Democracy and its Dilemmas (POLS30033)

This subject will examine the history of theories of democracy with a particular focus on the persistent “dilemmas of democracy” in the 21st century. Beginning in the classical tradition, it will quickly shift to focus on the “constitutional settlement” of liberal democracy in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. However, the majority of the focus will be on the 20th and 21st century debates around Elite, Pluralist, Deliberative and Neo-republican theories of democracy. Throughout all this, the changing shape of persistent dilemmas will be primary. These include (but are not necessarily limited to): the problem of political ignorance, the tyranny of the majority, the problem of stability, and the problem of pluralism. However, the subject will also examine how these dilemmas have manifested in contemporary popular debates around political apathy, free speech and tolerance, cosmopolitanism, and sovereignty. In conclusion, the subject will consider possibilities of democratic renewal in recent theories of radical democracy.