Constitutional theory democracy
- Democracy is essentially the idea that political sovereignty resides at the level of the individual.
In this sense, a political community derives its supreme power and authority from the consent of the people within that community. - One theory holds that democracy requires three fundamental principles: upward control (sovereignty residing at the lowest levels of authority), political equality, and social norms by which individuals and institutions only consider acceptable acts that reflect the first two principles of upward control and political
POLITICAL THEORY, Vol. 29 No. 6, December 2001 766-781 c 2001 Sage Publications. 766. Page 2. Habermas / CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY 767 ofjustification. Which
The modem conception of democracy differs from the classical concep- tion in virtue of its relation to a type of law that displays three characteristics:.
Is the material constitution a useful antidote for democratic constitutional theory?
This paper aims to assess the relevance of the notion of the material constitution for democratic constitutional theory
It is argued that the concept of material constitution is a useful antidote for narrowly legalistic approaches to constitutional theory, but only if its complexities are properly understood
Should a democratic constitutional theory abandon the expressive paradigm?
A democratic constitutional theory must abandon what I have called the expressive paradigm, the view that a formal constitution is legitimate if and only if it mirrors an uncontested pre-legal distribution of de facto social authority
What is a democratic constitution?
A democratic constitution, Schmitt argues in his Constitutional Theory, is the product of an exercise of constituent power on the part of a politically united people (CT 75–77, 125–30, 140–6)
Form of democracy focusing on deliberation and informed decision-making
Deliberative democracy or discursive democracy is a form of democracy in which deliberation is central to decision-making.
Deliberative democracy seeks quality over quantity by limiting decision-makers to a smaller but more representative sample of the population that is given the time and resources to focus on one issue.
System of governance
An illiberal democracy describes a governing system that hides its nondemocratic practices behind formally democratic institutions and procedures.
There is a lack of consensus among experts about the exact definition of illiberal democracy or whether it even exists.
This is an incomplete list of wars between entities that have a constitutionally democratic form of government and actually practice it.
Two points are required: that there has been a war, and that there are democracies on at least two opposing sides.
For many of these entries, whether there has been a war, or a democracy, is a debatable question; all significant views should be given.
Model of democracy
Participatory democracy, participant democracy or participative democracy is a form of government in which citizens participate individually and directly in political decisions and policies that affect their lives, rather than through elected representatives.
Elements of direct and representative democracy are combined in this model.
