Lexington Books Economic Efficiency, Democratic Empowerment: Contested Modernization in Britain and Germany

Democratic procedures are often inefficient; efficient structures tend to be undemocratic. Focusing on Germany and Great Britain as case studies, this book explores the meaning and compatibility of efficiency and democracy in the project of modernizing advanced consumer democracies. About the Author Ingolfur BlYhdorn is reader in politics and political sociology at the University of Bath (UK). His research interests include social and political theory, political sociology, as well as environmental sociology. He has published widely on social movements and their organizations, Green Parties and the transformation of politics in advanced European democracies. His forthcoming publications include the monograph Reinventing Green Politics: The Repositioning of Green Parties in a Changing Political Landscape (Berghahn 2007) and The Politics of Unsustainability: Eco-Politics in the Post-Environmental Era (Routledge 2007, co-edited with Ian Welsh). Uwe Junis professor of political science at the University of Trier (Germany). His research focus is on political institutions in western democracies, political communication and parliamentarism. He has widely published on political parties and on contemporary developments in European political systems. He is author of Wandel von Parteien in der Mediendemokratie (Parties in Media Democracy; Campus 2004), as well as editor of Politische Theorie und Regierungslehre. Eine EinfYhrung in die politikwissenschaftliche Institutionenforschung (Political Theory and Government. An Introduction to Political Research into Institutions; Campus 2004) and Kleine Parteien im Aufwind (Small Parties on the Rise; Campus 2006).