Democracy, Political Power, and Authority

• Autores: Mark Haugaard
• Localización: Social research: An international quarterly of the social sciences, ISSN 0037-783X, Nº. 4, 2010 (Ejemplar dedicado a: From impunity to accountablity: Africa's development in the 21st century.), págs. 1049-1074
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • This article explores the conditions of possibility for democracy through the analysis of power and authority. Political power, as distinct from coercion, is the key to democracy, as a set of institutions for managing conflict. These institutions presuppose authority, which constitutes a performative act that is validated relative to local perceptions of reasonableness. Democratic power constitutes a nonzero-sum institutionalization of conflict reproduced through the structuring of authority relative to certain principles that allow for repeat play, including equality, impartiality and separation of spheres. This presupposes a democratic subject who is restrained and accountable.