Contemporary Theories of Democracy

Pre-requisites: Bachelor’s degree

Course objectives: The main objective of this course is to acquaint students with some of the most important ideas and problems in contemporary democratic theory.

Course description: This course is concerned with examining several contemporary theories of democracy. In particular, we will focus on the following theoretical questions: Is democratic decision-making conducive to the common good? Is it possible to arrive at the common good by voting? How important is public deliberation in that regard? What should be the role of citizen participation in a democracy? In order to address these questions we will first examine pluralism and economic theories of democracy (public choice theory, Downs’ economic theory of democracy). In the second part of the course we will turn to deliberative democracy and epistemic democracy.

Learning Outcomes: By the end of the course students are expected to improve their analytical skills and bring forth well-formed arguments in democratic theory.

Literature/Reading:

• Harison, Ros, Demokratija, Beograd: Clio, 2004.
• Mill, John Stuart, Izabrani politički spisi II: Razmatranja o predstavničkoj vladavini, Zagreb: Informator, Fakultet političkih nauka, 1989.
• Dal, Robert A., Dileme pluralističke demokratije, Beograd: BIGZ, 1994.
• Kaningam, Frenk, Teorije demokratije, Beograd: Filip Višnjić, 2003.
• Mladenović, Ivan, Racionalni izbor i demokratija, Beograd: Institut za filozofiju i društvenu teoriju, I. P. „Albatros plus“, 2012.
• Cohen, Joshua, „An Epistemic Conception of Democracy“, Ethics, Vol. 97, No. 1, 1986, pp. 26-38.
• Sen, Amartya, „Democracy as a Universal Value“, Journal of Democracy, Vol. 10, No. 3, 1999, pp. 3-17.