The dispersion of power: a critical realist theory of democracy

In: Oxford scholarship online

In: Political Science

Abstract

'The Dispersion of Power' is an urgent call to rethink centuries of conventional wisdom about what democracy is, why it matters, and how to make it better. Drawing from history, social science, psychology, and critical theory, it explains why elections do not and cannot realise the classic ideal of popular rule, and why prevailing strategies of democratic reform often make things worse. Instead, Bagg argues, we should see democracy as a way of protecting public power from capture - an alternative vision that is at once more realistic and more inspiring