Urban Governance and the End of Civil Society: Community Organizations in the Rust Belt from Populism to Foreclosure

Sociology Seminar/IMES Podium with Michael McQuarrie (London School of Economics, Sociology)

Event

Michael McQuarrie will present his paper that demonstrates how civil society is transformed as it becomes incorporated into urban governance.

As community-based organizations become the conduits for various social resources their practices have increasingly come to be shaped by inter-organizational conflicts and shifts in the institutions of governance.

Over time, the effect has been rationalization around an increasingly singular logic of practice, effectively transforming civil society into a civic monoculture. As with crop monocultures, civic monocultures have little adaptive capacity and are highly vulnerable to environmental shocks.

That shock was ultimately provided by the foreclosure crisis, which has transformed the city's community-based organizations from national models to wards of local government. As a consequence, other positive effects of a diverse civil society are lost, including racial diversity and racial tolerance.

About the lecturer 

Michael McQuarrie is Associate Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics, and Poiesis Fellow at the Institute for Public Knowledge.

Participation

Participation is free. After Michael’s presentation IMES will provide drinks at the Atrium Café.