Democratic Theory: Michael Laurence

Democratic Theory - Political Science - Oxford Bibliographies 15-05-22 9:32 PM
Democratic Theory
Michael Laurence
LAST MODIFIED: 15 JANUARY 2015

DOI: 10.1093/OBO/9780199756223-0162
Introduction
Democratic theory is an established subfield of political theory that is primarily concerned with examining the definition and meaning of
the concept of democracy, as well as the moral foundations, obligations, challenges, and overall desirability of democratic governance.
Generally speaking, a commitment to democracy as an object of study and deliberation is what unites democratic theorists across a
variety of academic disciplines and methodological orientations. When this commitment takes the form of a discussion of the moral
foundations and desirability of democracy, normative theory results. When theorists concern themselves with the ways in which actual
democracies function, their theories are empirical. Finally, when democratic theorists interrogate or formulate the meaning of the
concept of democracy, their work is conceptual or semantic in orientation. Democratic theories typically operate at multiple levels of
orientation. For example, definitions of democracy as well as normative arguments about when and why democracy is morally desirable
are often rooted in empirical observations concerning the ways in which democracies have actually been known to function. In addition
to a basic commitment to democracy as an object of study, most theorists agree that the concept democracy denotes some form or
process of collective self-rule. The etymology of the word traces back to the Greek terms demos (the people, the many) and kratos (to
rule). Yet beyond this basic meaning, a vast horizon of contestation opens up. Important questions arise: who constitutes the people
and what obligations do individuals have in a democracy? What values are most important for a democracy and which ones make it
desirable or undesirable as a form of government? How is democratic rule to be organized and exercised? What institutions should be
used and how? Once instituted, does democracy require precise social, economic, or cultural conditions to survive in the long term?
And why is it that democratic government is preferable to, say, aristocracy or oligarchy? These questions are not new. In fact,
democratic theory traces its roots back to ancient Greece and the emergence of the first democratic governments in Western history.
Ever since, philosophers, politicians, artists, and citizens have thought and written extensively about democracy. Yet democratic theory
did not arise as an institutionalized academic or intellectual discipline until the 20th century. The works cited here privilege Anglo-
American, western European, and, more generally, institutional variants of democratic theory, and, therefore, they do not exhaust the
full range of thought on the subject.
General Overviews
A number of works have been published that provide overviews of the different historical and contemporary forms of democratic
thought. Written by one of the most renowned democratic theorists in the United States, Dahl 2000 offers a brief and highly readable
introduction to democratic thought that brings together normative and empirical strands of research. Crick 2002 offers another brief and
accessible guide to the various traditions of democratic thought while Cunningham 2002 presents a more comprehensive survey of the
different currents of democratic theory and their historical developments. The text is notable for its discussion of theories of deliberative
democracy and theories of radical pluralism, two of the more recent and popular trends in democratic theory. Held 2006 provides one of
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the most popular overviews of the various models of democracy coupled with a critical account of what democracy means in light of
globalization. Another critical account of the field of contemporary democratic theory is offered by Shapiro 2003, while Keane 2009
provides an historical narrative of sweeping scope that tells the story of democratic governments and ideals as they have developed
and transformed since classical Greece. Dryzek and Dunleavy 2009 focuses on theories of the liberal democratic state while Christiano
2008 provides an introductory exploration of normative democratic thought. Dunn 1992 offers a collection of essays written by leading
political theorists that chart the development and contemporary significance of the idea of democracy.
Christiano, Tom. “Democracy.” In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Edited by Edward N. Zalta. Stanford, CA:
Stanford University, 2008.
An introductory survey of some of the major debates in the field of normative democratic theory. Emphasis is placed on the tasks of
defining democracy, articulating the moral foundations of democracy, and explaining the requirements of democratic citizenship in large
societies.
Crick, Bernard. Democracy: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
A brief guide to the history of the major traditions of democratic thought from ancient Greece to the present. Included are discussions of
some of the major issues surrounding republicanism, populism, democratic citizenship, and the conditions required for the institution of
a democracy.
Cunningham, Frank. Theories of Democracy: A Critical Introduction. London: Routledge, 2002.

Presents a summary of some of the major problems that confront democracies in the real world followed by a comprehensive
discussion of historical and current paradigms of democratic thought.
Dahl, Robert. On Democracy. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2000.
A brief but highly accessible and informative guide to the field of democratic theory written with both scholars and the general public in
mind.
Dryzek, John, and Patrick Dunleavy. Theories of the Democratic State. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.
An overview of the dominant contemporary approaches to understanding the modern liberal democratic state.
Dunn, John, ed. Democracy: The Unfinished Journey: 508 BC to AD 1993. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992.
Consists of a collection of essays that traces the historical development and contemporary significance of the concept of democracy.
The assumption is that to understand contemporary democratic life, we must first grasp the dynamic history and emergence of
democratic ideas and practices.
Held, David. Models of Democracy. 3d ed. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2006.
First published in 1987 and widely adopted as a text of choice for university courses in democracy and governance throughout North
America. Provides an introduction to the central theories of democracy from classical Greece to the present. Places special emphasis
on the challenges that globalization poses for democratic governance.
Keane, John. The Life and Death of Democracy. New York: W. W. Norton, 2009.
A comprehensive and highly accessible historical account of the origins and development of democratic government and ideals.
Shapiro, Ian. The State of Democratic Theory. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2003.
A critical survey of the state of contemporary democratic theory. Brings together the normative literature on democracy with debates
from empirical political science and offers overviews of the literature concerning transitions to democracy, maintaining democracy, and
democracy and distribution.
Journals
Three important journals that contribute to the study of democratic theory and practice are Constellations: An International Journal of
Critical and Democratic Theory, Journal of Democracy, and the Good Society.
Constellations: An International Journal of Critical and Democratic Theory. 1994.

An international peer-reviewed journal that focuses on democratic theory and politics from a critical perspective.
The Good Society. 1991.

Published twice a year by the Committee for the Political Economy of the Good Society (PEGS). Presents a diverse array of articles
that offer a sustained exploration into institutional designs that correspond to democratic values such as liberty and equality.
Journal of Democracy. 1990.

