Defiant Publics: The Unprecedented Reach of the Global Citizen (Themes for the 21st Century) - Hardcover

"Drache is well read and committed to his subject, and the book is littered with excellent quotations from leading contemporary thinkers and activists." Times Higher Education "On reading this book, the activist will understand how to arouse wider political participation, and the skeptic will be concerned that established power uses the same technology to manipulate a passive public. For a broad and non-specialized audience, the book opens a discussion about the nature of politics in the twenty-first century." Robert Cox, York University "Drache makes a courageous and controversial stand against much that is taken for granted by elites in our global order. He is optimistic that fluid but 'Defiant Publics' are moving towards an unknown but different world, seeking citizenship in a diverse and renewed global public domain. Yet his analysis leaves us aware we should also keep an eye on the possible unintended consequences of what might now be occurring." Geoffrey Underhill, Universiteit van Amsterdam "Widespread military adventurism, resurgent violent populisms, faux democracies drenched in cynicism, and looming ecological crises on an unimaginable scale: the world we inhabit seems to be one absent of hope or possibility. Daniel Drache's fascinating Defiant Publics jolts us out of our too-easy dystopian imaginings by showing us the ways in which multiple publics are struggling to create dynamic new futures." Imre Szeman, McMaster University "Daniel Drache's new book builds on the best of democratic theory developed in the twentieth-century nation-state, to conceptualize a non-territorial, non-traditional account of global democratic politics for our time. Defiant Publics identifies the new social actors in a de-hierarchized polity and challenges our ways of understanding political deliberation." Peer Zumbansen, York University

Social activism and dissent have become global phenomena for our times. Ordinary people across the world are fighting back. This newly potent political force has defeated governments in India and Spain, and has brought down the EU draft constitution. Disaffected by the triumph of markets, public goods, public interest and public spaces are regaining political ground. Daniel Drache argues that, feeding off distrust and suspicion of governments, and assisted by the new cultural flows of people, ideas and information, this is a political phenomenon without historical precedent. No-one owns the new public, elites remain baffled by its power and impact. No-one can contain its innovative, inclusive and rapidly evolving organizational style. No-one can determine when the current cycle of dissent will peak. This lively and engaging book is a must-read for anyone interested in the role of protesters and publics in contemporary politics.