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Originating with the ancient Greeks, democracy has taken many forms through the centuries. The beginning of modern democracies is traced to the Magna Carta in 1215, and afterward the increasing rights of individuals in their governments. The Constitution of the United States embraced the idea of democracy, becoming the great experiment that inspired democratic forms of governments through the years and across the world. This insightful volume includes relevant sources, images, and a timeline to trace the history and permutations of democracy as it has been practiced by different countries.

The essays in this volume, first published in 2000, explore questions about democracy that are relevant to political philosophy and political theory. Some essays discuss the appropriate ends of government or examine the difficulties involved in determining and carrying out the will of the people. Some address questions relating to the kinds of influence citizens can or should have over their representatives, asking, for example, whether individuals have a duty to vote, or whether inequalities in political influence among citizens (measured in terms of campaign contributions) can be morally justified. Other essays analyze democratic institutions, discussing what role deliberation should play in the democratic process, and asking whether it is legitimate to use laws and public policies to express approval or disapproval of various kinds of conduct. Still others examine the relationship between democracy and value pluralism, or consider the suitability of democracy as a form of government in non-Western societies

The current populist challenges in western liberal democracies should not be seen as evidence of their decline, but as a constituent part. The history of democracy shows us that such challenges enable democracy's growth and evolution. As these modern conflicts and crises see populists seek to capitalise on the discontent of the people, it is evident that much of the conflict comes from tensions between the rule of law and majority rule. Elites seeking to preserve the liberal democratic system need to make their arguments in defence of the rule of law and democratic values, rather than assuming them to be self-evident. We should only become concerned over the fate of liberal democracy when the conflict moves from dialogue into physical violence, or as in Hungary, where the executive has dismantled counter-majoritarian checks. It is only then that the departure from democracy truly begins.

Democracy is a term that is used to denote a variety of distinct objects and ideas. Democracy describes either a set of political institutions or an ideal of collective self-rule. Democracy can also be short for a normative principle of either legitimacy or justice. Finally, democracy might be used to denote an egalitarian attitude. These four uses of the term should be kept distinct and raises separate conceptual and normative issues. The value of democracy, whether democratic political institutions or democratic self-rule, is either instrumental, non-instrumental, or both. The non-instrumental value of democracy derives either from the alleged fairness of majority rule or from the value of the social relationships enabled by participation in democratic procedures. The instrumental value of democracy lends support from a growing body of empirical research. Yet, the claim that democracy has a positive causal effect on public goods is inconclusive with respect to the moral justification of democratic institutions. Normative reasons for democracy's instrumental value must instead appeal to the fact that it contributes to equality, liberty, truth, or the realization of popular will. Democracy as a principle of either political legitimacy or justice is a normative view that evades concerns with the definition and value of democracy. Normative democracy is a claim about the conditions either for legitimacy or justice of either public authority or coercion. Debates in normative democracy are largely divorced from the conceptual and empirical concerns that inform studies of democracy elsewhere. The boundaries of the people entitled to participate in collective decisions is a question that applies to all four uses of democracy. The boundary question raises three distinct issues. The first is the extent of inclusion required among the members of the unit. The second is if membership in the unit is necessary for inclusion or if people that are not recognized as members are on certain conditions also entitled to participate. The third and final issue concerns the boundaries of the unit itself. ; Artikel publicerad i Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics [online].

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.

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.

AbstractSeattle's Democracy Vouchers program provides a unique form of public financing for political campaigns in which voters decide how to allocate public funding across candidates. This paper is the first to study the effects of public financing for political campaigns on political participation. I estimate that the Democracy Vouchers program increases voter turnout by 4.9 percentage points, suggesting that public financing programs can increase political participation. I also find that campaigns become more reliant on small contributions. For city council candidates, dollars from small contributions under $100 increase by 156% while dollars from large contributions over $250 decrease by 93%.