Established in 1990, it served as a vehicle for the resurgence of democratic theory after the collapse of the Soviet Union. One of the
most cited and influential social science journals but does not use a formal peer-review process. Contributors have ranged from Václav
Havel to the Dalai Lama.
Reference Works and Bibliographies
A number of reference works can help the scholar navigate the terrain of democratic theory effectively. For a guide to major concepts in
the field, see Patrick 2006. Diamond and Plattner 2009 offers a collection of the most important essays to appear in the Journal of
Democracy since 1990. An anthology of writings representing the major contemporary strands of democratic theory is provided in
Christiano 2003. For an extensive bibliography that charts the landscape of democratic theory, see O’Donnell 2006.
Christiano, Thomas, ed. Philosophy and Democracy: An Anthology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.
A selection of normative essays concerning the value and limits of democracy written by some of the leading contemporary political
theorists.
Diamond, Larry, and Marc Plattner, eds. Democracy: A Reader. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009.
A collection of influential articles that have appeared in the Journal of Democracy since its inception in 1990. Topics explored include
sustaining democracy, the paradoxes of democracy, social capital and democracy, religion and democracy, democracy and liberty,
democracy as a universal value, and many others.
O’Donnell, Patrick S. “Democratic Theory: A Basic Bibliography.” The Good Society 15.1 (2006): 61–71.
A comprehensive listing of primary and secondary sources concerning Athenian democracy, the history and philosophy of liberalism,
democratic theory and philosophy, and democratic theory in relation to law and economics.
Patrick, John J. Understanding Democracy: A Hip Pocket Guide. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.
Presents in alphabetical order explanations of many of the major concepts in the field of democratic theory. Particularly useful as an
introductory guide for undergraduate students writing research papers in the field.
Political Philosophy and Democratic Thought
Political philosophy consists of philosophical reflection concerning the best ways to organize and carry out collective life. Issues
surrounding the meaning, value, and desirability of democracy have therefore been central to political philosophy since its inception.
The historical roots of both political philosophy and thinking about democracy trace back to at least classical Greece and the writings of
renowned philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle. Democratic theory, however, did not arise as an institutionalized subfield of political
philosophy until the 20th century.
Classical Philosophy and Democracy
In Athens in the late 6th or 5th centuries BCE, the term demokratia was coined to denote the rule of the demos, or the rise to political
authority of the mass of ordinary nonelite males. The practice of popular rule in ancient Athens provided the context in which the likes of
Thucydides, Plato, and Aristotle emerged to prominence. For Ober 1999, Athenian democratic practice had a proleptic effect, spurring
the development of a form of elitist critical discourse that inaugurated the Western tradition of political philosophy. Ober’s argument
stresses that various elite philosophers and writers emerged at this time and devoted considerable critical effort to exposing
democracy’s problematic nature and lack of secure foundations. It is widely accepted in the scholarly community that Plato was
particularly critical of Athenian democracy. Scholars as diverse as Leo Strauss and Karl Popper have sought to explain the precise
nature and reasoning behind his critical positioning. An innovative effort in Rancière 2009 interprets Plato’s hostility toward democracy
as stemming from the recognition that democracy signifies not a type of political regime conducive to order and stability but, rather, the
anarchic and chaotic power of those who have no rightful entitlement to govern. Monoson 2000, on the other hand, contends that Plato
had an ambivalent attitude toward democracy. Plato, the author argues, believed that democracy was both repulsive and fascinating,
troubling and intriguing. Miller 2008 provides a succinct overview of the political thought of Plato’s student, Aristotle, who argued for a
political constitution controlled by the middle class, which Aristotle believed amounted to the rule of reason and moderation. Lintott 1992
argues that while Aristotle was hostile to extreme forms of democracy, he was also influenced positively by certain aspects of
democratic practice in Athens. The writings of Thucydides, Protagoras, and Democritus are covered in Farrar 1989, a work in which the
author seeks to reveal a neglected tradition of democratic thought that has long been hidden beneath the shadows cast by Plato and
Aristotle. Finally, Wood 1991 provides a comprehensive introduction to the political thought of Cicero. Cicero defends a conception of
responsible and limited government, a government that is answerable to the governed despite its control by the propertied class. Wood
1991 contends that Cicero’s thought anticipates and influences the development of modern thought and political practice.
Farrar, Cynthia. The Origins of Democratic Thinking: The Invention of Politics in Classical Athens. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge
University Press, 1989.
Demonstrates the connection between the development of Athenian democracy and the birth of political philosophy. Focuses on the
often neglected writings of Protagoras, Thucydides, and Democritus.
Lintott, Andrew. “Aristotle and Democracy.” Classical Quarterly 42.1 (1992): 114–128.
Offers a close engagement with Aristotle’s writings. Argues that despite hostility toward extreme forms and features of democracy,
Aristotle still believed that all citizens should participate in the government of a city.
Miller, Fred. “Aristotle’s Political Theory.” In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Edited by Edward N. Zalta. Stanford,
CA: Stanford University, 2008.
A general overview of Aristotle’s political thought. Includes a bibliography and glossary of Aristotelian terms.
Monoson, S. Sara. Plato’s Democratic Entanglements: Athenian Politics and the Practice of Philosophy. Princeton, NJ:
Princeton University Press, 2000.
Argues for a rethinking of the relationship between Plato and democracy. Claims Plato was not unequivocally hostile to democracy but,
rather, ambivalent to its practice and ideology.
Ober, Josiah. The Athenian Revolution: Essays on Ancient Greek Democracy and Political Theory. Princeton, NJ: Princeton
An influential collection of essays, written between 1983 and 1993, in which the author discusses the emergence of democracy in
Athens and its consequences for the people who lived through it. Particular emphasis is placed on the forms of political thought that
emerged in the context of Athenian democracy.
Rancière, Jacques. Hatred of Democracy. Translated by Steve Corcoran. London: Verso, 2009.
English translation of La haine de la démocratie first published in 2005 (Paris: La Fabrique). Relevant because it offers an innovative
philosophical account of Plato’s hostility toward democracy and how such hostility has persisted in varied forms ever since.
Wood, Neal. Cicero’s Social and Political Thought. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991.
Argues for the contemporary relevance of Cicero’s social and political thought. Presents Cicero as a theorist of constitutionalism,
whereby all citizens have some voice in common deliberations while, ultimately, the propertied class makes political decisions.
Reference Works
Robinson 2003 provides a definitive survey of ancient translated texts and recent scholarly essays dealing with the most important
issues in ancient Greek democracy.
Robinson, Eric W. ed. Ancient Greek Democracy: Readings and Sources. Oxford: Blackwell, 2003.
An authoritative collection of primary and secondary sources on the origins, development, and nature of ancient Greek democracy.
Organized into six thematic chapters, this highly accessible text will be of use to any student seeking an overview of classical works and
recent interpretive scholarship in the field.
Early Modern Republicanism
Revived in the Early Modern period in Europe, the tradition of Roman republicanism stressed that it was the duty of all citizens in a
