A Systemic Theory of Democracy: Towards the Democratic Diagnosis of Political Systems

by Victor Sanchez-Mazas

Overview

A new approach to democratic theory that empowers its citizens.

Democracy is a complex social system. A Systemic Theory of Democracy investigates the complexity of democracy's functioning through a systemic perspective to identify opportunities and challenges for democratic transformations. It critically reappraises social systems theory, extracting critical tools to describe and evaluate dynamic and ever-evolving democratic systems within their changing societal environment. By articulating political functions, social practices, and democratic principles, this systemic framework transcends theoretical models' boundaries, enabling it to map existing political systems and identify their context-specific shortcomings.

A systemic approach to democracy, argues political researcher Victor Sanchez-Mazas, opens the road for the possibility and necessity for citizens to identify the problems faced by their democratic system. A Systemic Theory of Democracy calls for a critical democratic agenda: the constant diagnosis of democratic shortcomings, by citizens themselves and through democratic processes. This book introduces democratic diagnosis as a major challenge and opportunity for both contemporary democratic theory and existing democratic systems.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9782889156481
Publisher:	EPFL Press
Publication date:	04/01/2025
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.45(h) x (d)

About the Author

Victor Sanchez-Mazas is a political researcher from the University of Geneva. He is member of the Institute of Citizenship Studies and of the Department of Political Science and International Relationships. In collaboration with public collectivities, he designs, implements, and experiments with several projects of democratic innovation in Switzerland.

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 2
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 3
INTRODUCTION 4
1. SYSTEMS IN DEMOCRATIC THEORY 19
1. THE SYSTEMIC TURN IN DELIBERATIVE DEMOCRATIC THEORY 20
2. TWO MODELS OF DELIBERATIVE DEMOCRATIC SYSTEMS 28
2. OPENING THE BLACK BOX OF DEMOCRATIC SYSTEMS 39
1. THE DESCRIPTIVE LAYER 39
2. THE NORMATIVE LAYER 54
3. SYSTEMS THEORY: A CRITICAL REAPPRAISAL 65
1. SYSTEMS THEORY 69
2. SOCIETY AND SOCIAL SYSTEMS 82
4. THE SOCIOLOGICAL BOUNDARIES OF POLITICAL SYSTEMS 106
1. THE CONTINGENT FUNCTION AND CODES OF POLITICAL SYSTEMS 109
2. THE ENVIRONMENT OF POLITICAL SYSTEMS 115
3. THE INTERNAL DIFFERENTIATION OF POLITICAL SYSTEMS 120
4. THE LEGITIMACY OF POLITICAL SYSTEMS 125
5. FROM POWER TO JUSTIFICATION: THE NORMATIVITY OF DEMOCRATIC SYSTEMS 136
1. POWER AND NORMATIVITY: FROM LUHMANN AND HABERMAS TO FORST 137
2. FROM PRACTICES OF JUSTIFICATION TO DEMOCRATIC LEGITIMACY 146
3. RECIPROCITY AND GENERALITY AS NORMATIVE COMPASSES FOR DEMOCRACY 149
4. THE NORMATIVE LAYER: JUSTIFICATION CRITERIA AND CONTEXTUAL NORMS 154
6. DEMOCRATIC SYSTEMS : SKETCHING COMPLEXITY 165
1. OBSERVING AND MAPPING POLITICAL SYSTEMS: THE DESCRIPTIVE LAYER 165
2. TOWARDS DEMOCRATIC SYSTEMS: THE NORMATIVE LAYER 184
7. TOWARDS THE DEMOCRATIC DIAGNOSIS OF POLITICAL SYSTEMS 209
1. DIAGNOSIS AND CONTEXT-SENSITIVITY 210
2. GUIDELINES FOR THE TASK OF DIAGNOSIS 220
3. DIAGNOSIS OF DEMOCRACY AND DEMOCRATIC DIAGNOSIS 234
CONCLUSION 245
BIBLIOGRAPHY 258