Democratic Multiplicity: Perceiving, Enacting, and Integrating Democratic Diversity

This edited volume emphasizes that democracy is more comprehensive and diverse than traditional state-centered representative democracies, challenging the opposition between participatory and representative forms. It proposes a slow, nonviolent, eco-social, and sustainable process of democratic generation and growth that can critique and transform unjust social systems.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 400 pages
Publication date: 04 August 2022
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

This edited collection makes a compelling case that democracy is far more expansive and diverse than the prevailing state-centered, modern representative democracies, which often relegate other forms of democracy to subordinate or overlook status. The contributors aim to transcend the conventional opposition between democracy from below (participatory) and democracy from above (representative). Instead, they propose that through distinctively situated participatory and representative practices, citizens and governments can cultivate democratic ways of working together without dominance and subordination. These relationships have the potential to be transformative.

The work advocates for a gradual, nonviolent, eco-social, and sustainable process of democratic generation and growth that possesses the ability to critique and transform unjust and ecologically destructive social systems. By integrating human-centric democracies into a more mutually dependent, interdependent, and sustainable system on Earth, this volume aims to benefit all individuals.

This collection offers valuable insights into the broader landscape of democracy and highlights the need to recognize and appreciate the diversity of democratic practices and experiences. It challenges the notion of a singular, universal model of democracy and encourages a more nuanced understanding of the complexities and nuances of democratic governance. Through its exploration of participatory and representative practices, this volume provides a roadmap for building more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable democratic societies.

Weight: 669g
ISBN-13: 9781009178365