political community to actively participate in public affairs. For early modern republicans, the civic and participatory freedom of an
independent and self-governing people was the highest political ideal. Such an ideal, however, was almost never considered by
republicans to be democratic in nature. In fact, at the time, the term democracy carried with it a pejorative meaning, denoting
government in the interest of the poor rather than a government for the common good. Still, early modern republicans prefigured the
rise of modern democratic politics and theory in some important ways. Thinkers such as Marsilius of Padua, Niccolò Machiavelli, and
John Milton rejected monarchical power and argued for popular and participatory forms of government. Skinner 1992 documents the
emergence of republican political thought throughout the newly formed and short-lived Italian city-republics of this period. These city-
republics were remarkable experiments in self-governance, he notes, because they arose against the backdrop of feudal and
monarchical structures of authority, challenging the dominant assumption that the only legitimate form of government was hereditary
and God given. In this context, Marsilius of Padua offered an early theory of popular sovereignty by pronouncing the people or body of
citizens to be the ultimate legislator in any well-ordered community. For a comprehensive engagement with the political thought of
Marsilius of Padua, see Syros 2012. For an overview of the ways in which Machiavelli’s political thought prefigures modern democratic
theory and practice, see McCormick 2011. This text places interpretive emphasis on Machiavelli’s Discourses on Livy, describing the
Florentine as a thinker who supported civic life, fair laws, and the capacity for common people to control elites. In England, John Milton
drew from the writings of Cicero, Aristotle, and Sallust to put forth arguments against monarchy and in favor of a republic. Dzelzainus
1998 provides an overview of the nature of Milton’s republicanism. Skinner 2002 offers a remarkable and far-reaching introduction to
early modern republican political thought that takes the form of a series of essays in intellectual history. Like most traditions of political
thought, early modern republicanism did not exist as a simple unity. Lovett 2010 and Brugger 1999 provide helpful overviews of the
major divergences and continuities that characterize this tradition.
Brugger, Bill. Republican Theory and Political Thought: Virtuous or Virtual? London: Palgrave Macmillan, 1999.
Maps out the emergence and development of republican political theory from the Renaissance to contemporary times. A useful text
because it shows the transformations and continuities of republican thought over time and how such historical trends influence current
debates in political theory.
Dzelzainus, Martin. “Milton’s Classical Republicanism.” In Milton and Republicanism. Edited by David Armitage, Armand
Himy, and Quentin Skinner, 3–24. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
Seeks to uncover the nature of Milton’s republicanism. Argues that Milton derived his republican principles from Aristotle, Sallust, and
Cicero.
Lovett, Frank. “Republicanism.” In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Edited by Edward N. Zalta. Stanford, CA:
Stanford University, 2010.
A useful overview of the development of the Republican tradition of political thought. Provides a map of the various tenets and strands
of republicanism and their relation to one another. Includes a bibliography of further sources for consultation.
McCormick, John P. Machiavellian Democracy. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2011.
Argues for a reassessment of Machiavelli’s political thought. Interprets Machiavelli as supportive of popular rule and participatory
government, as a thinker who was genuinely concerned about how common people might control elites. In this way, Machiavelli’s
writings are deemed instructive for contemporary democratic theorists.
Skinner, Quentin. “The Italian City-Republics.” In Democracy: The Unfinished Journey: 508 BC to AD 1993. Edited by John
Dunn, 57–69. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992.
This influential essay documents the emergence of a distinctive political literature in the context of the city-republics of early modern
Italy. Provides an introduction to the thought of Brunetto Latini, Marsilius of Padua, and Niccolò Machiavelli. It suggests that these
thinkers are highly relevant to modern democratic theory and practice.
Skinner, Quentin. Visions of Politics. Vol. 2, Renaissance Virtues. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
A collection of essays that covers the major political writings to emerge from the Italian Renaissance. Essays include discussions of
republican values and virtues in the time of princes, civic humanism, popular sovereignty, constitutional theory, Machiavelli on liberty,
and the political thought of John Milton.
Syros, Vaileios. Marsilius of Padua at the Intersection of Ancient and Medieval Traditions of Political Thought. Toronto:
University of Toronto Press, 2012.
A comprehensive and sustained engagement with the political thought of Marsilius of Padua. Argues that he invokes a notion of civic
participation evocative of classical Athenian democracy. Marsilius is depicted as anticipating a number of ideas and concepts upon
which the tradition of modern political theory is constructed.
Enlightenment Liberalism
A new era of political thought began in 17th-century Europe. Absolutist forms of power began to dissolve as modern nation-states,
which fostered new cooperative forms of social relations, took shape. These emerging social forms meant that people could have
greater influence upon their governments. New understandings of both the state and the human individual took form. Where once the
political existence of the individual took the form of subjection to a sovereign and indivisible power, it now began to develop in
accordance with the notion of an autonomous and rational individual agency. The emergence of a radical conception of individual
freedom was perhaps the distinctive feature of Enlightenment liberalism. John Locke formulated an innovative conception of civil
society that consisted of free men who were equal under law and bound together only by the obligation to respect each other’s rights.
Locke understood this freedom under law to be grounded in the right to own property. Its expression could not be infringed upon by the
state, monarchical power, or religious institutions. See Thomas 2003 for an accessible guide to Locke’s political thought and Zuckert
2002 for a more advanced consideration of the innovative nature of Locke’s ideas. Thomas Hobbes was also an important figure for the
emergence of Enlightenment liberalism. Despite his argument for an absolute sovereign authority, he stressed that such an authority
could arise only through a founding consensual act. Kavka 1986 offers a comprehensive outline of Hobbes’s system of moral and
political thought that seeks to demonstrate his relevance for contemporary liberal democracies. See Macpherson 2011 for an innovative
account of the roots of the liberal democratic state that places a critical emphasis on Hobbes and Locke. Hobbes and Locke were social
contract theorists, which meant they believed the foundations and legitimacy of political society rested with a contract or agreement
between individuals. Social contract theory anticipated the rise to popularity of liberal democratic ideals, since it placed a clear
emphasis on both individualism and the consent of the governed. For outlines of the history and fundamental features of social contract
theory, see Friend 2004. For a more general overview of the history and tenets of liberalism, see Gray 1995. Ryan 2012 offers an
advanced engagement with the liberal tradition. These sources can help the reader understand how Enlightenment liberalism, with its
emphasis on individualism and consent, helped influence the rise of modern democratic ideals and institutions.
Friend, Celeste. “Social Contract Theory.” In Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Edited by James Fieser and Bradley
Dowden. Martin: University of Tennessee, 2004.
A brief but comprehensive tour through the tradition of social contract theory. Places emphasis on modern variants of the theory but
also discusses critiques of the tradition made by feminists and critical race theorists.
Gray, John. Liberalism. 2d ed. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1995.

