Henrik Paul Bang

The Everyday Maker: A New Challenge to Democratic Governance

AbstractA powerful feature of Putnam’s social capital framework is the attention it directs towards a critical question for democracies: How is democratic civic engagement created, sustained and expanded (cf Levi, 1996, p. 52) However, Putnam’s investigation into this problem neglects considerations concerning the consequences of the ongoing transition of democratic government into democratic governance. As a result, his evaluation of the state of affairs of Western democracy becomes more gloomy than need be. A study of democratic governance and civic engagement in Denmark draws the contours of a new political identity, the Everyday Maker. The Everyday Maker represents a new form of political engagement, which attempts to combine individuality and commonality in new relations of self-and co-governance. Seen from Putnam’s government perspective there is a serious risk that the researcher comes to ignore the political potential of the Everyday Makers and see them as nothing but individuals “bowling alone.”

The State and the Citizen: communitarianism in the united states and denmark

Abstract The nature of citizenship and the relationship of the individual to the state are topics of universal concern. In a dialogue about the idea of communitarianism, the authors discovered some differences in perspective between Danes and Americans. The paper explores those differences, examining American communitarian thought, its place in the political culture, and its relationship to public administration. It then turns to Danish republican thought, including its historical development, the character of the people, and an illustration of local politics and citizen action with a case study of the Hylke Village Council. The authors find similarities in the lively non-governmental civic activity of both countries, but contrasting views of the relationship of citizens and government. The political cultures of the two countries are quite different, though the societal issues under discussion are similar in many ways. This juxtaposition of different political cultures and similar issues produces an interesting comparison that may be useful to both peoples..