1. Why democracy?

  • Consent vs. coercion – a democratic government derives decisions from the governed; an authoritarian one imposes them.

  • Beyond a mere form
    ✓ A.T. Lowell: democracy is still an “experiment.”
    ✓ Lincoln, Dicey & Lord Bryce: it is also an ethical creed that honours equality and fraternity.

  • Instrumental, educational & intrinsic pay-offs – highlighted by Rousseau, J. S. Mill and Amartya Sen (democratising development).

  • B. R. Ambedkar: liberty-equality-fraternity must fuse, else democracy stays skin-deep.

2. Direct-democracy ideal (Rousseau) & its hard pre-conditions

Pre-conditions (Rousseau)
Less population · low material wants · absence of luxury — otherwise the general will is swamped by faction.

  • Churchill: democracy is the “least-worst” alternative.

  • Lee Kuan Yew counters with benevolent despotism for Asian contexts.

3. Representative → Participatory → Deliberative models

Model Core logic Key scholars Flaws
Representative Elect & authorise elites to rule; accountability through periodic polls. Madison, Mill, Dicey Elite capture, low day-to-day input
Participatory Widen direct engagement in workplaces, local governments, social movements. Pateman, Bookchin; echoed in Macpherson’s “participatory democracy” Scalability, decision fatigue
Deliberative Legitimacy arises from public reason – policies must survive rational, inclusive debate. Jürgen Habermas (discursive will-formation); James Fishkin (deliberative polling) Risk of domination by articulate or resource-rich speakers

4. Huntington’s Three Waves (and the pauses that followed)

  • First wave (1828–1926) – W. Europe & USA expand suffrage → First reverse (1922–42) rise of fascism.

  • Second wave (1943–62) – post-war & decolonizing states → Second reverse (1958–75) military coups.

  • Third wave (1974–90s) – Carnation Revolution → Latin America, E. Europe, parts of Asia adopt elections.

  • No settled “fourth reverse”, yet democratic backsliding (Russia, parts of Africa) alarms scholars.

5. Macpherson’s four “Life-and-Times” democracies

Type Historic roots & aim Strength Weakness
Protective Locke, James Mill: guard property & personal security Rule-of-law floor Marginalises have-nots
Developmental Rousseau, J. S. Mill: politics as moral–intellectual growth Citizen formation Ignores structural blocks
Equilibrium / Pluralist Dahl: interest-group bargaining, elite competition Stability, incrementalism Elitist, passive masses
Participatory 1960s new-left, workplace democracy Deepens equality, economic & political Scale & resource dilemmas

Macpherson’s conclusion: Combine developmental virtue with participatory reach to escape liberal shortfalls.

6. Current tensions & debates

  • Economic pre-conditions – Lipset’s “wealth fosters democracy”; Sen counters that rights catalyse development too.

  • Globalisation – integrates publics but also fuels inequality, spawning authoritarian populism.

  • Digital public sphere – amplifies both deliberation (crowdsourced policy) and disinformation (echo-chambers).

7. Elitist (Classical‐Realist) Model

Corner-stone Scholar & Text Core propositions main concept
Inevitable minority rule Gaetano Mosca – The Ruling Class Every society is divided into a small “political class” that governs and a larger governed class. Bureaucratic chains of command secure elite dominance. Political class
Elite circulation Vilfredo Pareto Talent and ambition are rare; new groups continually displace old ones, but rule never becomes popular self-government. Circulation of elites; governing vs counter-elite
Iron Law of Oligarchy Robert Michels All organisations, even socialist parties & unions, crystallise into oligarchies once they grow. Organisational oligarchy
Democracy as competition of leaders Joseph Schumpeter – Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy Democracy = an institutional arrangement where elites vie for votes to gain authority; citizens choose, they do not rule. Competitive elitism

Rebuttal to classical democracy: people neither rule nor deliberate; real power stays with a talented minority whose decisions the majority ratifies.

