Methods of Normative Political Theory

The role and status of democracy remain of central concern to political science, public policy, and political theory. The tension and juxtaposition between democratic and authoritarian modes of government, the maintenance of democratic norms and institutions, and increasing levels of democratic backsliding have long been considered in the literature. More recently, these concerns have been exacerbated by significant threats to democratic norms and institutions in various parts of the world, including Europe and the United States. This proposed Section: Methods of Normative Political Theory provides a venue for methodologists to contribute to the ongoing project of examining democratic norms and institutions in light of methodological reflections. This section contributes to the methodological dimensions of normative political theory as a venue for rethinking democracy. Methodologists—those concerned with the logic, justification, and scope of political theorising—illuminate how our conceptions of democracy depend on underlying assumptions about what counts as valid reasoning, legitimate disagreement, or the proper relationship between theory and practice. The task of interrogating democracy, democratic norms and institutions, as well as their alternatives, can significantly benefit from a careful methodological investigation. While various disciplines and approaches (e.g. political science or democratic theory) raise concerns pertaining to the decreasing quality of common public debate, methodological approaches are better suited, as they have the specific toolset adequate to diagnose the changing character of plausible public argumentation. In addition, methodologists in normative theory have developed methodological tools and approaches for examining phenomena such as democratic backsliding. Democracy, broadly conceived, is a multifaceted political phenomenon: addressing it with a wide range of methods, approaches, and perspectives from various disciplines in the social sciences allows to better appreciate its complexity. The role of methods in political theory is well established both in scholarship as well as within the ECPR framework, steadily bringing together a significant group of scholars. Since 2016, the ECPR General Conference has been an important venue for contributing to this moment, culminating in the recognition of the Methods of Normative Political Theory Standing Group in 2022. Through subsequent events, such as the Joint Sessions Workshops in 2022 and 2023, the Winter School in 2022, and the General Conference in 2023, 2024, and 2025, methods of normative political theory continue to be a central part of the ECPR program. The focus of the 2025 Section – methodological innovation – demonstrated the recent advancements in political theory methods, and the role that those methods have in better understanding and interrogating political phenomena. The theme of the Section proposal for 2026 continues the work started with the 2025 Section, by applying recent innovations in methodology to the role and status of democracy. We encourage proposals that approach questions of method in the context of challenges to democracy: how to understand or model democracy in a way that strengthens norms and institutions, or propose viable alternatives. This includes papers on how to understand democracy in theory and practice, such as the role of democratic institutions, forms of justification in democracy, and the nature of democratic consent. Furthermore, the Section examines various core features of democracy, such as the nature of the democratic citizen, and how their investigation changes depending on the methodology and the kind of normativity employed. In this way, the focus of the Section is not only democracy more broadly, but its constituent parts. Finally, the Section examines the place of democracy and democratic ideals. It invites comparisons between democratic and non-democratic forms of government, the online dimensions of democracy, and the very nexus between democracy and the study of methods itself. In conclusion, this proposed Section will show how methodological reflections enrich our understanding of democracy in contemporary politics. By placing democracy at the centre of the methodological debate will allow political theorists and methodologists to meaningfully engage in the ongoing task of preserving and strengthening democratic norms and institutions. Panels: 1. Democracy in Theory and Practice Chair: Jonathan Floyd This panel invites participants to examine core questions of democratic theory. It approaches these questions from a methodological perspective, such as the nature of democratic justification, the necessary features of a democratic theory, and the relationship between democratic theory and democratic institutions. 2. Alternatives to Democracy from Methodological Perspectives Chair: Marina Vahter This panel invites participants to consider methodological perspectives on alternatives to democracy. Whether it be more radical forms of democracy, or different alternatives altogether, the purpose of this panel is to critically examine whether non-democratic forms of government are viable ways of structuring politics. We encourage submissions that focus on the merits of republican, autocratic, or technocratic forms of governance. 3. Theorising the Democratic Citizen Chair: Simon Stevens This panel invites participants to interrogate the nature of the democratic citizen. What is the ideal democratic citizen? What is the proper role of citizens in a democratic society and politics? How can democracies ensure that citizens participate in constructive and meaningful ways? These are all questions of method that underpin what it means to be a democracy and a democratic citizen. 4. Methodologies for Global Democracy Chair: Esma Baycan-Herzog This panel invites participants to consider the global nature of democracy. Democratic backsliding, for example, is a global phenomenon, as is the possibility of promoting democracy as a global form of social and political organisation. This panel examines the methods that underpin how we understand democracy across state borders, and the role of state borders themselves. 5. Methodological Dimensions of Democracy Online Chair: Eva Erman This panel invites participants to reflect on methodological contributions to the digital features of democracy. The status of democracy is mediated and affected by advancements in technology, such as Artificial Intelligence, but also the online nature of participation in democracy. This panel interrogates how the status of democracy can be preserved or advanced, given ongoing technological innovation. 6. Methodology as Democracy / Democracy as Methodology Chair: Ed Handby This panel invites participants to reflect on the nexus between methodology and democracy itself. The study of methods itself is a democratic project, through an examination of the underlying nature of justice, freedom, and equality. This panel looks at how democracy exists as both an object and a method of political theory.