POT 6067: Democratic Theory Graduate Seminar

Politische Vierteljahresschrift

This article explores diverse views on both the current challenges and limits as well as the reforms and innovations of existing democracies at the beginning of the twenty-first century. First, it argues that socioeconomic inequality, new populism, new forms of communication, and globalization have stimulated a renewal of interest in analyzing the "frontiers of democracy." Democracies have reacted with different innovations and reforms in order to meet these challenges. The authors trace the phases of respective research from studies on singular, standalone instances to normative as well as empirical work on participatory (direct democratic and deliberative) systems. Finally, they advocate for combining the conceptual approach of defining democracy by the fulfillment of democratic values with rigorous empirical evaluation of the contributions (old and new) that institutions and procedures provide in order to fulfill these values and meet the mentioned challenges.

Works on the quality of democracy propose standards for evaluating politics beyond those encompassed by a minimal definition of democracy. Yet, what is the quality of democracy? This article first reconstructs and assesses current conceptualizations of the quality of democracy. Thereafter, it reconceptualizes the quality of democracy by equating it with democracy pure and simple, positing that democracy is a synthesis of political freedom and political equality, and spelling out the implications of this substantive assumption. The proposal is to broaden the concept of democracy to address two additional spheres: government decision-making – political institutions are democratic inasmuch as a majority of citizens can change the status quo – and the social environment of politics – the social context cannot turn the principles of political freedom and equality into mere formalities. Alternative specifications of democratic standards are considered and reasons for discarding them are provided

Representation, 2010

isara solutions, 2020

The idea of Democracy has existed in the tradition of Western political thought since ancient times. The term ‘democracy’ was first used in the fifth century BC by the Greek historian Herodotus in the sense of ‘rule by the people’. This term is derived from a combination of two Greek words: demos, meaning ‘the people’, and kratien, meaning ‘to rule’. Democracy is not merely a form of government; it is also a form of state as well as society. It is closely associated with participation, competition, and civil and political liberties. Abraham Lincoln’s famous definition of democracy as ‘government of the people, by the people, for the people’ is very close to its literal meaning. Democracy is the Political Empowerment of the People. Democracy originally meant “rule by the people.” An important component of democracy in its original formulation was the ideal of the citizens’ direct participation in the legislative and political decision-making process. Democracy is an idea. It is developed as an analytic concept, a normative ideal, a political presentation, and an empirical description. It’s meaning slide among these usages. The idea of democracy is real in its far reaching consequences. In short, democracy as a form of government implies that the ultimate authority of governance in this system is vested in the ordinary people so that public policy as made to conform to the will of the people and to serve the interests of the people.

The concept of democracy is central to our contemporary political vocabularies, yet agreement on how to conceptualise democracy is far from widespread. 1 As Adam Przeworski has recently remarked: 'Perusing innumerable definitions, one discovers that democracy has become an altar on which everyone hangs his or her favorite ex voto.' (Przeworski, 1999: 24). Certainly we can say that democracy is a form of government that appeals to an idea of popular sovereignty and, hence, an answer to the question 'who rules?' -but to flesh out this answer will very quickly mire us in controversy. This point is of more than merely academic interest for two reasons. First, how we understand the concept of democracy guides our practical reflections on how to design or reform democratic institutions, it generates criteria governing what we can reasonably expect from democratic government and it animates our debates concerning political legitimacy.

2019

Collected Abstracts International Conference Democracy and Constitutionalism, 2024

This seminar is of utmost importance as it addresses the pressing issues confronting constitutional democracy and The Rule of Law globally. Recent research has highlighted the growing threats to democracy posed by the ascent of authoritarianism, the deterioration of democratic standards and organizations, and escalating political fragmentation. The emergence of new forms of political disruption facilitated by technology and social media simultaneously challenges constitutional frameworks. The FDV Research Group on Legal Hermeneutics and Constitutional Jurisdiction will convene leading international authorities to analyze the intricate interconnections between democracy, constitutionalism, and the rule of law during this period of political turmoil. Additionally, the seminar will explore the ramifications of sustainability and development for constitutional democracy.

2020

The roles of popular sovereignty, political equality, and the accountability of government have been deliberated throughout history, as evidenced by Greek historian Herodotus and the delegates of the Constitutional Convention in the United States. The incorporation of democratic ideas into regimes and governments has increased in the 20 and 21 centuries as regimes have demonstrated the use of these foundations of governance (IDEA, 2012 and Freedom House, 2013). There has been a transition from a deliberation of abstract ideas of governance to a proposal of models of democracy that exist in current regimes and governments around the world. As governance has been modified and altered in states throughout the world, scholars have sought to conceive a framework for examining regimes that fall outside the scope of classical democratic conceptualisations. Debates about democracy remain in academia because democracy “is a concept, an abstraction, a term with no single precise and agreed me...

Mirada Pública, 2024

The current challenges of democracy in the region reflect problems such as worn-out institutions, economic scarcity and the rise of insecurity. The evidence presented in these articles suggests that the formality of free, plural, transparent and periodic elections is no longer enough to conceive equitable societies. Firstly, the spaces for opinion and participation have lost depth, having an immediate, yet short-term impact. Secondly, the same framework of democracy has become a vehicle for extreme-right, populist and authoritarian regimes that often win elections by vast majorities.