Abstract
Theories of democracy have been refined to two main types by the latter part of the twentieth century, namely competitive and deliberative theories. This chapter attempts to provide an improved articulation of democracy by highlighting two concepts commonly overlooked by both schools of thought. These are the voting space that structures public discourse and the democratic difference principle that regulates power inequalities in a democratic system. The author’s conception of democratic legitimacy can be briefly summarized as prescribing the maximization of citizen control over the decisions in which they have a stake, through a moderate proliferation of voting spaces and the opinion formation processes they engender. In practical terms, this may be translated as the need for multilevel electoral bodies and corresponding multifaceted direct democratic institutions.
Published Version
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