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A Problem-Based Approach to Democratic Theory

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  • WARREN, MARK E.

Abstract

Over the last few decades, democratic theory has grown dramatically in its power and sophistication, fueled by debates among models of democracy. But these debates are increasingly unproductive. Model-based strategies encourage theorists to overgeneralize the place and functions of ideal typical features of democracy, such as deliberation or elections. Here I sketch an alternative strategy based on the question: What kinds of problems does a political system need to solve to count as “democratic”? I suggest three general kinds: it should empower inclusions, form collective agendas and wills, and have capacities to make collective decisions. We can view common practices such as voting and deliberating as means for addressing these problems, and theorize institutional mixes of practices that would maximize a political system's democratic problem-solving capacities. The resulting theories will be both normatively robust and sufficiently fine-grained to frame democratic problems, possibilities, and deficits in complex polities.

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  • Warren, Mark E., 2017. "A Problem-Based Approach to Democratic Theory," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 111(1), pages 39-53, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:apsrev:v:111:y:2017:i:01:p:39-53_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Weßels, Bernhard & Rose, Richard, 2021. "Do populist values or civic values drive support for referendums in Europe?," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 60(2), pages 359-375.
    2. Pankaj Koirala & Raja Rajendra Timilsina & Koji Kotani, 2021. "Deliberative Forms of Democracy and Intergenerational Sustainability Dilemma," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-18, July.
    3. Meir Kalech & Moshe Koppel & Abraham Diskin & Eli Rohn & Inbal Roshanski, 2020. "Formation of Parties and Coalitions in Multiple Referendums," Group Decision and Negotiation, Springer, vol. 29(4), pages 723-745, August.
    4. David Gindis & Abraham A. Singer, 2023. "The Corporate Baby in the Bathwater: Why Proposals to Abolish Corporate Personhood Are Misguided," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 183(4), pages 983-997, April.
    5. Blatter, Joachim, 2018. "Transnationalizing democracy properly: Principles and rules for granting consociated citizens voting rights and partisan representation in the parliaments of nation states," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Global Governance SP IV 2018-102, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    6. Johannes Helgest & Lion Merten & Jana Niedringhaus & Matthias Rosenthal & Kevin Walz, 2022. "A new game in town: Democratic resilience and the added value of the concept in explaining democratic survival and decline," Working Papers 2206, Gutenberg School of Management and Economics, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz.
    7. Geisler, Alexander Matthias, 2024. "Trade-offs and Triumphs: Examining the Commitment of Underrepresented Groups in Real-World Discussion Forums," OSF Preprints crh3z, Center for Open Science.
    8. Schäfer, Andreas & Merkel, Wolfgang, 2020. "Emanzipation oder Reaktion: Wie konservativ ist die deliberative Demokratie? [Emancipation or Reaction: How Conservative is Deliberative Democracy?]," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 61(3), pages 449-472.

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