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Discover Society aims to overcome ¡°a serious risk of a democratic deficit¡± and to offer the general public ¡°a better understanding of the social context in which politics takes place¡±.

The magazine, which went live this week, already includes contributions on everything from sustainable consumption and 21^st-century relationships to multilingual citizenship to ¡°the rise of the British comedy snob¡±. ?

¡°Along with many others, we have lamented the absence of social research at the heart of public debate,¡± said co-editor John Holmwood, professor of sociology at the University of Nottingham.

¡°There is a ¡®folk memory¡¯ within the disciplines of sociology and social policy of the old days of New Society, which published [in this area] from its launch in 1962 to its demise in 1988 and had contributions from many British academics,¡± he said, adding that the new magazine sets out to fulfil a similar function through research-based articles, ¡°viewpoints¡± (on current social issues), ¡°policy briefings¡± and reports ¡°on the frontline¡± of austerity Britain.

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¡°We think that there should be a better understanding of the social context in which politics takes place,¡± Professor Holmwood went on.

¡°There is a serious risk of a democratic deficit if the drive toward evidence-based policy means that researchers focus on informing policy-makers, rather than the wider public.¡±

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Another stimulus was the late Baroness Thatcher¡¯s famous statement: ¡°There is no such thing as society. There are only individual men and women, and there are families.¡±

Though families are ¡°frequently invoked in political debates (especially ¡®hard-working¡¯ ones)¡±, co-editor Sue Scott, professor of sociology (and currently pro vice-chancellor) at Glasgow Caledonian University, argued that they are ¡°frequently misunderstood and their varied nature misrepresented¡±.

Since setting up the magazine, Professor Holmwood reported that many organisations ¡°have said to us that they had been thinking of doing this for some time, ¡®but hadn¡¯t found a business model; how have you done it?¡¯ Answer: We didn¡¯t look for a business model, we just did it!¡±

matthew.reisz@tsleducation.com