POLT 334 - Democratic Theory

FC SSCI WADV

4 credits
Democratic regimes are facing a host of new or heightened threats–lack of trust in democratic institutions, increasing economic inequality, polarization in the public sphere, and the rise of populist authoritarianism. In the face of these threats, this course poses the question: Why is democracy desirable at all? More generally, who gets to define what democracy is? Beginning with the foundational texts of Rousseau and Mill before turning to contemporary political theory, we will investigate various justifications for and definitions of democratic governance in order to interrogate the extent to which democracy as a normative ideal remains viable.