Theories of Democracy

Dimitrios Halikias

This practicum will introduce students to a range of theoretical approaches to democracy. We will raise the question of what kind of a regime or government "democracy" is. Where does democracy derive its legitimacy? What (if anything) gives a democracy special value or authority? What role do deliberation, participation, and individual rights play in a democratic society? Is democracy a system of government or, more ambitiously, a comprehensive way of life? Our readings will survey some of the most influential articles and books written on democracy in recent decades. Some of these readings reconstruct historical approaches to democratic theory. Others offer more abstract and conceptual treatments of the connection between democracy and liberalism, equality, and majority rule.