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The concept of democracy is far from new, but this comprehensive volume addresses some of the volatile questions that continue to puzzle even the best of us. Readers will get a survey of the development of this form of government, dating back to its invention in ancient Athens and continuing to the present, following its development with the changing times. Thoughtful questions provoke discussion about its pros and cons, its strengths and weaknesses, and how, even after all these years, this method of governing could be even more effective in the future

The main argument of this paper is directed against the thesis that we are in a post-democratic era. I consider that we are rather in a post-political era, that is to say, one in which the demands expressed in moments of democratic explosion do not often find a political channel that translates them into effective transformations. To this is added the fact that some of the current forms of activism have given rise to what could be called an "intermittent citizenship" that has seduced some with the possibility of establishing that negative sovereignty at the core of the construction of the general will, which has depolitizing effects. This is the context in which the great rift between technocratic reasons and populist reasons has been constituted. I end up defending a concept of "indirect democracy" or "complex democracy" that attempts to politically integrate both moments.

IN A TRUE DEMOCRACY, THE TENSION BETWEEN UNITY AND DIFFERENCE OF CITIZENS IS UNRESOLVABLE -- AS THE AUTHOR SAYS IT SHOULD BE. SHE CONTENDS THAT THE MOST FERTILE TERRAIN FOR CONSTRUCTING PROGRESSIVE POLITICS IS THAT OF A RADICAL DEMOCRACY THAT RECOGNIZES THE CENTRALITY OF DIFFERENCE AND CONTESTATION TO POLITICAL LIFE. SHE EXPLORES SCHMITT'S DEMOCRATIC ANTI-LIBERALISM AS WELL AS KANT AND THE COMMON GOOD. THE CONCLUSION IS THAT THE VERY EXISTENCE OF MODERN DEMOCRACY FORBIDS THE POSSIBILITY OF ITS FULL REALIZATION.

Natural rights of man.--Principles of democracy.--The Constitution.--Political economy.--Social welfare.--Religion.--Foreign affairs.--Appendix: 1. Axioms and dicta. II. Opinion of contemporaries. III. Select bibliography (p. 283-285) ; Mode of access: Internet.

Introduces democratic governments, discussing the social, political, economic, religious, and cultural effects, and examining various contemporary democracies from around the world.