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The impact of 1989 on theoretical perceptions of democracy
Der Einfluss von 1989 auf theoretische Wahrnehmungen der Demokratie
[working paper]
Abstract The revolutions of 1989 have predominantly been understood as the confirmation of Western, liberal democracy as the ultimate model of the modern polity. Here, it is however argued that there is more to 1989 than the mere collapse of the communist world as the direct alternative to Western modernity.... view more
The revolutions of 1989 have predominantly been understood as the confirmation of Western, liberal democracy as the ultimate model of the modern polity. Here, it is however argued that there is more to 1989 than the mere collapse of the communist world as the direct alternative to Western modernity. 1989 has had subtle implications for rethinking democracy. 1989 should not be understood as merely marking the triumph of Western liberal democracy, but instead, it can be shown that the events of 1989 and dissident thought also entailed a variety of alternative democratic models, the retrieval of which can help reinvigorate (and in many cases has already done so) current debates on democracy. In the essay, I will first argue that the general interpretation of 1989 as a triumph of liberal democracy is problematic. I will then proceed by discussing four alternative understandings of democracy that have emerged with 1989, for analytical purposes represented as democratic models: radicalized liberal democracy, republican democracy, civil democracy, and cosmopolitan democracy. The alternative dimensions of democracy as articulated by East-Central European dissidents have been sensed, picked up, and re-elaborated in political theory since 1989, in this contributing to perceptive shifts in the democratic imaginary.... view less
Keywords
political history; political theory; Eastern Europe; political change; liberalism; dissident; democracy; communism; cosmopolitanism; republicanism
Classification
Political Process, Elections, Political Sociology, Political Culture
Basic Research, General Concepts and History of Political Science
Method
descriptive study; historical
Free Keywords
1989; Cosmopolitanism; Dissent; Liberal Democracy; Republicanism
Document language
English
Publication Year
2008
City
Berlin
Page/Pages
15 p.
Series
Working Paper Series of the Research Network 1989, 21
Status
Published Version; reviewed
Licence
Creative Commons - Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works