On the Logic of Being a Democrat

Philosophy ◽  
1969 ◽  
Vol 44 (167) ◽  
pp. 46-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marvin Schiller
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Theory ◽  
Democratic Principles ◽  
Central Purpose

The central purpose of this paper is to sketch the logic of being a democrat. That is, what is involved in being a democrat will be defined and delineated. I shall proceed by first examining Richard Wollheim's alleged paradox of democratic theory. Wollheim's solution to the paradox will then be shown to be unsatisfactory. Next, the concept of being a democrat will be clarified. The stage will then be set for showing that Wollheim's alleged paradox of democratic theory dissolves upon discerning what a democrat qua democrat is committed to believe. In the process of clarifying what is involved in being a democrat and dissolving the alleged paradox of democratic theory, it will become evident that one popular argument often levelled against resistance to democratic law is without foundation. This is the argument that any democrat who conscientiously disobeys valid democratic law is necessarily behaving inconsistently with his democratic principles; and, therefore, if someone does conscientiously disobey valid democratic law, it proves he is not ‘really’ a democrat after all.

scholarly journals Radical democratic theory and migration: The Refugee Protest March as a democratic practice

2021 ◽  
pp. 019145372199639
Author(s):  
Helge Schwiertz
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Theory ◽  
Radical Democracy ◽  
Theoretical Concepts ◽  
Ernesto Laclau ◽  
Democratic Practice ◽  
Chantal Mouffe ◽  
Democratic Regimes ◽  
Crisis Of Representation ◽  
Democratic Principles ◽  
And Migration

In dominant discourses, migrants are mostly perceived as either victims or villains but rarely as political subjects and democratic constituents. Challenging this view, the aim of the article is to rethink democracy with respect to migration struggles. I argue that movements of migration are not only consistent with democracy but also provide a decisive impetus for actualizing democratic principles in the context of debates about the crisis of representation and post-democracy. Drawing on the work of Jacques Rancière, Étienne Balibar and Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe, I develop a theory of radical democracy as practice, which, starting from the proposed notion of ‘democratic difference’, goes beyond the fixation on democratic regimes and focuses on contentious practices of enacting democratic principles. I articulate these theoretical concepts by analysing how refugees in Germany have managed to break out of a marginalized position and have challenged their denial of rights through a protest march.

Democratic Theory and Democratic Failure

2020 ◽  
pp. 141-153
Author(s):  
Yasmin Dawood
Keyword(s):  
Dual Task ◽  
Democratic Theory ◽  
Democratic Regime ◽  
Contextual Approach ◽  
Incentive Structures ◽  
Democratic Failure ◽  
Democratic Ideals ◽  
Democratic Principles

Democracies inevitably fail by not living up to their ideals (failure writ small). They may also fail in the more dramatic sense by eroding or collapsing into a non-democratic regime (failure writ large). The task of democratic theory is to establish baselines—ceilings and floors—by which such failures can be identified, conceptualized, and judged. The task of the democratic theorist is thus twofold: to articulate the ideals and principles of democracy while simultaneously considering its failures writ small and large. This dual task, I claim, is aided by the adoption of a contextual approach. A contextual approach views democratic principles as being located within particular configurations of power, institutions, actors, and incentive structures. A contextual approach takes account of the fact that the practice of democracy is highly complex, diverse, and dynamic. When applied to particular circumstances, democratic ideals are contingent and are often in tension with one another. A contextual approach to the dual task of democratic theory is attentive to both the promise and the perils of democracy.

Democracy after Virtue

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sungmoon Kim
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Democratic Theory ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Cultural Tradition ◽  
Value Pluralism ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Philosophical Significance ◽  
The Social ◽  
Principles Of Justice ◽  
Democratic Principles

In the past two decades contemporary Confucian political theory has been propelled by the dialectical conversation between Confucianism and democracy and, more recently, between Confucian democracy and Confucian meritocracy. However, the absence of a shared point of reference in developing Confucian democratic theory has made it extremely difficult to understand whether the disagreement between Confucian democrats and Confucian meritocrats is merely a political one or is also of philosophical significance. Democracy after Virtue explores a normative Confucian democratic theory that justifies democracy on pragmatic grounds, both as a political system and as a way of life in East Asia, with special attention to Confucianism, a dominant cultural tradition in the region, as well as to the value pluralism and moral conflict that increasingly characterize the circumstances of East Asian politics. It presents “pragmatic Confucian democracy” as a fresh normative framework that can help (1) identify the social circumstances that require a democracy as a political system in a Confucian society, (2) explain the internal connection between two dimensions of democracy that are commonly presented in political science as being at odds with each other, (3) make sense of the value of democracy coherently with reference to its two dimensions, (4) illuminate the theoretical connection between democratic procedures and the outcomes they produce, and (5) articulate distinctively Confucian democratic principles of justice in criminal punishment, economic distribution, and international relations (humanitarian intervention in particular) from a pragmatic standpoint.