A brief and highly accessible overview of the historical development and major principles of the liberal tradition of political thought. An
excellent starting point for any student wishing to gain an understanding of the legacy of Enlightenment liberalism.
Kavka, Gregory S. Hobbesian Moral and Political Theory. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1986.
Provides both a systematic and a comprehensive overview of Hobbes’s thought. Contends that Hobbes’s insights into morals and
politics are profound and should be taken seriously today, provided that some of his arguments are rejected or repaired.
Macpherson, C. B. The Political Theory of Possessive Individualism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011.
An innovative and critical text, well known in the field of political theory, that seeks to shed light on the roots of liberal democratic theory
by means of an analysis of the political theories and practices of 17th-century England. Hobbes and Locke are of central focus.
Ryan, Alan. The Making of Modern Liberalism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2012.
Consists of a series of essays that deal with the origins and nature of liberalism. The second part of the book places emphasis on
enlightenment liberalism and the writings of Hobbes and Locke. Will be of use for students and faculty looking for a sustained and
informative engagement with the liberal tradition.
Thomas, David Lloyd. Routledge Philosophy Guidebook to Locke on Government. London: Routledge, 2003.
Especially valuable for students who are reading Locke for the first time. Focuses on the Second Treatise of Government and offers
carefully elucidated explanations of Locke’s contractarianism, his notion of rebellion, his conception of property, and his legacy for
modern politics.
Zuckert, Michael P. Launching Liberalism: On Lockean Political Philosophy. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2002.
Considers the nature of Locke’s developments in political thought. Argues that Locke’s innovations were both radically new and
connected with earlier philosophical traditions. Demonstrates Locke’s continued relevance for contemporary political theory and
practice.
Enlightenment Republicanism
The most distinctive feature of Enlightenment republicanism was the development and expression of the idea of popular sovereignty.
This idea, that sovereignty originates and should remain with the people, took shape as an enhancement of earlier republican values of
the common good, civic participation, and civic virtue. In this regard, Enlightenment republicans carried forth the political values of their
predecessors. Yet they developed these values further and often in new ways, contributing, along with Enlightenment liberals, in
articulating a forceful intellectual challenge to absolutist forms of government that, in turn, helped to foster the democratic revolutions of
the late 18th century. While Enlightenment republicanism shared a common critical spirit with Enlightenment liberalism, the two
traditions were, in reality, quite distinct. Generally speaking, Enlightenment republicans privileged the sovereignty of the people over the
sovereignty of the individual, perceiving individual freedom as rooted in the common good. Enlightenment liberals, on the other hand,
tended to privilege individualism and the protection of individual rights over popular sovereignty. The question of how popular
sovereignty would function in large nation-states proved to be one of the central issues for Enlightenment republicans. Jean-Jacques
Rousseau and Baron de Montesquieu provided two of the most influential answers to this question. Rousseau’s conception of the
general will exemplifies his commitment to the common good over the interests and preferences of private individuals. For him the
general will is not reducible to the aggregation of private individual preferences but is instead, equivalent to the will of all citizens only if
they identify themselves with the good of the community. For a basic overview of Rousseau’s political thought, see Bertram 2010. For a
more in-depth consideration of the concept of the general will, see Cohen 2010. Shklar 2009 offers a reading of Rousseau’s political
concepts in relation to the contexts against which he forged them. Montesquieu’s place in the republican tradition is more contentious.
While he greatly admired the classical polis for the degree to which it embodied active citizenship and dedication to the political
community, he also understood that in large states such a high degree of civic engagement was impossible. The challenge for
Montesquieu was to reconcile the good of the community with the free pursuit of private interests. He proposed an institutional means
to do so, namely the separation of the powers of the executive, legislature, and judiciary. See Bok 2010 for a concise and accessible
overview of Montesquieu’s political thought. See Pettit 1999 for a more general outline of the development of the republican conception
of freedom as nondomination.
Bertram, Christopher. “Jean Jacques Rousseau.” In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Edited by N. Zalta. Stanford,
CA: Stanford University, 2010.
A useful guide to Rousseau’s writings that places particular emphasis on the ambiguities surrounding the idea of the general will.
Bok, Hilary. “Baron de Montesquieu, Charles-Louis de Secondat.” In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Edited by N.
Zalta. Stanford, CA: Stanford University, 2010.
Contains a concise interpretive guide to Montesquieu’s The Spirit of the Laws. Places emphasis on his analysis of the different forms of
government, his opposition to absolutist government, and his understanding of liberty.
Cohen, Joshua. Rousseau: A Free Community of Equals. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010.
An in-depth analysis of Rousseau’s concept of the general will. Explains how Rousseau is able to reconcile the practice of autonomy
with the acceptance of a common authority and posits the possibility of living in a free community of equals.
Pettit, Philip. Republicanism: A Theory of Freedom and Government. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Surveys the historical development of republican thought in order to reclaim a conception of freedom as nondomination for
contemporary democratic theory and practice. Particular emphasis is placed on the conceptual resources provided by English and
American political thinkers from the 17th century onward.
Shklar, Judith N. Men and Citizens: A Study of Rousseau’s Social Theory. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
First published in 1969. Widely regarded as one of the most important studies on Rousseau. Argues that Rousseau is the last of the
classical utopists and provides a reading of his political concepts such as popular sovereignty and the general will as personifying
metaphors meant to show how corrupt existing societies were.
The Democratic Revolutions
The revolutions in America and France in the late 18th century signaled the beginning of a democratic age in the West. Common to
both events was a process of rapid democratization, whereby political power and political rights were extended to large sections of
populations that were previously excluded from such influence. In both cases, democratic ideas, which had previously been the mere
aspirations and dreams of political radicals, were suddenly thrust into the domain of mainstream politics. Popular power became a
concrete political force. Yet the realities of revolution and democratization looked quite different in each country. According to Wood
1992, America became the modern world’s first truly democratic society and government. Sheehan 2009 examines the republican and
democratic thought of James Madison, who was one of the principal architects and defenders of this new form of American democracy.
Along with Thomas Jefferson, Madison believed strongly in the republican principle that governmental power ultimately belongs to the
governed. This belief, and the image of America as a free and egalitarian society, is expressed in the US Declaration of Independence
of 1776. Across the Atlantic, the French Revolution brought about the sudden collapse of the monarchy of the Old Regime. According
to Fontana 1992, the first and central principle proclaimed by the revolution in 1789 was that of popular sovereignty. The Déclaration
des droits de l’homme et du citoyen de 1789 conferred upon this principle a sacredness previously attributed only to the monarchy.
Balibar 1991 offers an innovative reading of this document in terms of the way it proclaimed the arrival of a new conception of the
individual, the citizen, who was considered free and autonomous, and no longer subject to socioeconomic or political forms of
exploitation. This notion of the citizen as nonsubject provided a conceptual grounding for the establishment and advancement of
democratic ideals and institutions. See Palmer 1980 and Israel 2010 for more wide-ranging discussions concerning the role of
democratic ideas and how such ideas acted historically as forces to bring forth the revolutions in society and government that occurred
in America and France.
Balibar, Etienne. “Citizen Subject.” In Who Comes after the Subject? Edited by Eduardo Cadava, Peter Connor, and Jean-Luc
Nancy, 33–57. New York: Routledge, 1991.
Argues that the declaration of 1789 marked the historical inauguration of the concept of the free and autonomous citizen. This
influenced the emergence of modern democracies that defined themselves in terms of liberty and equality. Yet the political rights
enjoyed by this emancipated subject were, necessarily, determined by the state.
Déclaration des droits de l’homme et du citoyen de 1789. Paris: Ministère de la Justice, 2001.
The full and original text of the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789. For an English translation of the full
text, visit Yale Law School’s Avalon Project online.
Declaration of Independence. The Charters of Freedom. Washington, DC: US National Archives and Records Administration.
Features authentic images and transcriptions of major American historical documents, such as the Declaration of Independence, the
Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.
Fontana, Biancamaria. “Democracy and the French Revolution.” In Democracy: The Unfinished Journey: 508 BC to AD 1993.
Edited by John Dunn, 107–124. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992.
Argues that the ideal of “direct democracy” was prominent during the French Revolution. The revolutionaries were inspired by models of
government that placed emphasis on collective values and civic virtues, the constant participation of citizens in governmental decisions,
and a patriotic dedication to serve and defend the nation.
Israel, Jonathan. A Revolution of the Mind: Radical Enlightenment and the Intellectual Origins of Modern Democracy.
Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2010.
Identifies the intellectual origins of modern democracy with the radical Enlightenment, placing emphasis on the role of philosophical
ideas as forces for social and political transformation. Israel argues that the democratic revolution in thought led to the revolutions in
society and government.
Palmer, R. R. Age of the Democratic Revolution. Vol. 1, The Challenge. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1980.
Originally published in 1959. Maps the modern emergence of the ideas of democracy and equality in the West and interprets the
revolutions in America and France as the result of a collision between these ideas and the forces of aristocratic societies.
Sheehan, Colleen A. James Madison and the Spirit of Republican Self-Government. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University
Press, 2009.
Contends that James Madison was strongly influenced by the ideas of civic virtue and republican self-government during America’s
founding period.
Wood, Gordon S. “Democracy and the American Revolution.” In Democracy: The Unfinished Journey: 508 BC to AD 1993.
Argues that the American revolutionary leaders initially had a republican conception of political leadership. Yet this republicanism,
argues Wood, contained the seeds of its own transformation into democracy. Ordinary people, he contends, seized upon the republican
notion of equality and showed that they wanted government by continual and explicit consent.
Post-Revolutionary Democratic Thought
In the 19th century, Alexis de Tocqueville noted that democracy was advancing throughout the world like a rising tide. Generally
speaking, by mid-century, many observers were struck by democratic trends that appeared to be unstoppable. As societies evolved
democratically, political forms followed, as if a great and universal democratic revolution was at work. Yet alongside this movement
toward democracy, a sophisticated theoretical critique of democratic ideals and institutions developed. This critique was influenced by
concrete events such as the reign of terror that erupted in France after the revolution and Napoleon’s subsequent dictatorship and
imperial actions throughout Europe. Even supporters of democracy found themselves in a precarious position that required
explanations of what had gone wrong and what could be done to protect and preserve democratic values and institutions in the future.
For a brief overview of these historical and theoretical developments, see Maier 1992. The most famous of the 19th-century political
theorists to discuss democracy was Alexis de Tocqueville. His book, Democracy in America, has been called by some the most
important study of democratic values ever written. According to Wolin 2001, Tocqueville was the first political theorist to make
democracy the central focus of his theory. For a brief and accessible introduction to the democratic thought of Tocqueville, see Welch
2001. For a more in-depth analysis of Tocqueville’s paradoxical valuation of democracy as both natural to and potentially destructive of
human nature, refer to Manent 1996. Rahe 2009 considers the process of democratic drift toward soft despotism as articulated in the
writings of Tocqueville. John Stuart Mill was another important 19th-century theorist of democracy. While widely known for his role in
the development of liberal political theory, Mill also stressed the value of active political participation. Furthermore, like Tocqueville, he
warned of the dangers of a tyrannical majority. See Urbinati 2002 for an analysis of the ways in which Mill’s work contributes to
democratic theory, especially of the deliberative sort. The place of democracy in the writings of Karl Marx is much more contentious.
While some commentators have interpreted the role of democracy in the thought of Marx as subsidiary, Abensour 2011 focuses on the
concept of “true democracy,” which, the author argues, was used by Marx to denote the disappearance of the political state as an
organizational entity and the development of a sphere of permanent struggle by the demos.
Abensour, Miquel. Democracy against the State: Marx and the Machiavellian Moment. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2011.
Focuses on Karl Marx’s concept of “true democracy.” Abensour argues that this concept does not refer to the economic or political
power of the state but to the disappearance of the political state as an organizing form and the invention by the demos of a public
sphere characterized by permanent struggle.
Maier, Charles S. “Democracy since the French Revolution.” In Democracy: The Unfinished Journey: 508 BC to AD 1993.
A historical overview of the development of democratic ideas and practices since the French Revolution. Places emphasis on
democratic trends in society and politics and provides brief overviews of the ideas of John Stuart Mill and Alexis de Tocqueville.
Manent, Pierre. Tocqueville and the Nature of Democracy. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 1996.
First published in 1993 as Tocqueville et la nature de la démocratie (Paris: Fayard). Interprets Tocqueville as a thinker who realized,
paradoxically, that democracy was both natural to human nature and potentially destructive of it if not moderated.
Rahe, Paul Anthony. Soft Despotism, Democracy’s Drift: Montesquieu, Rousseau, Tocqueville, and the Modern Prospect. New
Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2009.
Relevant for its reading of Tocqueville as a political thinker who foresaw modern democracy’s propensity to drift toward a condition of
soft despotism, whereby an immense protective power or central government would come to regulate all aspects of the lives of citizens,
keeping individuals in a state of perpetual childhood.
Urbinati, Nadia. Mill on Democracy: From the Athenian Polis to Representative Government. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 2002.
Examines John Stuart Mill’s unique and often misunderstood contribution to democratic theory. Argues that rather than seeking to
restrain democracy, the thought of Mill should be understood as deliberative in focus and capable of enriching contemporary
democratic procedures, ethos, and practices.
Welch, Cheryl. De Tocqueville. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.