8. Pluralist (Equilibrium) Model

Building block Insight Key voices
Poly-centred power No single ruling group; multiple interest-group “mini-elites” balance one another under a neutral state umpire. Robert A. Dahl – Polyarchy; A Preface to Democratic Theory
Market–government “mutual adjustment” Policy emerges from bargaining among business, bureaucrats & politicians rather than from a unitary will. Charles E. Lindblom – Politics and Markets
Interest-group politics Groups rise when social-economic change disturbs the status quo; they articulate demands & broker compromise. David B. Truman – The Governmental Process
Madisonian pedigree Factions are inevitable; a large republic and a multiplicity of interests prevent any one faction from tyrannising. James Madison – Federalist 10

Pluralism rejects both mass-rule romance and monolithic elites: democracy works because organised minorities check one another in an open arena.

9. Cosmopolitan / Trans-national Democracy

  • David Held, Daniele Archibugi, Jürgen Habermas: create multilayered global governance, trans-national public spheres, enforceable global rights.

  • Habermas: democratise bodies such as the UN and WTO; anchor legitimacy in rational communication across borders.

  • Held: cosmopolitan democracy extends consent, participation and accountability beyond the nation-state.

10. Representative Democracy – “Second-best but workable”

Representation style Architect Essence
Trusteeship John Locke Office-holders are trustees of the people; duty-bound to the common good, not private whim.
Enlightened representation Edmund Burke MPs owe constituents judgement, not obedience; Parliament should discern the national interest above faction.

Success hinges on vigilant electors who question representatives, keep them answerable and periodically renew mandates.

12. Participatory Democracy – Reviving the Classical Ideal

Championed by Aristotle (polity), Jean-Jacques Rousseau (general will), Hannah Arendt (public freedom), Mohandas K. Gandhi (Gram Swaraj & Sarvodaya).

  • Assumes widespread, continuous civic engagement.

  • Participation educates citizens, yields collectively wiser decisions, and embeds legitimacy in shared action.

13. Deliberative / Discursive Democracy

Pillar Scholar and Key notions
Normative core Amy Gutmann & Dennis Thompson – deliberation = citizens justify laws to one another with publicly accessible reasons.
Ideal Speech Situation Jürgen Habermas – all may speak, argument alone directs agreement (communicative action).
Reasonable pluralism John Rawls – “burden of judgement”, “overlapping consensus”; respect for diverse yet reasonable doctrines.
Public / counterpublic Nancy Fraser – subaltern groups need autonomous arenas (“counterpublics”) to forge arguments.
Institutional features Joshua Cohen – independent association, non-coercive setting, plural values, deliberation as sole source of legitimacy.
Mini-public tools James S. Fishkin – deliberative polls; criteria: information, substantive balance, diversity, conscientiousness, equal consideration.

Generational improvements in Deliberative Democracy
1st Generation – Founders – Habermas, Cohen: pure normative blueprint.
2nd Generation – Pragmatists – John Dryzek, Gutmann/Thompson: “agree to disagree,” storytelling & rhetoric permitted.
3rd Generation – Institutional innovators – Graham Elstub, Jane Mansbridge, Fishkin: citizens’ juries, consensus conferences, planning cells.
4th Generation – Systemic turn – Mansbridge, Thomas Christiano, John Parkinson: deliberation as a networked system not a single forum.

Benefits: manages disagreement, deepens legitimacy, educates public, yields better-informed policy, fosters trust.
Challenges: structural inequality skews voice; culturally specific speech norms might exclude; assumes citizens’ sustained rational engagement.

Scholars Index:

B. R. Ambedkar · Daniele Archibugi · Hannah Arendt · Aristotle · Murray Bookchin · James Bryce · Edmund Burke · Winston Churchill · Thomas Christiano · Joshua Cohen · Robert A. Dahl · A. V. Dicey · John Dryzek · Graham Elstub · James S. Fishkin · Nancy Fraser · Mohandas K. Gandhi · Amy Gutmann · Jürgen Habermas · David Held · Samuel P. Huntington · Lee Kuan Yew · Abraham Lincoln · Charles E. Lindblom · Seymour Martin Lipset · John Locke · A. T. Lowell · C. B. Macpherson · James Madison · Jane Mansbridge · Robert Michels · James Mill · John Stuart Mill · Gaetano Mosca · Vilfredo Pareto · John Parkinson · Carole Pateman · John Rawls · Jean-Jacques Rousseau · Joseph Schumpeter · Amartya Sen · Dennis Thompson · David B. Truman