{"title":"Melissa Schwartzberg","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMelissa Schwartzberg\u003c\/strong\u003e explores the complexities of democratic governance and political decision-making with keen insight. Her work delves into how institutions shape political behaviour and the often overlooked mechanics behind policy negotiations and reform.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eReaders interested in \u003cem\u003ePolitics \u0026amp; Current Affairs\u003c\/em\u003e will find her writing thought-provoking, combining rigorous analysis with clear, compelling arguments. Schwartzberg's books offer a profound reflection on the challenges of sustaining democracy in contemporary society.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"democratic-deals-by-jack-knight-9780674279322","title":"Democratic Deals","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTwo leading scholars of democracy make the case for political bargaining and define its proper limits.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBargains—grand and prosaic—are a central fact of political life. The distribution of bargaining power affects the design of constitutions, the construction of party coalitions, legislative outcomes, judicial opinions, and much more. But can political bargaining be justified in theory? If it inevitably involves asymmetric power, is it anything more than the exercise of sublimated force, emerging from and reifying inequalities?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eDemocratic Deals\u003c\/em\u003e, Melissa Schwartzberg and Jack Knight defend bargaining against those who champion deliberation or compromise, showing that, under the right conditions and constraints, it can secure political equality and protect fundamental interests. The challenge, then, is to ensure that these conditions prevail. Drawing a sustained analogy to the private law of contracts—in particular, its concepts of duress and unconscionability—the authors articulate a set of procedural and substantive constraints on the bargaining process and analyse the circumstances under which unequal bargaining power might be justified in a democratic context. Institutions, Schwartzberg and Knight argue, can facilitate gains from exchange while placing meaningful limits on the exercise of unequal power.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDemocratic Deals\u003c\/em\u003e examines frameworks of just bargaining in a range of contexts—constitution-making and legislative politics, among judges and administrative agencies, across branches of government, and between the state and private actors in the course of plea deals. Bargaining is an ineradicable fact of political life. Schwartzberg and Knight show that it can also be essential for democracy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47383770071276,"sku":"9780674279322","price":80.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/1295103482428.jpg?v=1773379245"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/melissa-schwartzberg.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}