An accessible introduction to the development of Tocqueville’s democratic thought. Examines Tocqueville’s writings concerning
American and French democracy.
Wolin, Sheldon. Tocqueville between Two Worlds: The Making of a Political and Theoretical Life. Princeton, NJ: Princeton
Examines how Tocqueville conceptualized democracy as a political and theoretical project. Contends that Tocqueville’s Democracy in
America marks the first time democracy served as the central focus of a political theory.
Contemporary Democratic Theory
Democratic theory became an institutionalized subfield of political theory in the 20th century. A number of different normative and
empirical approaches emerged within this institutionalized setting, most of which are rooted in the traditions of classical, liberal, and
republican political thought. By the end of the 20th century, a growing dissatisfaction with these dominant theoretical traditions led to the
proliferation of a series of innovative and critical approaches to democratic theory. Among these approaches are the paradigms of
deliberative democracy, radical democracy, and theories of global democracy. Feminist theories of democracy have also contributed to
the ongoing reevaluation of democratic theory. Two excellent overviews of this evolving landscape of contemporary democratic theory
are Shapiro 2003 and Cunningham 2002.
Cunningham, Frank. Theories of Democracy: A Critical Introduction. London: Routledge, 2002.

Presents a summary of some of the major problems that confront democracies in the real world followed by a comprehensive
discussion of historical and current paradigms of democratic thought.
Shapiro, Ian. The State of Democratic Theory. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2003.
A critical survey of the state of contemporary democratic theory. Brings together the normative literature on democracy with debates
from empirical political science and offers overviews of the literature concerning transitions to democracy, maintaining democracy, and
democracy and distribution.
Empirical Democratic Theory
The scientific task of explaining the causes and conditions for the emergence and consolidation of democratic institutions and regimes
rests with empirical democratic theory. In other words, empirical democratic theory is concerned with how democracy emerges, exists,
persists, and devolves in the real world. It formulates knowledge using the scientific method and aims to understand the institutional
structures and processes of democratic government in their concrete manifestations. Empirical theorists might study electoral practices,
forms of representation, the success or failure of democratic consolidation, the influence of civil society upon government, the influence
of nongovernmental groups, or any other process or aspect of democracy in the real world. Accordingly, empirical democratic theory is
a vast and growing subfield of political theory. Much of the scholarly literature within it operates under the heading “democratization.”
The general aim of democratization scholarship is to identify the causes and conditions for the emergence and persistence of
democratic institutions and regimes. For a concise guide to this literature, see Samuels 2011. Tilly 2007 offers a more advanced study
of the dynamic and unending processes of democratization and de-democratization, while Diamond 2009 provides an in-depth
overview of the literature coupled with an innovative analysis of structural and international factors leading to democratization
worldwide. One of the most influential texts in empirical democratic theory is Huntington 1993, which examines the causes and
consequences of the “wave” of transitions to democracy that occurred near the end of the 20th century. For a comparative empirical
analysis of the performance of democracies in thirty-six democracies, see Lijphart 2012. Dahl 1991 and Shapiro 2011, on the other
hand, offer exemplary examples of how normative democratic theory can and should be grounded in empirical observations of working
democratic institutions and regimes.
Dahl, Robert A. Democracy and Its Critics. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1991.
Initially published in 1989, this influential book concerns itself not only with the normative question of whether or not democracy is
desirable, but also with equally necessary questions concerning the limits and possibilities of democracy in the real world. In his pursuit
of democracy, Dahl exposes democratic theory as a complex and interconnected web of knowledge that is both normative and
empirical as well as historical and utopian.
Diamond, Larry. The Spirit of Democracy: The Struggle to Build Free Societies throughout the World. New York: Holt, 2009.
Aims to identify the historical and structural barriers to democracy throughout the world as well as the conditions for maintaining and
making democratic governments work. Underlying his empirical analysis is the normative argument that the whole world can become
democratic and that democracy is something of a universal value.
Huntington, Samuel P. The Third Wave. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1993.
A classic text of empirical political science that explains how, why, and to what effect some thirty countries across the world made the
transition from nondemocratic to democratic forms of government between 1974 and 1990. Huntington also offers practical advice for
carrying out democratic reform.
Lijphart, Arend. Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries. New Haven, CT: Yale
First published in 1999, this influential text examines the performance of thirty-six democracies over a period of sixty-five years. Lijphart
identifies majoritarian democracy and consensus democracy as two competing democratic forms and advocates for the latter.
Samuels, David. “Democratization.” In Oxford Bibliographies Online in Political Science. New York: Oxford University Press,
2011.
Offers a concise and accessible overview of the current state of scholarship on democratization. Some of the themes explored include
definitions of democracy, measuring democracy, transitions to democracy, democratic consolidation, economic growth, and class
conflict. Available online by subscription.
Shapiro, Ian. The Real World of Democratic Theory. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2011.
Examines the dynamic and evolving nature of democratic regimes over the previous two decades, wedding empirical analysis to a
normative vision of democracy as a tool for resisting domination.
Tilly, Charles. Democracy. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2007.

