Deliberative Democracy and Complex Diversity. From Discourse Ethics to the Theory of Argumentation.

362 p.Can democracy accommodate contemporary diverse and complex societies? Is deliberation an appropiate means for these ends? Even in the face of violent conflict? What is the role of citizens? The central objetive of this thesis is to critically analyse the relationsship between complex diversity (Tully 2008, Kraus 2012) and deliberatibe democracy /Habermas 1996) from a systemic perspective (Masnbrige and Parkinson 2012). Thinking identity as complex diversity detaches identity from dichotomous categorisations either as public of private, civic or ethnic and, moral or political

Deliberative Democracy and Complex Diversity. From Discourse Ethics to the Theory of Argumentation.

362 p.Can democracy accommodate contemporary diverse and complex societies? Is deliberation an appropiate means for these ends? Even in the face of violent conflict? What is the role of citizens? The central objetive of this thesis is to critically analyse the relationsship between complex diversity (Tully 2008, Kraus 2012) and deliberatibe democracy /Habermas 1996) from a systemic perspective (Masnbrige and Parkinson 2012). Thinking identity as complex diversity detaches identity from dichotomous categorisations either as public of private, civic or ethnic and, moral or political

The Governance of Multistakeholder Cooperatives in Mondragon: The Evolving Relationship among Purpose, Structure and Process

Cooperative enterprises were first founded to organize business activity in a more humane and democratic fashion than was the case in conventional firms and to promote social goals in the broader community beyond profit maximization. This orientation has led to challenges for cooperative governance as these firms seek to balance the pursuit of their social objectives with survival in competitive markets. The cooperative universe is very diverse, however, and different types of cooperatives face somewhat different versions of these governance challenges. One relatively new and growing type is the multistakeholder cooperative (MSC) which consists of more than one formal membership group. Given its relative newness and its growing importance, the MSC should be examined in greater depth. The Mondragon Cooperative Experience (MCE) is one of the most highly developed in the world. Much recognition comes from its emphasis on worker cooperatives, but Mondragon has also created MSCs, among them some of its most emblematic firms. MSCs are also much more numerous in the MCE than is generally understood. Under these circumstances, this chapter seeks to examine the MSC phenomenon in the MCE. We analyze these cooperatives, connecting our analysis to extant research and suggest avenues for future investigation

Innovar la gobernanza de la investigación y la innovación: la experimentación de prácticas deliberativas en Europa

En el marco de las políticas de investigación europeas hay una inclinación creciente por abrir a debate la propia definición de los problemas y los beneficios esperados asociados a su resolución. Ello ha adoptado la forma de lo que se ha denominado “RRI” (Responsible Research and Innovation), que viene a ser un principio-guía para la innovación tendente a encarar los grandes retos sociales sobre la base de un proceso de responsabilidad mutua facilitado por la institucionalización de mecanismos efectivos de gobernanza. En este artículo sostenemos que el desarrollo práctico de mecanismos inclusivos y deliberativos de gobernanza contribuye a facilitar la integración de actores con potencial interés en los procesos de investigación socio-técnica. Para ello, elucidamos un conjunto de procesos deliberativos implementados en Europa en aras a mejorar la corresponsabilidad a través de la implicación pública. Nuestra revisión revela una serie de tensiones que afectan a las concepciones sobre participación y deliberación, al diseño institucional de las iniciativas y a la fase de la investigación en la que se implementan. El artículo sugiere la necesidad de innovar las experiencias democráticas incidiendo en la fase temprana de las actividades científico-tecnológicas e impulsando la contribución epistémica y social de los actores para robustecer la reflexividad y la responsabilidad mutua en el sistema de gobernanza de la investigación

Responsible Innovation for Sustainable Development Goals in Business: An Agenda for Cooperative Firms

In this contribution, we explore the possibilities of Responsible Innovation (RI) to assess and support the engagement of businesses in the spectrum of Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) and, in particular, cooperatives to the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the firm level. We conduct a critical review of the academic literature on sustainable development and responsible innovation, focusing on the role of business to identify how firms in the spectrum of SSE can contribute through responsible innovation to the sustainable development agenda and how firms in the spectrum of SSE can benefit from it. Results suggest that firms can benefit from responsible innovation in the transformation of their business models. On the other hand, firms in the spectrum of SSE contribute to extending the scope of SDGs to business, not focusing on what cooperatives do by their nature (e.g., principles and values), but their contribution to key horizontal enablers (e.g., partnership and innovation) for the integration of firms in the sustainable development agenda. To our knowledge, this is the first time that the relationship between SSE firms and RI is assessed from the perspective of firms’ contribution to SDGs. Further research is needed to sophisticate the translation of particular tools developed in the framework of RI to firms in the spectrum of SSE and, in particular, cooperative firms

Deliberative Democracy and Complex Diversity. From Discourse Ethics to the Theory of Argumentation.

