Routledge Democracy Works: Joining Theory and Action to Foster Global Change

Throughout the world, from the United States to Tanzania, Chechnya, and Sri Lanka, people increasingly work together and take actions to improve their lives, end inequality, and change global society. Action groups and movements see dialogue and learning as important ways to extend democracy and, with their inclusiveness, remake society. By putting strategy with theory, local groups and movements are able to begin making changes in civil society and institutions that allow people to begin living in new ways. Written for activists, people, and students interested in change, this book takes readers on a journey of discovery as it shows how various groups have brought theory and action together to make urban, rural, and transnational change. The case studies and explanatory articles reveal how feminist, antiracist, ecological, and peace movements reinforce each other to initiate and achieve well-placed and enduring change. Review “Democracy Works is important and much needed. It is the rare book that offers a combination of theory and action, grounded in local work and placed within a global context. This collection broadens both our understanding and our skills.” ―Suzanne Pharr, former Director of Highlander Center “Fascinating analyses of how the praxis of democratic social movements really works to effectuate significant social change. Extremely intelligent and useful.” ―Immanuel Wallerstein, Yale University About the Author Torry Dickinson is Professor of Women’s Studies at Kansas State University and coauthor of Fast Forward: Work, Gender, and Protest in a Changing World, which was identified as a core reading in Women’s Studies and Sociology by the Association of College and Research Libraries. Terrie A. Becerra studies the social implications of environmental and agricultural sustainability. Her work has focused primarily on the social implications of water resource/watershed management and agricultural management practices.