The Democracy Initiative is planning to take forward an action and research programme on the theme of power and influence in the UK and Ireland.
We aim to design a practically applicable work programme, designed to inform public policy debate and shape practice to enable citizens and civil society groups to understand and have more influence over decision making processes.
In the first instance will focus on:
- how the distribution of power and influence might shape and strengthen the nature of democracy now and in the future;
- how power and influence impacts on the lives of citizens in the UK and Ireland, in particular those that are less advantaged;
- how citizens, through civil society organisations, can be more influential and recognise where the levers for power and influence are in a range of policy influencing settings.
The distribution of power in relation to democratic renewal is already a widely debated concern. The Carnegie UK Trust supports the findings of the Power Inquiry, which has argued that power has become too concentrated at the centre, and that large sections of our society feel increasingly alienated from the formal political process. In response to this, the Power Inquiry has made a series of recommendations to increase participation by devolving greater decision-making authority to the local level.
The Carnegie UK Trust proposes a further examination to get a deeper understanding of the different forces in society which shape decision making. This means going beyond the political realm, and looking at how power is exercised in areas such as the distribution of wealth and assets, control over the economy, the role of the media, the judiciary, the military, the role of celebrities, the influence of civil society organisations, and the impact of international factors, such as the EU and the World Bank.
To discuss this aspect of our work further, email soumountha@carnegieuk.org.