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After Democracy: Imagining Our Political Future
What do ordinary citizens really want from their governments?
Democracy has long been considered an ideal state of governance. What if it’s not? Perhaps it is not the end goal but, rather, a transition stage to something better. Drawing on original interviews conducted with citizens of more than thirty countries, Zizi Papacharissi explores what democracy is, what it means to be a citizen, and what can be done to enhance governance.
As she explores how governments can better serve their citizens, and evolve in positive ways, Papacharissi gives a voice to everyday people, whose ideas and experiences of capitalism, media, and education can help shape future governing practices. This book expands on the well-known difficulties of realizing the intimacy of democracy in a global world—the “democratic paradox”—and presents a concrete vision of how communications technologies can be harnessed to implement representative equality, information equality, and civic literacy.
Democracy has long been considered an ideal state of governance. What if it’s not? Perhaps it is not the end goal but, rather, a transition stage to something better. Drawing on original interviews conducted with citizens of more than thirty countries, Zizi Papacharissi explores what democracy is, what it means to be a citizen, and what can be done to enhance governance.
As she explores how governments can better serve their citizens, and evolve in positive ways, Papacharissi gives a voice to everyday people, whose ideas and experiences of capitalism, media, and education can help shape future governing practices. This book expands on the well-known difficulties of realizing the intimacy of democracy in a global world—the “democratic paradox”—and presents a concrete vision of how communications technologies can be harnessed to implement representative equality, information equality, and civic literacy.
- GenresPoliticsNonfiction
176 pages, Hardcover
Published February 9, 2021
10 people are currently reading
54 people want to read
About the author
Zizi Papacharissi
19 books11 followersZizi Papacharissi is professor and head of the Communication Department at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Her work focuses on the social and political consequences of online media. Her books include A Private Sphere: Democracy in a Digital Age (Polity Press, 2010), A Networked Self: Identity, Community, and Culture on Social Network Sites (Routledge, 2010), and Journalism and Citizenship: New Agendas (Taylor & Francis, 2009). She has also authored over 50 journal articles, book chapters or reviews, and serves on the editorial board of eleven journals, including the Journal of Communication, Human Communication Research, and New Media and Society. Zizi is the editor of the Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, and the founding and current Editor of the new open access Sage journal Social Media and Society. She has collaborated with Apple, Microsoft, and has participated in closed consultations with the Obama 2012 election campaign. She sits on the Committee on the Health and Well-Being of Young Adults, funded by the National Academies of Science, the National Research Council, and the Institute of Medicine, and has been invited to lecture about her work on social media in several Universities and Research Institutes in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the US. Her work has been translated in Greek, German, Korean, Chinese, Hungarian, Italian, Turkish, and Persian. Her fourth book is titled Affective Publics: Sentiment, Technology and Politics (Oxford University Press) and recently won the National CommunicatIon Association Human Communication and Technology Division Best Book Award.
Zizi was born and raised in Thessaloniki, Greece, and graduated from Anatolia College in 1991. She received a full scholarship to Mount Holyoke College, where she completed a double BA in Economics and Media Studies (1995), and to Kent State University, where she received a Masters degree in Communication Studies (1997). Her studies were fully funded by fellowships and scholarships from both the Onassis Foundation and the University of Texas of Austin, where she received her PhD (2000) in New Media Technologies and Political Communication. She was recently recognized by her alma mater, UT-Austin, as a high-impact scholar, an honor bestowed to a handful of the School's most productive and impactful doctoral graduates
Zizi was born and raised in Thessaloniki, Greece, and graduated from Anatolia College in 1991. She received a full scholarship to Mount Holyoke College, where she completed a double BA in Economics and Media Studies (1995), and to Kent State University, where she received a Masters degree in Communication Studies (1997). Her studies were fully funded by fellowships and scholarships from both the Onassis Foundation and the University of Texas of Austin, where she received her PhD (2000) in New Media Technologies and Political Communication. She was recently recognized by her alma mater, UT-Austin, as a high-impact scholar, an honor bestowed to a handful of the School's most productive and impactful doctoral graduates
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 21, 2021
Almost wanted to say do not read, a book that could be an Instagram post. But ok last chapter gave some sense to it, so i refrain from actually advice here
January 23, 2022
Hannah Arendt wrote of modern existence as being that of worldlessness, in which individuals do not share a common world, have no shared system of meaning. When a person becomes aware of the freedom to act, to reach for another towards mutual understanding, they can help build a common world. This, to Arendt, is a secret, delightful, rare, most meaningful treasure. Likewise, it appears, for Papacharissi.
