Democratic Innovations and the Systems Turn

Abstract

The recent systems turn in democratic theory is increasingly affecting how democratic innovations are conceived of, practiced and analysed. Still, there remain many important questions for applying a systems approach to democratic innovations. This panel addresses a number of those questions. The papers discuss: the conceptual foundations for thinking systemically about democratic governance and democratic interventions; how the products of democratic institutions are transmitted or transformed through interaction; how a systems approach can guide the empirical evaluation of democratic innovations.