Lecture : POLI 100 FIFTH LECTURE ON DAHL
Document Summary
And questions of democratic govt or at least dem accountability are becoming increasingly pressing at a global, supranational level. The kind of institutions needed for democracy in nation-states (& above) cannot be the same as those used in small communities & societies: city-state of classical athens or renaissance venice; old new engl towns. Dahl: for large-scale democracy, there are 6 minimum requirements: p. 85. In a unit as lg. as a country, these political institutions of polyarchical democracy are necessary to satisfy the following democratic criteria: elected representatives . Control of the agenda: free*, fair*, frequent elections . Control of the agenda (effective participation**: freedom of expression . Control of the agenda: alternative sources of information . Control of the agenda: associational autonomy . * note: the matter of what constitutes free and fair elections requires more fleshing out. Fair might be better understood here as egalitarian or even as democratic (although the latter invites confusion).
