Democracy - Theory and Practice 2102-ANG-L-D5DETP

The course is to help participants to understand the phenomenon of democracy as seemingly the most legitimate and preferred system of government in the contemporary world - though often conceived in various, sometimes incompatible ways. It will familiarise students with the multiplicity of interpretations of democracy, the variety of theoretical models, as well as critical approaches to this system and its philosophical and ideological foundations.

Third-year students are supposed to have some preliminary knowledge of democracy and its various forms. The course will build up on these grounds, aiming at broadening, deepening and structuring students’ knowledge in such a way that re-emphasises the theoretical relevance and political topicality of the issue of democracy, to allow for better understanding of its complexity and ambiguity.

The lecture will adopt an integral approach to democracy: historical reflections on the origins and evolution of democratic forms will be closely linked to the reconstruction and analysis of the main theoretical models, while ideological and theoretical premises will be confronted with the practice of the functioning of democracy in selected countries.

The various models of democracy, both historical and contemporary, will be discussed mainly with reference to D. Held's “Models of Democracy”, which will serve as our main textbook.

Special emphasis will be placed on the seminal nature of J. Schumpeter's and M. Weber's conception of democracy, as well as on the significance of later disputes about the forms of development of democratic participation and deliberation, the extent of possible consensus, and the role of antagonism in different varieties of the democratic system. With regard to the recent past, the development of techniques and technologies, especially information and communication technology and mass media, and their impact on the extent and quality of democratic participation will be discussed. Another important issue is the impact of contemporary civilisational and cultural changes, processes of regional integration, globalisation and cosmopolitanisation.

Much attention will be paid to the manifestations and consequences of the processes of 'massification' of democracy in the 19th and 20th centuries, the relationship between democracy and nationalism, interpretations of the phenomenon of populism, the role of civil society, and issues of trust and social capital in a democratic system.

The part devoted to democratic practice will discuss, among other things, the experience of post-communist countries after 1989, the problems of democracy in the European Union and the United States, and the rise of illiberal democracies. This part of the course will give all students an opportunity to present a case of their choice and to apply theoretical knowledge when assessing the advancement of democracy in a selected country.

Finally, we will discuss selected critiques of democratic ideas and practice - both ancient (Plato, Aristotle) and contemporary (leftist, anarchist, republican, monarchist).

Such an open approach is to show the unique place of democracy in the broad context of endless disputes about the nature of man and social relations, the role of the state and the nature of power.