Introducing democracy across borders

From dêmos to dêmoi

Bibliographic Data

ID12866803
AuthorsJames Bohman (UCLouvain Saint-Louis Brussels, corresponding author)
Year2010
Volume3
Issue1
Pages1-11
Publication date2010-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEthics & Global Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1654-6369 • E-ISSN: 1654-4951
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.3402/egp.v3i1.4849
OpenAlexW2076759240
LanguageEN
Citations received10

Before launching into the precis of my book, let me first describe the state of democracy, as I see it, in order to discuss the motivations for writing a book about democracy across borders. It is the best of times and the worst of times. According to the current wisdom, we live in the golden age of democracy. In the absence of any viable alternative, liberal democracy is taken to be the only feasible form of democracy and goes unchallenged. Democracy is now recognized in international documents as ‘the best means to realize human rights,’ so that some now argue that international law, formerly unconcerned with internal affairs of states, establishes a ‘democratic entitlement.’ At the same time, it is often claimed that democracy has never been weaker. It is increasingly unable to solve many collective problems and to gain legitimacy, thus leading to economic crisis, to the declining legitimacy of states in ever more numerous demands for succession, and to greater internal conflicts and even civil wars. As a result, some electoral and representative democracies increasingly cede many areas of social policy to delegated and increasingly non-democratic forms of authority. Possible responses to these facts lie between two extremes of a continuum. On the one hand, liberal nationalists call for the renewal of social consensus through a democratic ethos, and some participatory democrats demand decentralization into smaller units. On the other hand, cosmopolitans argue that only supranational levels of governance can solve the many collective action and coordination problems ranging from global warming to sustainable growth to grave human rights abuses and genocide. (Published: 5 February 2010) Citation: Ethics & Global Politics, Vol. 3, No. 1, 2010, pp. 1-11. DOI: 10.3402/egp.v3i1.4849

Democracy · Law and economics · Legitimacy · Liberal democracy · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · Law

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