Rethinking democracy research through Political Theory: Insights from deconstruction and Conceptual History

This paper argues that the most productive approach to understanding democracy's dilemmas and challenges lies in Political Theory. While “Political Theory” encompasses diverse activities—ranging from normative explorations akin to political philosophy to empirical analyses of ideologies and conceptual tools for research—this paper adopts a specific understanding of Political Theory as a “style of reasoning” (Hacking, 1985). This logic of research draws inspiration from Hannah Arendt’s work (Abellán Artacho, 2023) and prioritizes comprehension over empirical knowledge, focusing on representing and reflecting on the different conceptual frameworks that shape our understanding of political life. A key contribution to this approach comes from Pierre Rosanvallon, whose Conceptual History of democracy highlights the constitutive aporias of the concept—irreconcilable tensions that define democracy itself. Among these tensions are: the ambiguity of democracy's subject, which exists only through approximate representations; the conflict between number (the majority's opinion) and reason (the desire to be governed by well-argued decisions); and the tension between negative autonomy (freedom from state interference) and positive autonomy (the collective capacity to regulate common life through binding decisions). These aporias reveal democracy as a complex and inherently pluralistic concept, one that resists final resolution or simplistic definitions (Rosanvallon, 2003; 2020). Building on these insights, this paper advocates for a poststructuralist approach to conceptual studies, particularly one informed by Derrida’s deconstructive method. Deconstruction, as a tool in political theory, enables us to engage critically with the inherent tensions and pluralities within democratic concepts, exposing the limitations of metaphysical approaches, preserving their productive ambiguities (Thomassen, 2010). By embracing this approach, scholars can explore democracy as a dynamic and contested field of meaning, rather than as a static ideal or model. While this theoretical framework may not provide direct solutions to democracy’s political challenges, it offers an intellectual lens that deepens our understanding of the paradoxes at its core. Such an approach equips democracy researchers to confront contemporary challenges with greater conceptual sensitivity. Crucially, this approach can inform empirical research on democracy by providing the theoretical framework required to better examine how democratic concepts are articulated, contested, and deployed (Abellán Artacho & Cabrera-Álvarez, 2024). ________________________________________ Bibliography • Abellán Artacho, P. (2023). La teoría política como profesión: Una propuesta desde el ejemplo de Hannah Arendt. Revista de Estudios Políticos, 201, 13–45. • Abellán Artacho, Pedro, & Pablo Cabrera-Álvarez. (2024). Using Surveys to Understand how Democracy is Conceptualised in Spain: A Theoretical and Methodological Approach. Reis, 181, 3–20. • Hacking, I. (1985). Styles of scientific reasoning. In J. Rajchman & C. West (Eds.), Post-analytic philosophy (pp. 145–165). New York: Columbia University Press. • Rosanvallon, Pierre. (2003). Por una historia conceptual de lo político. Buenos Aires: Fondo de Cultura Económica. • Rosanvallon, Pierre. (2020). El siglo del populismo: Historia, teoría, crítica. Barcelona: Galaxia Gutenberg. • Thomassen, Lasse. (2010). Deconstruction as a method in political theory. Österreichische Zeitschrift für Politikwissenschaft, 39(1), 41–53. • Thomassen, Lasse. (2010). Deconstruction as a method in political theory. Österreichische Zeitschrift für Politikwissenschaft, 39(1), 41–53.