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democratic theory

November 10, 2022

🦋 Making and keeping democracy visible

Christoph Mohamad-Klotzbach One aim of the sciences of the democracies is to find different ways of making and keeping democracy visible, argues Christoph Mohamad-Klotzbach. Practitioners and imaginers of democracies are doing this job. They help to understand and transform the realities of democracies – step by step – for the sake of democracy Read more
October 28, 2022

🦋 How elections stifle democracy in Kenya

Reginald Oduor Reginald M.J. Oduor encourages more political theorists to disentangle themselves from the idea that democracy and elections are inextricably bound. Through this he seeks to promote the pursuit of genuine citizen participation in post-colonial states in Africa and elsewhere Read more
October 18, 2022

🦋 Towards human flourishing as the purpose of democracy

Eri Mountbatten-O'Malley Ethical democratic practices are informed by understanding what it means to be human and how we may flourish as a species alongside non-humans. This is, Eri Mountbatten-O’Malley argues, a useful way to orient ourselves in a dark time for democracy Read more
October 11, 2022

🦋 Democracy must not be a distracted caterpillar

Phil Paine Phil Paine is reminded of the caterpillar who, when asked in which order it moved each of its feet, found itself ‘distracted in a ditch, wondering how it walked’. He suspects that there are misapprehensions about the role of definitions in advancing democracy Read more
October 5, 2022

🦋 Understanding democracy without the ‘D-word’

Yida Zhai Public perceptions of democracy are diverse, and some even see democracy in authoritarian regimes. So directly using ‘democracy’ in surveys is prone to elicit biased responses. Therefore, Yida Zhai argues, it is necessary to conceptualise and operationalise democracy in an alternative manner without using the ‘D-word’ Read more
September 26, 2022

🦋 Minben 民本 as an alternative to liberal democracy

Rongxin Li Democracy is unconsciously linked to 'the West', avers Rongxin Li, especially Anglo-Saxon-type governmental arrangements such as liberal democracy. Seeing how our planet speaks about 'democracy' to those who can hear it, all forms of 'democracy', like Minben, should be on an even standing with Western models Read more
September 20, 2022

🦋 Democracy as a way of living

Sonia Bussu Sonia Bussu argues that the way we understand democracy has been colonised by ‘liberal democracy’ and capitalism. As a result, democracy is far removed from our daily lives. We need to free ourselves from these constraints to see the possible alternatives, which are embodied in democracy as a way of living Read more
September 12, 2022

Democratisers vs autocratisers: Great Power competition and the path to democracy

Zarina Burkadze Promoting democracy without challenging external autocratisers and checking local democratic elites may be counterproductive, argues Zarina Burkadze. Great power competition has always had an impact on the domestic politics of small nations, and this is apparent in the conflicts and international politics of today Read more

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Advancing Political Science
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