Democracy: Representative Crisis and Deliberative Innovations

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

How can we understand the agony and renewal of democracy? This interdisciplinary course is divided into two parts. In the first part, we explore the history, theories, and realities of democracy. If, from Ancient Athens to the Modern Revolutions, democracy was associated with direct self-rule, the invention of the representative government puts elections at the core of politics. The theory of representation is complex, and its concrete practices are plagued by crisis: elitism, corruption, and backsliding. In the second part, we analyze, from a comparative perspective, the role of democratic innovations in renewing democracy and shaping public policy. We focus on five types: referendum, participatory budgeting, e-democracy, collaborative governance, and deliberative mini-publics.