In political science, the term polyarchy (poly "many", arkhe "rule")[1] was used by Robert A. Dahl to describe a form of government in which power is invested in multiple people. It takes the form of neither a dictatorship nor a democracy.[2] This form of government was first implemented in the United States and France and gradually adopted by other countries. Polyarchy is different from democracy, according to Dahl, because the fundamental democratic principle is "the continuing responsiveness of the government to the preferences of its citizens, considered as political equals" with unimpaired opportunities.[2] A polyarchy is a state that has certain procedures that are necessary conditions for following the democratic principle.[3][4]
Robert Dahl Polyarchy Pdf
Dahl argues that "democracy" is an ideal type that no country has ever achieved.[6] For Dahl, democracy is a system that is "completely responsive to all its citizens",[6] and the closest to the democratic ideal any country can come is polyarchy.[6]
Polyarchy and its procedures may be insufficient for achieving full democracy. For example, poor people may be unable to participate in the political process. Some authors see polyarchy as a form of government that is not intended for greater social justice or cultural realization or to allow the repressed to politically participate.[7]
In Preface to Democratic Theory (1956), Dahl argues that an increase in citizen political involvement may not always be beneficial for polyarchy. An increase in the political participation of members of less educated classes, for example, could reduce the support for the basic norms of polyarchy, because members of those classes are more predisposed to be authoritarian-minded.[12][4]
Some insist on a fairly robust (though still procedural) definition of democracy, like Robert Dahl's "polarchy." By this conception, democracy requires not only free, fair, and competitive elections, but also the freedoms that make them truly meaningful (such as freedom of organization and freedom of expression), alternative sources of information, and institutions to ensure that government policies depend on the votes and preferences of citizens. Some measure democracy by a "minimalist" standard like Joseph Schumpeter's: a political system in which the principal positions of power are filled "through a competitive struggle for the people's vote." 2 Yet contemporary applications of this electoral conception heavily overlap with Dahl's polyarchy by also implying the civil [End Page 21] and political freedoms necessary for political debate and electoral campaigning. 2ff7e9595c
Comments