Concerned with how democratization and de-democratization take place in the real world. Understands democratization as a dynamic
and always incomplete process that is perpetually at risk of reversal.
Competitive Elitism
Competitive elitists conceive of democracy as consisting of the competition between political elites for the right to rule. In this way,
democracy is restrictively defined, requiring only a minimal degree of participation on the part of citizens. The specific role of the
electorate is deemed to concern the selection of decision makers and the restraining of their excesses by means of periodic voting. In
this way democracy is envisioned as having little to do with principles or practices of popular sovereignty and self-rule, since voters and
politicians are assumed and required to maintain separate roles. This school of thought was most popular at the beginning of the 20th
century. Two major theorists in its historical development are Max Weber and Joseph Schumpeter. For an in-depth overview of the
place and meaning of democracy in the thought of Weber, see Maley 2011. Breiner 1996 is a unique study since it engages with
Weber’s critique of participatory forms of democracy while maintaining a commitment to such forms. Medearis 2001, on the other hand,
explicates and engages with Schumpeter’s elitist theory of democracy while also recognizing democracy’s transformative potential. For
Schumpeter, such potential must be restrained and controlled. In addition to Weber and Schumpeter, Mosca 1939 and Michels 1968
offer influential statements of elitist theory that argue for the impossibility of democratic governance. For an important critical analysis of
the elitist structure of American politics and society, see Mills 2000.
Breiner, Peter. Max Weber and Democratic Politics. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1996.
Takes Weber’s realism and critique of direct forms of democracy seriously while seeking to articulate what participatory democratic
theory and practice can become in relation to Weber’s thought.
Maley, Terry. Democracy and the Political in Max Weber’s Thought. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2011.
Offers a reading of Weber’s democratic theory that places emphasis on his relevance for contemporary democratic theorists and
sociologists. Argues that Weber’s notion of democracy was a pragmatic and leadership-oriented model that had little participatory
depth.
Medearis, John. Joseph Schumpeter’s Two Theories of Democracy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2001.
Argues that Schumpeter offers two theories of democracy. His first and most well-known theory identifies democracy with competition
among elites. His second envisioned it as a transformative tendency leading toward democratic socialism. In this way, his first theory is
meant to restrain and control the nature of transformative change.
Michels, Robert. Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy. New York: Free
Press, 1968.
First published in German in 1911, this influential text argues that leadership is a necessary phenomenon of social life and that every
system of leadership is incompatible with the fundamental tenets of democracy. This is why the existence of oligarchy is a historical
necessity and sociological law for Michels.
Mills, C. Wright. The Power Elite. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
First published in 1956, this book offers a critical analysis of the structure of the elite class and its institutions in American society. It
interprets the power situation in America as a graded and durable arrangement. In doing so, Mills demonstrates how power is ultimately
concentrated outside of democratic processes.
Mosca, Gaetano. The Ruling Class. Translated by Hannah D. Kahn. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1939.
First published in Italian in 1895, this important text set the stage for the development of elitist thought. Its aim is the refutation of the
notion that popular sovereignty can or even ought to exist. Mosca argues that in all political organisms the existence of an organized
ruling political class that dominates a majority is inevitable.
Interest-Group Pluralism
Interest-group pluralism was a dominant feature of North American political science in the 1950s and 1960s. It continues to exercise
considerable influence in the discipline today. This paradigm places emphasis on the conflict that occurs between interest groups in a
society and how such groups struggle for power and influence in an effort to maximize the satisfaction of their interests. In other words,
instead of focusing on individuals as the primary unit of study in a democracy, competitive pluralists focus on interest groups, which are
usually defined as any group of persons organized to pursue shared interests. These groups might include trade unions, community
associations, and religious bodies as well as many other forms. The presence of diverse and competitive interests is considered to be a
structural source of stability for democracy. The roots of competitive pluralism can be traced to James Madison’s observation that
factional conflict is inevitable in a society and that the main goal of democratic politics is to maintain a condition of peace and stability
amidst such conflict. This focus on peace and stability amidst conflict means that competitive pluralists do not seek to articulate or enact
the common good nor do they place much emphasis on sustained participation of individuals in the public sphere. See Dahl 1972 and
Dahl 2006 for the classic theory of polyarchal democracy that places emphasis on inclusiveness and public contestation. Lipset 1981
also notes the centrality of conflict for democratic vitality. Truman 1959 explains further how the diversity of factions and overlapping
memberships between them produce the required stability to prevent the emergence of a tyrannous majority.
Dahl, Robert. Polyarchy: Participation and Opposition. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1972.
Deals with the conditions under which polyarchal democracies can develop and exist. Focuses on two dimensions: inclusiveness (the
right to participate) and public contestation.
Dahl, Robert. A Preface to Democratic Theory. Exp. ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006.
A classic text in the field. First published in 1956, it attempts to identify the major deficiencies of the Madisonian and populist schools of
democratic theory. In their place, Dahl offers what he believes to be a more realistic and coherent theory of polyarchal democracy.
Lipset, Seymour Martin. Political Man: The Social Bases of Politics. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1981.
Expanded edition. A collection of essays that serves as an analysis of the conditions that support the emergence and survival of
democracy. Argues that democracy necessitates institutions that support conflict and disagreement as well as ones that sustain
consensus.
Truman, David B. The Governmental Process: Political Interests and Public Opinion. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1959.
A classic text of competitive pluralism. Argues that interest groups are an essential part of modern society and that they are beneficial
for democracy under the right conditions.
Contemporary Liberal Democracy
Liberal democratic theorists tend to agree in their support for a system of representative democracy whereby political representatives
are elected through formal procedures. They also place strong emphasis on the protection of political and civil liberties as well as the
preservation of a private sphere defined by freedom from state interference. Contemporary liberal democratic theory has a long
heritage, tracing back to early liberal theorists such as John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, and John Stuart Mill. See Ryan 2012 for an
excellent overview of the origins and development of liberal theory as well as its more recent growth with thinkers such as Isaiah Berlin
and John Rawls. Indeed, contemporary liberal approaches to democratic governance emerged to prominence in the wake of Rawls’s
publication of A Theory of Justice (Rawls 1999). This innovative text reoriented and revitalized the entire liberal tradition of political
theory by steering it away from a utilitarian framework and grounding it in a Kantian framework of rights that placed emphasis on
egalitarian, individualist, and contractualist principles. Rawls believed that a constitutional democracy rooted in such principles could
produce justice. See Richardson 2005 for an accessible overview of the political thought of Rawls. See Wolterstorff 2012 for an
alternative to Rawls that focuses on a commitment to equal political voice for all citizens. Also, Holmes 1995 provides an analysis of the
liberal idea and demonstrates how the basic principles of liberalism provide an effective foundation for democracy. Overall, liberal
democratic theory is the dominant mode of democratic theory today. Beyond a common core of principles and assumptions, many
different variants of liberal democratic thought exist. The sources listed here are meant as an introduction to these variants and by no
means exhaust this rich and evolving field.
Holmes, Stephen. Passions and Constraint: On the Theory of Liberal Democracy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995.
Takes issue with the thesis that liberalism is necessarily opposed or antagonistic toward democracy. Argues instead that liberalism’s
fundamental principles provide a reasonable and convincing basis for democracy.
Rawls, John. A Theory of Justice. Rev. ed. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1999.
Originally published in 1971, this is one of the most influential works of modern political theory. It is perhaps the definitive statement of
liberal democracy, providing a grounding of the liberal democratic tradition in the notion of justice as fairness.
Richardson, Henry S. “John Rawls.” In Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Edited by James Fieser and Bradley Dowden.
Martin: University of Tennessee, 2005.
A useful starting point and guide to the political theory of Rawls. Places particular emphasis on A Theory of Justice.
Ryan, Alan. The Making of Modern Liberalism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2012.
Consists of a series of essays that deal with the origins and nature of liberalism. Places emphasis on key liberal themes such as
freedom, individual rights, and toleration. Will be of use for students and faculty looking for a sustained and informative engagement
with the liberal tradition.
Wolterstorff, Nicholas. Understanding Liberal Democracy: Essays in Political Philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2012.
Proposes to define the governing idea of liberal democracy not as a commitment to public reason but as a commitment to the equal
right of citizens to full political voice within the context of a constitution and legal order that places limits and guarantees on government
and protects citizens against any obstruction of their right to full voice.
Communitarianism
In the 1980s and 1990s, communitarian modes of democratic theory emerged and launched a coordinated critique of liberalism’s
individualist framework. Sandel 1996 argues that the political culture and practice of liberal individualism resulted in an impoverished
vision of community and citizenship. America, the author believed, had lost its civic ethos and its citizens lacked the bonds that ought to
be formed over a shared commitment to the common good. Sandel argues that when concerns about what is morally good are
consigned to the private sphere, the democratic capacity for self-government disintegrates. In this regard, the contemporary
communitarian imaginary is rooted in the history of republican political thought and its concerns over the vitality of civic culture and
values. Communitarians also take a particular interest in exposing the fallacy of the liberal notion of the self as autonomous and
unencumbered. Sandel argues that to define the self as existing prior to its ends is to ignore the communal and social ties that define it.
Put simply, individualists give priority to the self over its aims, while communitarians reverse this logic and consider aims, values, and
relations first. For a concise survey of the battlefield between individualists and communitarians, see Avineri and De-Shalit 1992. Etzioni
1995 offers a series of essays that explore this debate in relation to concrete social and political issues. Selznick 2002, on the other
hand, seeks to bridge the gap, arguing for a more responsible communitarian liberalism. Taylor 2003 offers an account of the
ontological basis of communitarian theory, defending it against liberal thinkers that the author believes to be ontologically disinterested
due to their emphasis on procedure over the common good. The main argument of Taylor’s article, however, is that liberalism is
compatible with a holistic ontology.
Avineri, Schlomo, and Avner De-Shalit, ed. Communitarianism and Individualism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992.
A collection of essays that explores and examines the multiple articulations of the ongoing debate between communitarians and
individualists. Features texts by some of the most influential contemporary political theorists: Michael Sandel, Charles Taylor, Alasdair
MacIntyre, Michael Walzer, Robert Nozick, Will Kymlicka, John Rawls, and Ronald Dworkin.
Etzioni, Amitai, ed. New Communitarian Thinking: Persons, Virtues, Institutions, and Communities. Charlottesville: University
of Virginia Press, 1995.
A collection of essays that explores the debate between communitarians and individualists in relation to a number of contentious social
and political issues such as abortion, free speech, homosexuality, and personal autonomy.
Sandel, Michael J. Democracy’s Discontent: America in Search of a Public Philosophy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press, 1996.
Argues that American politics suffers from an impoverished vision of community and citizenship. Provides a defense of a communitarian
