Is government contestability an integral part of the definition of democracy?

Trantidis, Aris (2017) Is government contestability an integral part of the definition of democracy? Politics, 37 (1). pp. 67-81. ISSN 0263-3957

Full content URL: http://doi.org/10.1177/0263395715619635

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Abstract

Is government contestability an integral part of the definition of democracy? The answer to this question affects the way we classify political systems in which, despite a formally open political structure, a dominant political group faces weak opposition from other political parties and civil society organizations – an indication of a low degree of government contestability. In Robert Dahl’s polyarchy, contestability is an essential dimension of democracy and, consequently, one-party dominance is classified as an ‘inclusive hegemony’ outside his conception of democracy. For procedural definitions of democracy, however, dominant party systems are legitimate outcomes of electoral competition provided that there have been no formal restrictions to the exercise of civil and political rights. The article examines the boundaries between democracy and authoritarianism, broadens the notion of authoritarian controls to include soft manipulative practices and explains why government contestability should be regarded as a constitutive property of democracy.

Additional Information:Blog post on this article after request by the politicsblog, titled 'What pluralism tells us about dominant party systems today' (pubished 16th August 2016), available at http://politicsblog.ac.uk/2016/08/16/pluralism-tells-us-dominant-party-systems-today/
Keywords:Democracy, Authoritarianism, Hegemony, Dominant party, Hybrid regimes, Pluralism, Democratic theory, Definition of democracy
Subjects:L Social studies > L222 Democracy
L Social studies > L200 Politics
L Social studies > L210 Political Theories
L Social studies > L220 Political Systems
L Social studies > L221 Autocracy
Divisions:College of Social Science > School of Social & Political Sciences
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ID Code:33800
Deposited On:17 Oct 2018 11:07

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