The idea of democracy confuses me and the path to understanding it overwhelms me. I appreciated After Democracy for listening to the ordinary, for letting me be as I am, for introducing me to others around the world who sit at the same ordinary table. Papacharissi pulls out a chair before sharing bad news (algorithmitized attention economy, numb(er)ed voices, empty signifiers), and she finds a way to share good news (we're about as civically engaged as our ancestors, playful reinventions of civic practice) without entering into cruel optimism.
The chapters include a bit of repetition, so best read over a few weeks alongside an evening cup of tea.
Quotes:
“Value, equality, and democracy are all flexible concepts, even though we often pretend they are not. They are everlasting because they are ever changing.”
“Lonely citizens are frequently forced to choose between yes and no, to approve or disapprove polling options; refusing to do so or selecting anything in between renders them invisible.”
“Politics does not have to be boring, yet the formulas we are taught for being political often reproduce routines that we no longer find rewarding. Indeed, the people I spoke with found inspiration in micro-activities in their communities, because that is where they were afforded the autonomy to be political in their own way. They were able to interact with others in lively and imaginative ways, and they felt the direct and fairly immediate impact of their actions. If we want lively citizens, we have to offer engaging opportunities of interaction.”
The idea of democracy confuses me and the path to understanding it overwhelms me. I appreciated After Democracy for listening to the ordinary, for letting me be as I am, for introducing me to others around the world who sit at the same ordinary table. Papacharissi pulls out a chair before sharing bad news (algorithmitized attention economy, numb(er)ed voices, empty signifiers), and she finds a way to share good news (we're about as civically engaged as our ancestors, playful reinventions of civic practice) without entering into cruel optimism.
The chapters include a bit of repetition, so best read over a few weeks alongside an evening cup of tea.
Quotes:
“Value, equality, and democracy are all flexible concepts, even though we often pretend they are not. They are everlasting because they are ever changing.”
“Lonely citizens are frequently forced to choose between yes and no, to approve or disapprove polling options; refusing to do so or selecting anything in between renders them invisible.”
“Politics does not have to be boring, yet the formulas we are taught for being political often reproduce routines that we no longer find rewarding. Indeed, the people I spoke with found inspiration in micro-activities in their communities, because that is where they were afforded the autonomy to be political in their own way. They were able to interact with others in lively and imaginative ways, and they felt the direct and fairly immediate impact of their actions. If we want lively citizens, we have to offer engaging opportunities of interaction.”
December 31, 2024
I really struggled with this book, and in particular the authors style of writing. The first few chapters were painfully repetitive and meandering, and it wasn’t until the final chapter that I found myself saying “finally! We’ve arrived at the results!” It was like reading a clunky unedited thesis before it’s gone for revisions. Several grammatical errors and mistakes didn’t help.
This book was a major disappointment. I’d have preferred to have just read this in the form of a qualitative study with thematic analysis than in this poorly structured novel.
If you’re interested in contemporary dialogue on democracy and/or technology, there are much more interesting and thought provoking narratives out there.
This book was a major disappointment. I’d have preferred to have just read this in the form of a qualitative study with thematic analysis than in this poorly structured novel.
If you’re interested in contemporary dialogue on democracy and/or technology, there are much more interesting and thought provoking narratives out there.
February 28, 2021
Interesting
I really enjoyed this book knocking it out in one day. The author does an outstanding job explaining what a democracy is and is not through stories of personal interaction causing the reader to reflect on our current state of affairs. Populism, corruption, and civic literacy are highlighted as challenges to democracies. The book is probably mis titled as there is nothing after democracy, the author is proposing that we refine our civic actions to make our democracy more better.
I really enjoyed this book knocking it out in one day. The author does an outstanding job explaining what a democracy is and is not through stories of personal interaction causing the reader to reflect on our current state of affairs. Populism, corruption, and civic literacy are highlighted as challenges to democracies. The book is probably mis titled as there is nothing after democracy, the author is proposing that we refine our civic actions to make our democracy more better.
April 10, 2021
Or what can the taxpayer do in order to make the Government more powerful, and hopefully richer as Zizi Papacharissi's wages and generous pension plan depend on the taxes collected by the said government.
November 7, 2022
A genuinely excellent overview of the literature on the intersection of media, democracy, and technology, integrated with an insightful and rare anthropological interview methodology. Highly recommended.
February 7, 2026
This book for me is close to Astra Taylor's great general work on democracy, what it is or isn't, and why we will miss it when it's gone. The book is filled with great insights drawn from the many interviews, interspersed with relevant political theories.
Especially coming from a political scientist, I wasn't expecting such nice flowing writing. Highly recommend (and not just to political scientists).
Especially coming from a political scientist, I wasn't expecting such nice flowing writing. Highly recommend (and not just to political scientists).
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews