The Role of Ordinary People in Democratization

Bibliographic Data

ID6286499
AuthorsChristian Welzel (0000-0002-1562-3580), Ronald Inglehart (0000-0002-5620-3363)
Year2008
Volume19
Issue1
Pages126-140
Publication date2008-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of democracy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1045-5736 • E-ISSN: 1086-3214
PublisherProject MUSE (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1353/jod.2008.0009
OpenAlexW2001678181
LanguageEN
Citations received110
References cited13

Students of democracy increasingly emphasize the fact that democracy implies government by the people, not mere "electoral democracy" in which elites hold elections but the citizens have little real influence on their actions. Genuinely "effective democracy" does not simply result from elite cost-benefit calculations. It emerges when ordinary people acquire resources and values that enable them to put effective pressures on elites\-\- a process that we term "human empowerment." "Self-expression values" reflect a syndrome of interpersonal trust, tolerance and political activism that plays a crucial role in the emergence and survival of democracy. When people have relatively ample economic and cognitive resources, and move from emphasizing survival values toward emphasizing self-expression values, they become most effective in the struggle to obtain democratic institutions

Democracy · Democratization · Elite · Empowerment · Expression (computer science · Government (linguistics · Interpersonal communication · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Social science · Sociology · Law · Political Conflict and Governance · Political Philosophy and Ethics · Religion and Society Interactions

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