📢New article & theory...!

In an age of 'democratic backsliding' it is worth re-asking... 'what is democracy?.'

This new piece in @NPS_Journal draws from a tradition in British philosophy to propose an alternative to traditional minimalist and deliberative approaches to democratic thought.

Realist (or real) democracy is present where preconditions exist to fully empower all citizens to realize their individual capabilities - and there is equality of power.

That's the short version. Longer thread...⤵️🧵

tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10… For those not familiar with critical realism, it is a stream of philosophical thought pioneered by Roy Bhaskar, Margaret Archer et al. It has spread widewide with international networks and conferences.

Check out:
Follow: @EngageCR

It is Archer's work that I use predominantly in this article and to whom many, including myself, owe much intellectual debt. See:

📺Here's a video summary:
criticalrealismnetwork.org
critrealap.net/rememberingmar…

A quick recap on the facts about #voterid and fraud in Britain.... ℹ️ There is no evidence of voter fraud - the problem which #voterid is supposed to solve

One source of evidence are poll worker surveys. Our academic study found that only 0.7 of poll workers suspected a possible case in their polling station.
tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.108….

The UK govt recently issued orders for the Electoral Commission to now focus on govt 'executive priorities'

It would no longer be an independent Electoral Commission.

My evidence to @CommonsLUHC focusses on the big picture here for UK democracy and internationally🧵⤵️ 1/n TLDR:

The govt has made commitments to promote robust democratic institutions gov.uk/government/col…

To promote democratic elections around the world, the UK needs to strengthen principles of independence at home rather than undermine them

There is a chance to rethink.. 2/n