American Democracy From a European Perspective
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7635315 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sergio Fabbrini (0000-0001-6174-6656, Department of Sociology and Social Research, Trento University, Trento, 38100 Italy, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1999 |
| Volume | 2 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 465-491 |
| Publication date | 1999-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Annual Review of Political Science (BOOK_SERIES) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1094-2939 • E-ISSN: 1545-1577 |
| Publisher | Annual Reviews (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1146/annurev.polisci.2.1.465 |
| OpenAlex | W2159922402 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 59 |
This article analyzes American democracy from a European perspective. It argues that American democracy (like European democracies) is based on antinomies, two societal and two institutional, deeply rooted in American constitutional development. Thus, each time American democracy has been used as a model and exported, the attempt has ended in failure. An antinomic model can be studied but not imitated. The article concludes that what is interesting for non-Americans is the way American democracy has historically dealt with these antinomies, more than the American model per se. The American method has to do with a peculiar constitutional structure that, having had the chance to institutionalize liberal principles, has tended to promote a positive-sum solution to those antinomies, in accord with individualistic values. Here resides the great divide between American and European constitutional structures; for opposite reasons, the European constitutional structure tends to promote a zero-sum solution to similar antinomies, in agreement with collectivistic values. In both structures, something important may be lost—private freedom in the latter and public good in the former. Could a reciprocal constitutional learning process allow both sides to learn the missing side of the story
Collectivism · Democracy · Direct democracy · Individualism · Law and economics · Liberal democracy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Judicial and Constitutional Studies · Law
Political Order in Changing Societies
Sectionalism and American political development, 1880-1980
The Rising Tide of Cultural Pluralism
Organizing interests in Western Europe
We the People I
The end of reform
The populist persuasion
Citizens, elections, parties
Facing Up to the American Dream
Shaping Modern Liberalism
The Principles of Representative Government
Building a New American State
Citizenship and Nationhood in France and Germany
Why Parties?
The Rise of Candidate-Centered Politics
Free Markets and Social Justice
The European Union and the Regions
The Domestication of Politics
Party Organizations
American Politics
Reflections on the Revolution in Europe
A Preface to Democratic Theory, Expanded Edition
The Meaning of Democracy and the Vulnerabilities of Democracies
The Disuniting of America
America as a Model
The Radical Politics of Thomas Jefferson
The American Constitution in Comparative Perspective
Self-Rule
Federalism and federation in Western Europe
Consequences of party reform
The Next American Nation
Cross-National Sources of Regulatory Policymaking in Europe and the United States
The Advent of an Ambiguous Federalism and the Emergence of New Federalism III
Citizenship and Nationality in Democratic Systems
The American System of Separated Government
George Washington and the Founding of Democracy
Why is Government So Small in America
Six Notions of ‘Political’ and the United States Supreme Court
Divided and Governed? Recent Research on Divided Government in the United States
Why Executive-Legislative Conflict in the United States is Dwindling
American citizenship
Changing Conceptions of Federalism
Thomas Jefferson and American Foreign Policy
Presidential Democracy in America
The Liberal Tradition in America
State Formation and Social Policy in the United States
The State in Political Science
Constitutionalism and Democracy
Beyond Tocqueville, Myrdal, and Hartz
Historical Traditions and National Characteristics
The Problem of American Exceptionalism
| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,21 |
| Citation span | 2002 - 2025 (24) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 5 |