Vital Democracy

A Theory of Democracy in Action
Erscheinungsjahr 2010
ISBN: 978-0-19-957278-6
Verlag: OUP UK

Buch, Englisch, 256 Seiten, Format (B × H): 161 mm x 240 mm, Gewicht: 552 g

Vital Democracy outlines a theory of democracy in action, based on four elementary forms of democracy - pendulum, consensus, voter and participatory democracy - that are thoroughly analysed, compared and related to both the literature and the real world of democracy. Just like a few primary colours produce an array of shades, a few basic models of democracy appear, the author argues, to constitute a wide range of democratic variants in real life.
Focusing on tried and tested democratic institutions, Frank Hendriks shows that the four models of democracy - with their divergent patterns of leadership, citizenship and governance, their inherent strengths and weaknesses - are never purely instantiated. He argues that wherever democracy is practiced with some level of success, it is always as hybrid democracy, thereby challenging those democratic reformers and theorists that have inspired the quest for democratic purity.

Vital Democracy builds on Arend Lijphart's well-known work which distinguishes between majoritarian and consensual democratic countries but also goes well beyond it, urging attention to non-national, non-formal, and non-representative expressions of democracy as well.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Hendriks, Frank

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politikwissenschaft Allgemein Politische Theorie, Politische Philosophie
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Sozialphilosophie, Politische Philosophie
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Systeme Demokratie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

- List of Figures and Tables

- Preface and Acknowledgements

- Opening Debate

- Part I: Concepts

- 1: Plural Democracy

- 2: Layered Democracy

- Part II: Practices

- 3: Pendulum Democracy

- 4: Consensus Democracy

- 5: Voter Democracy

- 6: Participatory Democracy

- Part III: Lessons

- 7: Mixing Democracy

- 8: Reforming Democracy

- Closing Debate

- Bibliography

- Index

- Notes

Über Autor(innen)

Frank Hendriks (1966) is professor of comparative governance at Tilburg University, the Netherlands. He deals with cross-border comparison of policies and governance systems, including the comparative analysis of democratic and decisionmaking models at the national and the subnational level.