
Is democracy possible today?
En del af serien Magtudredningen, skriftserien og fagområdet Samfundsvidenskab
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The process of globalization, which exacerbates the pluralism and
complexity associated with modernity, and an unauthorized
delegation of power, challenges the standard model of
representative democracy, in which the parliament is seen as the
embodiment of the will of the people. However, "the people" is
never really present to decide. The representatives are elected and
the notions of the common good or the public interest that they
espouse are inaccurate, at best. No legal form and no actual
assembly can claim legitimacy per se - as expressions of la volonté
générale. Thus, an alternative conceptualization of the democratic
process is required.
In order to get to the modern idea of democratic politics, the
normative content of the democratic constitutional state is spelled
out as this is understood in the discourse-theoretical conception
of deliberative democracy.
This conception is a viable alternative to the standard model. It
relinquishes nationality as requirement for democracy. In the
discourse-theoretical perspective, popular sovereignty is
de-substantiated and located in the very procedures that govern law
and decision making. The parliamentary principle cannot by itself
ensure democratic legitimacy and has to be supplemented with
procedures that secure individual rights and public debate. A
threefold model of political power then emerges: social,
communicative and administrative power. This perspective provides
us with a rather complex set of criteria for assessing democracy
today which, however, are needed not only for normative reasons,
but also because of the differentiated access structure that exist
in modern welfare states.
Indholdsfortegnelse
IntroductionThe constitution of modern democracy
The democratic circulation of power
References
About the author
Publications from Magtudredningen
Links
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