analyses the ability of individuals to create meaning through communicative interaction and of what seems to constrain and enable actors in taking collectively binding political decisions.

The book examines why, in some contexts, individuals consider something as evident and relevant for their action while others perceive them as nonsense or simply as ‘fake news’. As such, the book follows a research perspective based on a concept emphasizing that the core function of knowledge is related to the selection and integration of data and other information which give them substance. Taking an interpretive political science perspective to knowledge, the book overcomes particular deficiencies of policy learning concepts where the development of an understanding of ‘reality’ is thematized in a way that supposedly decrypts everyday processes through which individuals understand ‘reality’ and (re)orient their actions to intersubjective processes. To better understand these intersubjective processes, communicative mechanisms are worked through where knowledge claims are selected and integrated.

This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of political science and policy analysis and more broadly, to sociology and social theory, geography, planning, philosophy, communication studies, and governance studies.

This book analyses the ability of individuals to create meaning through communicative interaction and of what seems to constrain and enable actors in taking collectively binding political decisions.

The book examines why, in some contexts, individuals consider something as evident and relevant for their action while others perceive them as nonsense or simply as ‘fake news’. As such, the book follows a research perspective based on a concept emphasizing that the core function of knowledge is related to the selection and integration of data and other information which give them substance. Taking an interpretive political science perspective to knowledge, the book overcomes particular deficiencies of policy learning concepts where the development of an understanding of ‘reality’ is thematized in a way that supposedly decrypts everyday processes through which individuals understand ‘reality’ and (re)orient their actions to intersubjective processes. To better understand these intersubjective processes, communicative mechanisms are worked through where knowledge claims are selected and integrated.

This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of political science and policy analysis and more broadly, to sociology and social theory, geography, planning, philosophy, communication studies, and governance studies.

Some cities manage to mobilize innovation potentials and respond to challenges, such as demographic change and immigration as well as economic restructuring, while others do not. This book solves this problem by answering the following question: what are the conditions for the development of local innovation?

In order to identify these conditions, the book explores case study cities which are perceived as success cases of local innovation by the respective local community, and sometimes also nationally or internationally. The conditions for local innovations are not sought primarily in economic, social, or institutional circumstances. Instead, this book focuses on the communicative interactions by which local actors develop locally embedded knowledge or a specific social imaginary about those circumstances, as well as the constraints and opportunities deriving from them. The authors focus on a comparative case study of ten cities—Bensheim, Frankfurt, Kassel, Leipzig, and Offenbach in Germany, and Athens, Chania, Elefsina, Kalamata, and Thessaloniki in Greece. The book is based on content analysis of policy documents and local newspapers as well as in-depth interviews with key local actors.

This book will be of interest to scholars and students of political science and policy analysis, as well as sociology, geography, urban studies, and planning. It will also interest local politicians and bureaucrats concerned with achieving innovation in cities.

Some cities manage to mobilize innovation potentials and respond to challenges, such as demographic change and immigration as well as economic restructuring, while others do not. This book solves this problem by answering the following question: what are the conditions for the development of local innovation?

In order to identify these conditions, the book explores case study cities which are perceived as success cases of local innovation by the respective local community, and sometimes also nationally or internationally. The conditions for local innovations are not sought primarily in economic, social, or institutional circumstances. Instead, this book focuses on the communicative interactions by which local actors develop locally embedded knowledge or a specific social imaginary about those circumstances, as well as the constraints and opportunities deriving from them. The authors focus on a comparative case study of ten cities—Bensheim, Frankfurt, Kassel, Leipzig, and Offenbach in Germany, and Athens, Chania, Elefsina, Kalamata, and Thessaloniki in Greece. The book is based on content analysis of policy documents and local newspapers as well as in-depth interviews with key local actors.

This book will be of interest to scholars and students of political science and policy analysis, as well as sociology, geography, urban studies, and planning. It will also interest local politicians and bureaucrats concerned with achieving innovation in cities.

A fresh examination of the relationship between two key issues in the on-going debate on urban governance - leadership and community involvement.

It explores the nature of the interaction between community involvement and political leadership in modern local governance by drawing on empirical data gathered from case-studies concerning cities in England, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, and Sweden. It presents both a country specific and cross-cutting analysis of the contributions that communities and leaders can make to more effective local governance.

These country specific chapters are complemented by thematic, comparative chapters addressing alternative forms of community involvement, types and styles of leadership, multi-level governance, institutional restrictions and opportunities for leadership and involvement, institutional conditions underpinning leadership and involvement, and political culture in cities. This up-to-date survey of trends and developments in local governance moves the debate forward by analysing modern governance with reference to theories related to institutional theory, legitimation, and the way urban leadership and community involvement compliment one another.

This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of politics and urban governance, and to all those concerned with questions of local governance and democracy.

A fresh examination of the relationship between two key issues in the on-going debate on urban governance - leadership and community involvement.

It explores the nature of the interaction between community involvement and political leadership in modern local governance by drawing on empirical data gathered from case-studies concerning cities in England, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, and Sweden. It presents both a country specific and cross-cutting analysis of the contributions that communities and leaders can make to more effective local governance.

These country specific chapters are complemented by thematic, comparative chapters addressing alternative forms of community involvement, types and styles of leadership, multi-level governance, institutional restrictions and opportunities for leadership and involvement, institutional conditions underpinning leadership and involvement, and political culture in cities. This up-to-date survey of trends and developments in local governance moves the debate forward by analysing modern governance with reference to theories related to institutional theory, legitimation, and the way urban leadership and community involvement compliment one another.

This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of politics and urban governance, and to all those concerned with questions of local governance and democracy.

Is the ‘golden age’ of democracy really over due to the pressures of globalisation and the erosion of the nation state?

Within this book, Heinelt seeks to address the democratic deficit in political systems linked to limited Citizen Participation reflecting on the notion of democracy and participatory governance and how they relate to each other. Exploring democracy beyond the governmental structures and focusing on participatory governance in particular this book demonstrates that common notions of democracy have to be re-conceptualised without neglecting its key ideas. By arguing that it is a political task to turn the inevitability of governance into a participatory form, Heinelt develops a model of different ‘worlds of democratic actions’ which shows that democratic political systems have to be considered as a complex and broad web of various forms of interest articulation and intermediation as well as decision-making.

Making an important contribution to the ‘third transformation of democracy’, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of governance, democracy, policymaking & European studies.