Abstract
Recent debates on citizenship in Ireland have ranged from minimalist legalistic definitions of Irish citizenship to efforts to encourage active citizenship. This article deconstructs the active citizenship debates of the Democracy Commission, the Democratic Audit and the Taoiseach's Taskforce on Active Citizenship, concluding that active citizenship involves social capital, deliberative democratic mechanisms and a readiness to take part in the more formal aspects of public life. The CLEAR framework developed by Lowndes, Pratchett and Stoker incorporates these three dimensions of active citizenship and is applied to the recent recommendations on active citizenship in Ireland. The CLEAR analysis concludes that the taskforce's recommendations go furthest in terms of active citizenship. The promotion of social capital features strongly in its recommendations, compared with the Democracy Commission's approach, which lays greater stress on the deliberative and readiness to take part in the more formal part of public life sections.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
