Democracy in Theory and Practice
eBook - ePub

Democracy in Theory and Practice

  1. 672 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Democracy in Theory and Practice

About this book

Democracy in Theory and Practice presents an authoritative overview of democratic theory today. Its distinctive approach links theory to practice, emphasizing the wide variety of institutions and procedures through which core democratic principles are implemented and the normative and practical dimensions of the choices to be made among these alternatives.

Designed for courses at both the undergraduate and graduate level, the book features eighteen chapters organized thematically and divided into sections and subsections for easy reference; historical and current examples, citations for specific ideas, annotated references, and further readings throughout enhance the volume's utility for students, scholars, and researchers. Sidebars give biographical sketches of classic theorists and democratic ideas from the US founders and constitutional tradition.

Featured topics discussed include:

  • Majority Rule; Participation; Deliberation; Accountability; Representation; Constitutionalism; Electoral Laws; Parties; Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Functions.

  • The Boundary Problem; The "All-Affected" Principle; Contested Senses of Liberal and Procedural Democracy; The Pros and Cons of Term Limits; Proportional Representation; Referendums; Problems of Democratic Transparency and Reversibility.

Written by a leading authority in the field, Frederick G. Whelan encourages us to think of the many alternative ways of putting democracy into practice and of these alternatives as requiring choices. This diversity means that there is no unique or correct democratic outcome from a given set of preferences, since outcomes are shaped by the methods followed in reaching them.

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Yes, you can access Democracy in Theory and Practice by Frederick G. Whelan in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Politics & International Relations & Democracy. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Half Title
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright Page
  5. Dedication
  6. Table of Contents
  7. Detailed Contents
  8. List of Boxes
  9. Acknowledgments
  10. Chapter 1 Introduction
  11. Chapter 2 Democratic Principles
  12. Chapter 3 Democracy and Other Values
  13. Chapter 4 The Right to Vote
  14. Chapter 5 Issues in Democratic Voting
  15. Chapter 6 Voting and Decision Methods
  16. Chapter 7 Participation and Democracy
  17. Chapter 8 Direct and Formative Democracy
  18. Chapter 9 Communication and Deliberation
  19. Chapter 10 Accountability and Representation
  20. Chapter 11 The Representation of Interests
  21. Chapter 12 Constitutionalism
  22. Chapter 13 Forms of Democratic Government
  23. Chapter 14 Electoral Systems, Parties, and Party Government
  24. Chapter 15 Legislatures
  25. Chapter 16 Additional Principles of Democratic Governance
  26. Chapter 17 The Executive Power
  27. Chapter 18 The Judicial Power
  28. Afterword
  29. Index