vision of liberty rooted in civic values and practices of participation and self-government.
Selznick, Philip. The Communitarian Persuasion. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002.
Contends that today’s liberal ethos is troubled in the sense that it has lost its bearings in relation to the requirements of community life.
Argues for a more responsible form of liberalism, a communitarian liberalism.
Taylor, Charles. “Cross-Purposes: The Liberal Communitarian Debate.” In Debates in Contemporary Political Philosophy: An
Anthology. Edited by Derek Matravers and Jonathan E. Pike, 195–212. New York: Routledge, 2003.
Examines the debate between communitarians and liberals in terms of ontology and challenges common understandings of this debate
by showing that procedural liberalism is compatible with a holistic ontology, despite the fact that many liberals refuse to hear critiques
from their communitarian counterparts.
Democracy and Capitalism
The relationship between democracy and capitalism is a major area of focus for many contemporary democratic theorists. Observers
have often noted the historical association and development of industrial and market forms of capitalism with liberal democratic forms of
government. Macpherson 2012 deals with this development and documents how liberal democratic political processes, institutions, and
ideas often justify and serve capitalist interests. The author sees this as problematic and argues for a resuscitation of liberal democratic
values and practices in a way that would emphasize the freedom of all members of a society to realize their capacities. Carens 1993
offers a series of essays that explore Macpherson’s work and legacy in this regard. Wolin 2010, on the other hand, examines the
contemporary political landscape of America and argues that democracy has been transformed into a new political hybrid characterized
by the amalgamation of corporate and state power at the expense of the demos. For a similar but Marxist-inspired approach to the
concepts and practices of democracy and capitalism, see Wood 1995. See Dryzek 1996 for an approach that focuses on how
government and market forces promote a form of individualism that encourages people to compete with one another as profit-
maximizers and consumers rather than associate with one another as fellow citizens. While much of the literature that seeks to examine
the relationship between capitalism and democracy is critical of capitalist forces and relations, this does not exhaust the field.
Carens, Joseph H., ed. Democracy and Possessive Individualism: The Intellectual Legacy of C. B. Macpherson. Albany: State
University of New York Press, 1993.
A collection of essays that deals with the relationship among capitalism, liberalism, and democracy. Inspired by the need to move
beyond the possessive individualist lens of liberal political theory, these essays consider how a richer, deeper understanding and
practice of democracy can be retrieved and achieved.
Dryzek, John S. Democracy in Capitalist Times: Ideals, Limits, and Struggles. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996.
Examines some of the ways in which transnational capitalism threatens democratic values and practices. Considers the various ways in
which democracy can be defended and deepened despite such a threat.
Macpherson, C. B. The Life and Times of Liberal Democracy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.
Claims that from its inception liberal democracy has been tied to the principles and operations of capitalist societies, and for it to survive
and retain any usefulness, liberal democracy must acquire the broader meaning of a society that seeks to guarantee that all of its
members are equally free to realize their capabilities.
Wolin, Sheldon. Democracy Incorporated: Managed Democracy and the Specter of Inverted Totalitarianism. Princeton, NJ:
Argues that in America, democracy has been demoted to a largely rhetorical function as corporate and state power have formed a
union at the expense of the demos.
Wood, Ellen Meiksins. Democracy against Capitalism: Renewing Historical Materialism. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University
Press, 1995.
Examines the relation between the concepts of democracy and capitalism and contends that the Marxist project of a critique of
capitalism is more relevant now than ever.
Civil Society and Democracy
A resurgence of pluralist theories of democracy occurred in the 1990s but with an emphasis placed on civil society and voluntary
associations instead of interest groups or elites. The general argument offered by such associative or associational democrats is that
strengthening local, voluntary, and self-governing institutions invigorates democracy. The question of how such associations do this is
at times unclear. The classic text in this tradition is Almond and Verba 1989, which argues for the importance of political culture for
democratic stability. Putnam 1993 places emphasis on apolitical associations for their capacity to build coordinated networks of trust
and shared values, which the author terms social capital. For him, voluntary associations make democracy work better since they help
to hold society together through such networks. Cohen and Rogers 1995 offers a concrete proposal concerning how to strengthen such
associations whereas Elliott 2006 and Ehrenberg 1999 focus attention on exploring the histories and meanings of the concept of civil
society in relation to democracy.
Almond, Gabriel A., and Sidney Verba. The Civic Culture: Political Attitudes and Democracy in Five Nations. Newbury Park,
CA: SAGE, 1989.
First published in 1963. A pioneering work on political culture. Argues that democratic stability requires a complementary political
culture that connects the micro and macro, linking individuals to the state.
Cohen, Joshua, and Joel Rogers, eds. Associations and Democracy. Real Utopias Project 1. London: Verso, 1995.
Argues that democracy can be rejuvenated by means of secondary associations that mediate between citizens and the state.
Ehrenberg, John R. Civil Society: The Critical History of an Idea. New York: New York University Press, 1999.
Traces the history and development of the concept of civil society from ancient Greece to the end of the 20th century. Chapter nine
considers the relationship between civil society and democratic politics.
Elliott, Carolyn M. Civil Society and Democracy: A Reader. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.
A collection of essays by renowned political thinkers that considers both the concept of civil society and the ways in which civil societies
work in a concrete sense.
Putnam, Robert D. Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1993.
A classic text in political science and democratic theory. Argues that patterns of associationism, trust, and cooperation that make up
civic communities are important for developing stable and effective democratic institutions.
Deliberative Democracy
Deliberative democracy is the idea that legitimate government policy and action must result from the public deliberation of citizens. It is
a normative vision of collective autonomy rooted in citizens’ capacity for practical reason. In this way, the ideal of deliberative
democracy is highly participatory. It offers a version of democracy that is demanding since it requires more than just voting or tallying up
preferences. Furthermore, deliberative democrats argue that politics is about more than just self-interest, competition, and aggregative
mechanisms. Politics, the argument goes, is a public activity that cannot be reduced to the private choices of market consumers. It
involves reasoned deliberation over specific issues as well as over the very rules of the deliberative procedure itself. It involves the
willingness to question and change one’s own preferences and values during the deliberative process. It also involves encouraging
citizens to seek consensus over common goods. For a concise overview of the deliberative turn and its implications for democratic
theory, see Dryzek 2002. Barber 1984 offers an early and influential theory of citizen deliberation that the author calls “strong
democracy.” Pateman 1999 is also considered to be a precursor to the deliberative school while Bohman and Rehg 2011 examines the
writings of one of its most influential practitioners, Jürgen Habermas. Habermas offers a theory of deliberative democracy that is
communicative in emphasis. His conception of democracy interprets it as a free, open-ended, and reflective communicative practice
whereby citizens reason over common affairs. Gutmann and Thompson 1998 provides a unique theory of deliberation that
accommodates moral disagreement without eliminating it, whereas Young 2002 examines the ways in which deliberative processes
marginalize some persons and how such exclusions can be avoided.
Barber, Benjamin. Strong Democracy: Participatory Politics for a New Age. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984.
A classic text that presents a theory of “strong democracy” as a way of living grounded in citizen deliberation and common action. The
aim of deliberation, for Barber, is to form a common will.
Bohman, James, and William Rehg. “Jürgen Habermas.” In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Edited by Edward N.
Zalta. Stanford, CA: Stanford University, 2011.
An accessible and detailed overview of the political and communicative philosophies of Jürgen Habermas. Includes primary and
secondary bibliographies.
Dryzek, John S. Deliberative Democracy and Beyond: Liberals, Critics, Contestations. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Contends that deliberative democratic theory is now the most dominant approach in the field of democratic theory. Discusses the
deliberative turn and argues that it began as a challenge to established institutions and theories of democracy but has since been
assimilated by these same institutions and theories.
Gutmann, Amy, and Dennis F. Thompson. Democracy and Disagreement. Cambridge, MA: Belknap, 1998.
One of the most influential scholarly texts on the topic of deliberative democracy. The authors propose a conception of deliberation
whereby moral disagreement is minimized rather than eliminated entirely from politics.
Pateman, Carole. Participation and Democratic Theory. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
First published in 1970. Argues that democracy should not be understood as a set of institutional arrangements or as a process of
competition among elites. Argues for a participatory theory of democracy rooted in the Aristotelian understanding that people are
inherently political beings.
Young, Iris Marion. Inclusion and Democracy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Considers the ways in which processes of deliberation are grounded in forms of expression that marginalize some individuals and
groups. Seeks to challenge and expand the notion and processes of democratic communication.
Radical Democracy
Radical democratic theory initially emerged as a critique of liberal and deliberative conceptions of democracy. It did so by rejecting
consensus politics in favor of an affirmative stance toward social and political conflict. This was an important task to perform since
consensus building was thought to oppress and exclude difference. Radical democrats also clearly distinguish themselves from
classical pluralists by emphasizing that the roots of their theories are to be found in post-structuralist theories of power and the subject.
In other words, radical democrats understand power in the Foucaultian sense as a series of relations that operate to produce certain
kinds of subjects. This means that political identities are contingent since they are constituted by and through power relations. Generally
speaking, the radical democratic imaginary perceives politics as a space constituted by difference, antagonism, and the contingency of
identity. Laclau and Mouffe 2001 articulates a post-Marxian theory of democracy from such ontological presuppositions. In a later text,
Mouffe 2009 uses the term agonistic pluralism to describe the author’s approach to politics, which seeks to affirm the ineradicable
conflict between liberty and equality that rests at the heart of liberal democracies. For radical democrats, democracy is not simply an
aim, nor is it necessarily an achievable state or organization of politics or society. Instead, it is often conceived of as an unending
process or practice, something that is always to come and, like Samuel Beckett’s Godot, never actually arrives. See Agamben, et al.
2012 for a collection of essays that explores this contingent, fleeting, or paradoxical nature of democracy. Also, see Rancière 1999 for
one of the most influential theories of democracy as a nonregime. For Rancière, democracy is nothing other than the rupture of all
logics of allocation or distribution, the rupture of the axioms of domination that constitute a police order. Democracy, in other words, is
dissensus. Overall, however, radical democrats do not reject the liberal democratic values of liberty and equality. Rather, they argue for
the radicalization and deepening of such values. This can be seen clearly with Rancière, who takes equality and its presupposition as
the principal democratic value. The best overview or guide to the current state of radical democratic theory is Tønder and Thomassen
2005.
Agamben, Giorgio, Alain Badiou, Wendy Brown, et al. Democracy in What State? Translated by William McCuaig. New York:
Columbia University Press, 2012.
A collection of short essay responses to the question of whether or not it is meaningful to call oneself a democrat today. Respondents
include Giorgio Agamben, Alain Badiou, Wendy Brown, Jacques Rancière, and more. Originally published in 2009 in French.
Laclau, Ernesto, and Chantal Mouffe. Hegemony and Socialist Strategy: Towards a Radical Democratic Politics. 2d ed.
London: Verso, 2001.
This is the text that launched the tradition of radical democracy. An anti-essentialist political project of radical and plural democracy is
announced in its pages. First published in 1985.
Mouffe, Chantal. The Democratic Paradox. London: Verso, 2009.

