Questioning the Paradigm of Democracy

Abstract

In political science, the democratic crisis diagnosis belongs to the topical core of the discipline. Like all major topics in the discipline, the diagnosis of democratic crisis is subject to a boom, the current upswing of which began with Colin Crouch's post-democracy. Since then, we have been discussing the decline of democracy in all its facets. However, it is not only the impending dysfunctionality of established democracies that causes concern, but also the trend towards autocratization of those formerly model transformations (Poland and Hungary) and, finally, the obvious misjudgement of the "triumph of democracy" and the "end of history", including the end of the idea of democracy promotion and peacemaking through economic dependencies. What can democracy research achieve in such a situation and has it always asked the right questions? Taking up this question, this panel will critically explore current paradigms of democracy research and, if necessary, formulate new paradigms. Following on from this, the question arises as to what conclusions democracy research can draw from the challenges to democracy outlined above. Papers are invited to address the following questions: ▪️ Does democracy research need to focus on new developments/phenomena that have so far been overlooked? ▪️ Which paradigms of democracy research continue to be valid and which theoretical, conceptual and methodological paradigm shifts are necessary in order to provide answers to the challenges of democracy? ▪️ What is the status of the paradigm of democracy as the best form of government known to us? ▪️ Which (recent) developments within political science and its neighboring disciplines can help us navigate through the future of democracy with new questions and perspectives? ▪️ What implications do considerations from postcolonial studies or comparative political theory, for example, have for the paradigm of democracy? ▪️ How can democracy research in the sense of a monitoring institution help to preserve democracy, defend it if necessary or develop it further?

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