What does it mean for the people to rule? Although the history of democratic theory dates back to classical Greece, it is only over the last two hundred years that this idea—political authority resting ultimately in the people, the demos—has been adapted to modern conditions like capitalism, mass society, and the nation-state. This raises questions about what democracy means and whether the form of government is most conducive to human flourishing. How is majority rule reconciled with representative government? When do economic conditions and democratic ideals conflict? What antagonisms are contained within the concept of “liberal democracy”? How can democratic government best be organized within a modern state? And, how should we define the boundaries of the demos, the people, itself?
If I had to devise a course, we would begin with classical and modern accounts of democratic theory, including writings by Aristotle, Rousseau, Publius, and Tocqueville. Then we would shift focus onto debates from the mid-twentieth century to the present, juxtaposing different normative models of democracy, including elite (Joseph Schumpeter), pluralist (Robert Dahl), participatory (John Dewey, Carole Pateman), and deliberative (Jurgen Habermas, Iris Young) schools of thought. Along the way, we would consider questions such as: what are the prerequisites for a political regime to be considered democratic? Under what conditions can political rights and interests be balanced? How do various procedures and rules relate to the normative ideal of democracy; and what is the relationship between democracy and liberalism?
What is Democracy? Some Classic Views (I)
Aristotle, Politics, pp. 77-85, 106-113, 176-184
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Social Contract, pp. 147-150, 156-159, 179-180, 205-207
What is Democracy? Some Classic Views (II)
Publius, The Federalist, No. 10 (pp. 42-49), No. 51 (pp. 267-272), No. 63 (pp. 325-332)
Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, pp. 235-242, 248-249, 479-488,
Representative Government
Bernard Manin. 1997. The Principles of Representative Government. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Introduction, Chapter 1, 79-93, 132-150, 236-238.
Elite Democracy and Pluralist Critics
Joseph Schumpeter, “The Classical Doctrine of Democracy” and “Another Theory of Democracy,” in Capitalism, Socialism, Democracy, 250–83
Max Weber, “Politics as a Vocation,” “Parliament and Government in Germany under a New Political Order,” in Political Writings (selections)
Adam Przeworski, “Minimalist Conception of Democracy: A Defense,” in Democracy’s Value, ed. Shapiro and Hacker-Cordón (selections)
Robert Dahl, A Preface to Democratic Theory, Expanded Edition (pp. 133-135, 145-151).
Jack L. Walker, “A Critique of the Elitist Theory of Democracy,” American Political Science Review 60, no. 2 (June 1966): 285-295.
Robert Dahl, “Further Reflections on the ‘Elitist Theory of Democracy’” American Political Science Review 60, no. 2 (June 1966): 296-305.
Radical and Participatory Democracy
Carole Pateman. 1970. Participation and Democratic Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1-5, 13-20, 23-35
Carole Pateman, “Participatory Democracy Revisited,” Perspectives on Politics 10, no.1 (March 2012): 7-19.
Hannah Arendt, On Revolution, “The Revolutionary Tradition and Its Lost Treasure” (selections)
Sheldon Wolin, “Fugitive Democracy,” Constellations 1, no. 1 (December 1994): 11-25.
Optional: Archon Fung and Erik Olin Wright, “Deepening Democracy: Innovations in Empowered Participatory Governance,” Politics & Society 29, no. 1 (March 2001): 5-41.
Deliberative Democracy I
Jürgen Habermas. 1994. “Three Normative Models of Democracy.” Constellations, 1 (1): 1-10.
Jürgen Habermas, Between Facts and Norms: Contributions to a Discourse Theory of Law and Democracy (selections)
Iris Marion Young, “Communication and the Other”, pp. 120-135
Amy Gutmann and Dennis Thompson. 2004. Why Deliberative Democracy? Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1-26, 40-56.
Deliberative Democracy II
John Dewey, The Public and its Problems, pp. 143-184
Simone Chambers, “Rhetoric and the Public Sphere: Has Deliberative Democracy Abandoned Mass Democracy?,” Political Theory 37, no. 3 (June 2009): 323-350.
Bonnie Honig, “The People, the Multitude, and the Paradox of Politics,” in Emergency Politics: Paradox, Law, Democracy (Princeton 2009)
David Owen and Graham Smith, “Deliberation, Democracy, and the Systemic Turn,” Journal of Political Philosophy 23, no. 5 (2015): 213-234
Beyond Deliberation (1): who is included and who is represented?
Iris Marion Young, Inclusion and Democracy (selections)
Jane Mansbridge, “Should Blacks Represent Blacks and Women Represent Women? A Contingent ‘Yes’,” Journal of Politics 61, no. 3 (August 1999): 628-657.
Hooker, Juliet. "Black Lives Matter and the paradoxes of US Black politics: From democratic sacrifice to democratic repair." Political Theory 44, no. 4 (2016): 448-469.
Beyond Deliberation (2)
Jane Mansbridge, “Rethinking Representation,” American Political Science Review 97, no. 4 (November 2003): 515-528.
Elizabeth Anderson, “Democratic Ideals and Segregation”, pp. 89-111
Jan-Werner Muller, “The People Must be Extracted from within the People: Reflections on Populism”, pp. 483-493
Sheldon Wolin, “Fugitive Democracy”, pp. 31-45
Republicanism
Philip Pettit, On the People’s Terms: A Republican Theory and Model of Democracy (selections)
Niko Kolodny. Being under the Power of Others. In: Elazar Y, Rousselière G, eds. Republicanism and the Future of Democracy. Cambridge University Press; 2019: 94-114.
Majoritarianism and Constitutional Entrenchment
Melissa Schwartzberg, Counting the Many: The Origins and Limits of Supermajority Rules (selections)
Holmes S. Precommitment and the paradox of democracy. In: Elster J, Slagstad R, eds. Constitutionalism and Democracy. Studies in Rationality and Social Change. Cambridge University Press; 1988:195-240.
Lenowitz, Jeffrey A. "“A Trust That Cannot Be Delegated”: The Invention of Ratification Referenda." American Political Science Review 109, no. 4 (2015): 803-816.
Electoral Accountability and Class (I)
Acemoglu and Robinson, Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy (selections)
Daniel Ziblatt, “How did Europe Democratize?” World Politics 58 (January 2006): 311-338.
Thomas Cusack, Torben Iversen, and David Soskice, “Coevolution of Capitalism and Political Representation: The Choice of Electoral Systems,” American Political Science Review 104, no. 2 (May 2010): 393-403.
Electoral Accountability and Class (II)
Wendy Brown. 2015. Undoing the Demos. New York: Zone Books, 17-45.
Peter Mair, Ruling the Void: The Hollowing of Western Democracy (Verso 2023: selections)
Electoral Accountability, Public Opinion, and Public Trust
Achen, Christopher H., and Larry M. Bartels. 2017. Democracy for Realists: Why Elections Do Not Produce Responsive Government. Princeton University Press. (selections)
Healy, Andrew, and Neil Malhotra. "Retrospective voting reconsidered." Annual review of political science 16, no. 1 (2013): 285-306.
Pierre Rosanvallon. Counter-Democracy: Politics in an Age of Distrust. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1-28, 104-120.
Referendas and Random Selection
McCormick, John P. Machiavellian democracy. Cambridge University Press, 2011 (selections)
Alexander Guerro, “Against Elections: The Lottocratic Alternative,” Philosophy and Public Affairs 42, no. 2 (Spring 2014): 135-178.
Hubertus Buchstein, “Reviving Randomness for Political Equality: Elements of a Theory of Aleatory Democracy,” Constellations 17, no. 3 (September 2010): 435-454.