362 p.Can democracy accommodate contemporary diverse and complex societies? Is deliberation an appropiate means for these ends? Even in the face of violent conflict? What is the role of citizens? The central objetive of this thesis is to critically analyse the relationsship between complex diversity (Tully 2008, Kraus 2012) and deliberatibe democracy /Habermas 1996) from a systemic perspective (Masnbrige and Parkinson 2012). Thinking identity as complex diversity detaches identity from dichotomous categorisations either as public of private, civic or ethnic and, moral or political

Participación institucional en la experiencia cooperativa de Mondragon. Diagnóstico, retos y estrategias

The Mondragon Cooperative Experience (ECM) features a constant search of equilibrium between business efficiency and cooperative values. On the one hand, ECM represents a successful business model in a globalized and highly competitive environment. On the other hand, ECM grounds on a clear normative framework orienting its practice in the light of shared principles. Both dimensions rely on a productive tension for the ECM to advance its goal of creating a kind of firm more in consonance with worker’s legitimate aspirations. However, this relationship of mutual dependence between both dimensions of the ECM is under stress. In particular, ECM faces difficulties to promote a governance system capable of adequately responding to current economic challenges (a highly competitive and globalized market economy) while it sustains and develops an advanced system of democratic organization. Conclusions in this contribution synthesize the results of qualitative research conducted by the Institute of Cooperative Studies LANKI between 2011 and 2018 in ECM’s worker cooperatives. Through the analysis of the discourses, we observe some general trends and common problems that define the diagnosis, as well as several potential lines of improvement of the ECM governance system from the perspective of their members. In particular, this contribution accounts for the necessity to reconsider the participation of cooperative’s members and an opening to new definitions and practices of democracy and mutual compromise. Firstly, we shortly review the history and essential characteristics of ECM. Secondly, we analyze the challenges and proposals regarding the governance system of the ECM from the perspective of its members. Finally, we outline some conclusion we consider of interest in the governance system of the ECM as well as for other cooperatives operating in the social economy

Pragmatismo productivo: La democracía industrial frente a las condiciones del capitalism neoliberal

This essay presents two case examples of the context and practices of industrial democracy: Norwegian industrial democracy exemplified with the Aker case and the Mondragon Cooperative Experience (a term Mondragon often uses to describe its whole structure and history). The comparison illustrates the necessity of combining general systems theory, the distinction between political and socio-technical participation, and the role of ethos, worldview, and heedfulness in understanding how these enterprises operate and manage ongoing challenges. Our central motive is to promote the expansion of organizational democracy within the global industrial system as a superior and more humane alternative to global neoliberal capitalism. These are not simple comparisons because these systems have different histories, contexts, and dynamics. In making the comparison, we show that the constant process of balancing and rebalancing political and socio-technical participation is a key dynamic in keeping such democratic systems viable. We also show that enterprise ethos and worldview, far from being an add-on or a “soft” dimension, is the bedrock on which such systems rely. After making this general presentation, we put these systems in motion to show how they address the challenges of downsizing and strategic planning. Downsizing and strategic planning show both systems’ ability to face unexpected events and effectively cope with their potential consequences. We conclude that the differences between the cases show there is no one right way to create democratic organizations, but that paths exist and remain open for many different versions of these more humane and successful industrial organizations so necessary for creating sustainable societies.acceptedVersio

ANALHITZA: herramienta para extraer información lingüística de corpus extensos para su uso en investigaciones de ciencias humanas

El tamaño reducido de los corpus en ciertos campos de investigación se debe a la falta de herramientas para procesar el lenguaje de forma masiva y sencilla. En este artículo presentamos ANALHITZA, una herramienta que estamos desarrollando dentro del proyecto Clarin-k que tiene como objetivo principal la creación de tecnologías lingüísticas útiles para la investigación en Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades. ANALHITZA ha sido diseñada para extraer información lingüística online de textos extensos de una forma sencilla. Además, es una herramienta multilingüe que permite analizar textos escritos en tres lenguas: euskera, castellano e inglés. En este artículo, a modo de ejemplo, presentamos tres estudios en los que se ha usado esta herramienta, que puede ser rediseñada para cubrir las necesidades de investigación de muchas de las ramas de Humanidades.The reduced size of corpora in some areas of research is due to the lack of tools to process massively and easily the language under study. In this article, we present ANALHITZA, a tool which is being developed within the Clarin-k project, whose aim is the creation of linguistic technologies that are useful for research on Social Sciences and Humanities. ANALHITZA has been designed to extract linguistic information online from large corpora in an easy way. Besides, it is a multilingual tool which can process texts written in three languages: Basque, Spanish and English. Moreover, we present three real examples of study where ANALHITZA has been used. The tool can be redesigned or changed, according to the needs of the scientific community in the field of Humanities