Argues that liberal democracy results from the articulation of two distinct traditions that are ultimately incompatible. These traditions are
the liberal tradition (characterized by the rule of law, human rights, and the respect for individual liberty) and the democratic tradition
(rooted in the ideas of equality and popular sovereignty).
Rancière, Jacques. Disagreement: Politics and Philosophy. Translated by Julie Rose. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota
Press, 1999.
Argues that democracy is not a kind of political regime; rather, it is the disruption of any order that consists of the distribution of bodies
in accordance with natures and functions. Democracy is a rupture with the existing police order and the logic that defines it. Originally
published in 1995.
Tønder, Lars, and Lasse Thomassen, eds. Radical Democracy: Politics between Abundance and Lack. Manchester, UK:
Manchester University Press, 2005.
A collection of essays that, taken together, provides a useful overview of the emergent field of radical democratic theory. The editors
contend that while radical democrats share a commitment to the virtues of contestation and incompleteness, they often differ
concerning views of the ontological nature of difference.
Gender and Democracy
Since ancient Greece, the dominant modes of practicing and thinking about democracy have deliberately and systematically excluded
women. Despite a number of important advances in gender equality that occurred in the contexts of 20th-century liberal democratic
states, including the long overdue achievement of suffrage for women, a great deal of systemic and deeply rooted social, political,
economic, and cultural obstacles remain to be overcome. A number of recent efforts have sought to address gender inequality as it
exists in mainstream political and democratic theory. A good place to start is McAfee and Snyder 2007, which offers a brief introduction
to the complex relation between feminism and democratic theory. Phillips 2009 presents a series of essays written by prominent
feminist theorists that examine how feminism challenges established theories and practices of politics and democracy. The essays in
this collection discuss feminism and democracy in relation to themes such as participation, representation, difference, citizenship, and
the public and private spheres. For a contentious and influential feminist critique of mainstream political theory, social contract theory,
and democratic theory, see Pateman 1989. It is important to understand that alongside powerful criticisms, recent feminist works of
democratic theory have offered innovative normative visions for restructuring democratic life. Irigaray 2001 contends that democracy
should be rooted in love and respect, while Tronto 2013 contends that an ethic of care should ground democratic politics. Zerilli 2005
argues for a feminist practice of freedom in which the people act in concert in the public sphere.
Irigaray, Luce. Democracy Begins between Two. Translated by Kirsteen Anderson. New York: Routledge, 2001.
First published in 1994 as La democrazia comincia a due (Turin, Italy: Bollati Boringhieri), this text asserts that democracy should be
grounded in love and respect rather than the capacities to dominate, tame, and produce. It further argues for a sexually marked civil
code to safeguard the coexistence of man and woman.
McAfee, Noëlle, and R. Claire Snyder. “Feminist Engagements in Democratic Theory.” Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist
Philosophy 22.4 (2007): vii–x.
A brief and highly accessible discussion of the relationship between feminism and democratic theory. Argues that while feminism often
positions itself as a hermeneutics of suspicion, it nevertheless shares many of the same values and goals as democratic thought.
Pateman, Carole. The Disorder of Women: Democracy, Feminism, and Political Theory. Stanford, CA: Stanford University
Press, 1989.
A collection of essays that deals with democratic theory and feminism. Argues that for feminists, democracy has never existed.
Phillips, Anne, ed. Feminism and Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.
A collection of essays that deploys feminist tools of analysis to challenge current theories and practices of politics and democracy. In
particular, see Jane Mansbridge’s essay on feminism and democracy.
Tronto, Joan C. Caring Democracy: Markets, Equality, and Justice. New York: New York University Press, 2013.
Argues that caring for ourselves and for others should be the central focus of democratic politics. Democracy, in other words, should
value care over economic life and processes of production.
Zerilli, Linda M. G. Feminism and the Abyss of Freedom. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005.
An innovative work that dislodges feminist theory from traditional debates over identity and subjectivity in order to reclaim a feminist
vision of freedom as a pluralist practice of world-building. Freedom is understood here in the Arendtian sense as actualized only when
the people act together in the public realm.
Global Democracy
Democratic theory has traditionally focused on issues and challenges to democratic governance within the context and boundaries of
the nation-state. Recent globalizing trends, however, have compelled democratic theorists to position their work in relation to the growth
of new forces beyond the state such as global markets, transnational communications networks, new political formations such as the
European Union, and global security regimes. Warren 2008 argues that it is up to democratic theorists to identify these new
transformations and reevaluate the relationship between democracy and the state accordingly. Held 1995 and Archibugi 2008 argue
optimistically for a cosmopolitan democracy whereby transnational law governs over global issues, protects human rights, and prevents
injurious interventions in the activities and affairs of one state by another. Similarly, Bohman 2010 seeks a new definition of democracy
that is less attached to territorial boundaries, while Dryzek 2006 articulates a discursive theory of deliberative global democracy. A
skeptical perspective is offered in Manent 2013, which argues that democratic values cannot be disconnected from the traditional
context of the nation-state.
Archibugi, Daniele. The Global Commonwealth of Citizens: Toward Cosmopolitan Democracy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton
Considers carefully whether it is possible for democracy to exist beyond the nation-state and whether global governance can be
informed by democratic values. Argues for a cosmopolitan democracy in response to the challenges of globalization.
Bohman, James. Democracy across Borders: From Dêmos to Dêmoi. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2010.
Argues that democracy should no longer be defined as rule by the people in the singular and attached to a definite territory. Instead,
Bohman contends that it should be redefined as transnational, the rule by peoples across national boundaries.
Dryzek, John S. Deliberative Global Politics: Discourse and Democracy in a Divided World. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2006.
Takes a discursive approach and argues for a deliberative global politics that moves beyond current neoconservative and cosmopolitan
approaches.
Held, David. Democracy and the Global Order: From the Modern State to Cosmopolitan Governance. Stanford, CA: Stanford
Seeks to account for the ways in which traditional concepts and practices of democracy are compelled to transform amidst globalizing
forces. Argues for a cosmopolitan model of democracy.
Manent, Pierre. A World beyond Politics? A Defense of the Nation-State. Translated by Marc A. LePain. Princeton, NJ:
Contends that the popular thesis that democratic values could detach themselves from the traditional context of the nation-state and
facilitate a world of pure democracy is false. Argues that democratic life must be connected to a particular political community.
Originally published in French in 2001 under the title Cours familier de philosophie politique (Paris: Fayard).
Warren, Mark E. “Democracy and the State.” In The Oxford Handbook of Political Theory. Edited by John S. Dryzek, Bonnie
Honig, and Anne Phillips, 382–399. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.
Considers the question of how the state fits in to the normative idea of democracy. Argues that the thesis of the demise of the state is
premature and offers an argument concerning some of the possible directions and developments that the state-democracy relationship
might take in the future.
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Democratic Theory - Political Science - Oxford Bibliographies 15-05-22 9:32 PM

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Cunningham, Frank. Theories of Democracy: A Critical Introduction. London: Routledge, 2002.

Constellations: An International Journal of Critical and Democratic Theory. 1994.

The Good Society. 1991.

Journal of Democracy. 1990.

Reference Works and Bibliographies

Political Philosophy and Democratic Thought

Classical Philosophy and Democracy

Early Modern Republicanism

which the tradition of modern political theory is constructed.

Gray, John. Liberalism. 2d ed. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1995.

The Democratic Revolutions

society and government.

Post-Revolutionary Democratic Thought

Welch, Cheryl. De Tocqueville. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.

Contemporary Democratic Theory

Cunningham, Frank. Theories of Democracy: A Critical Introduction. London: Routledge, 2002.

Empirical Democratic Theory

Tilly, Charles. Democracy. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2007.

concentrated outside of democratic processes.

Contemporary Liberal Democracy

with the liberal tradition.

Democracy and Capitalism

Civil Society and Democracy

Mouffe, Chantal. The Democratic Paradox. London: Verso, 2009.

Gender and Democracy

the people act together in the public realm.

Copyright © 2015. All rights reserved.

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