Rethinking Election Reform

1976 ◽  
Vol 425 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Herbert E. Alexander
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Theory ◽  
Party System ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Supreme Court Decision ◽  
Election Reform ◽  
Media Politics ◽  
Democratic System ◽  
Democratic Principles ◽  
Constitutional Protections

Occasionally, a public issue surfaces which re lates to the basic fibers of our democratic system, an issue whose resolution further translates the democratic theory of 1776 into actual practice. Such is the issue of election reform. The problem is how to apply democratic principles to elections in an age of media politics seemingly dominated by dollar politics. The electoral process presents perhaps a classic conflict between the democratic theory of full public dialogue in free elections and the conditions of an economic marketplace. Election law reform has become a high priority issue; within the last five years, federal laws regulating elec tion campaigns have been changed twice, and 44 states have revised theirs. More revisions are occurring in the wake of the landmark Supreme Court decision in Buckley v. Valeo. Reform is not neutral but works to change institutions and processes, sometimes in unforeseen ways. Laws regulat ing relationships between candidates and political parties, and citizens and politicians, and affecting the relative power of interest groups, are bound to influence the entire political process and change the participation of citizens, candidates, parties, and other groups in elections. Recent changes are certain to have direct consequences for the two-party system, constitutional protections, and levels of participation and con fidence in the electoral system.

scholarly journals Enacting Democracy

2003 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Saward
Keyword(s):  
Full Advantage ◽  
Democratic Theory ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
Democratic Principles ◽  
Models Of Democracy

We do not need more ‘models of democracy’, but we do need a fresh view of democratic theory to take full advantage of deliberative, ecological, cosmopolitan and other innovations of recent years. Approaches such as these can be understood in terms of the devices they deploy – deliberative forums and cross-border referendums, for example, as well as more familiar elections and legislatures. Devices enact democratic principles; indeed, it is argued that principles gain their meaning and force through enactment. Devices can also be reordered in different ways; democrats can construct sequences which enact democracy in particular, desired ways. Pursuing this argument involves adopting a reflexive and procedural perspective, which puts a premium on democracy as sensitive to context, open-ended, productive and adaptable.

Reforming the Role of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Advancing Democratic Principles and Human Rights in African Countries: An Examination Using the Lens of Swaziland/ eSwatini

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Sarkin
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Individual Country ◽  
The Status ◽  
Effective Role ◽  
Limited Compliance ◽  
Fact Finding ◽  
Democratic Principles ◽  
African Commission

This article explores the role of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the role it plays regarding human rights in individual country situations in Africa. It specifically examines the extent to which it has been able to advance a human rights agenda in countries with long-standing human rights problems. The article uses Swaziland/ eSwatini as a lens to examine the matter, because of the longstanding problems that exist in that country. This is done to indicate how the institution works over time on a country’s human rights problems. The article examines a range of institutional structural matters to establish how these issues affect the role of the Commission in its work. The article examines the way in which the Commission uses its various tools, including its communications, the state reporting processes, fact-finding visits, and resolutions, to determine whether those tools are being used effectively. The article examines how the Commission’s processes issues also affect it work. Issues examined negatively affecting the Commission are examined, including problems with the status of its resolutions and communications, limited compliance with its outcomes, and inadequate state cooperation. Reforms necessary to enhance to role and functions of the Commission are surveyed to determine how the institution could become more effective. The African Union’s (AU|) Kagame Report on AU reform is briefly reviewed to examine the limited view and focus of AU reform processes and why AU reform ought to focus on enhancing human rights compliance. The article makes various suggestions on necessary institutional reforms but also as far as the African Commission’s procedures and methods of work to allow it to have a far more effective role in the promotion and protection of human rights on the continent. It is noted that political will by the AU and African states is the largest obstacle to giving the Commission the necessary independence, support and assistance that it needs to play the role in Africa that it should.

Intervenções de carreira ao longo da vida: perspectivas e desafios

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iúri Novaes Luna ◽  
Valéria De Bettio Mattos
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Human Development ◽  
National Literature ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Career Interventions ◽  
The World ◽  
Psychosocial Processes ◽  
Diversity Of Life ◽  
Professional Guidance ◽  
Central Purpose

This book, comprised of 13 chapters, presents papers which discuss the processes related to the career along one’s life cycle, from adolescents’ professional choices until processes of retirement. Notwithstanding the diversity of life and work contexts, present in the different chapters, they all somewhat correspond in their central purpose, presenting both perspectives and challenges related to contemporary career interventions. Some chapters address themes that are still seldom explored in national literature, while others discuss subjects that are long established in the area, however they are innovative. The authors study them in the context of changes in the world of work in the second decade of the 21st century, of the new career models and psychosocial processes that are linked to human development throughout life. The studies and practices in vocational guidance, career development and retirement, included in this book, are the results of research and practice in recent years carried out by professionals, professors and academics that in different ways have collaborated with the activities of LIOP - Laboratory of Information and Professional Guidance, at the Federal University of Santa Catarina.

The Many-Colored Cloak

2010 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
Malik Mufti
Keyword(s):  
Political Thought ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Political Authority ◽  
Electoral Participation ◽  
Critical Questions ◽  
Ibn Rushd ◽  
The People ◽  
Democratic Principles ◽  
The Many ◽  
Religion And Democracy

This articles argues (a) that democratic discourse has already become hegemonic among mainstream Islamist movements in Turkey and the Arab world; (b) that while this development originated in tactical calculations, it constitutes a consequential transformation in Islamist political thought; and (c) that this transformation, in turn, raises critical questions about the interaction of religion and democracy with which contemporary Islamists have not yet grappled adequately but which were anticipated by medieval philosophers such as al-Farabi and Ibn Rushd. The argument is laid out through an analysis (based on textual sources and interviews) of key decisions on electoral participation made by Turkey’s AK Party and the Muslim Brotherhoods in Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. Particular attention is focused on these movements’ gradual embrace of three key democratic principles: pluralism, the people as the source of political authority, and the legitimacy of such procedural mechanisms as multiple parties and regular elections.

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