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Systematizing Democratic Systems Approaches

Seven Conceptual Building Blocks

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2026

Rikki Dean Open the ORCID record for Rikki Dean [Opens in a new window] ,
Jonathan Rinne Open the ORCID record for Jonathan Rinne [Opens in a new window]  and
Brigitte Geissel Open the ORCID record for Brigitte Geissel [Opens in a new window]
Rikki Dean*
Affiliation:
Goethe-University Frankfurt
Jonathan Rinne*
Affiliation:
Goethe-University Frankfurt
Brigitte Geissel*
Affiliation:
Goethe-University Frankfurt
*
E-mail: dean@soz.uni-frankfurt.de
E-mail: j@rinne.co
E-mail: geissel@soz.uni-frankfurt.de
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Abstract

The notion that democracy is a system is ever present in democratic theory. However, what it means to think systemically about democracy (as opposed to what it means for a political system to be democratic) is under-elaborated. This article sets out a meta-level framework for thinking systemically about democracy, built upon seven conceptual building blocks, which we term (1) functions, (2) norms, (3) practices, (4) actors, (5) arenas, (6) levels, and (7) interactions. This enables us to systematically structure the debate on democratic systems, highlighting the commonalities and differences between systems approaches, their omissions, and the key questions that remain to be answered. It also enables us to push the debate forward both by demonstrating how a full consideration of all seven building blocks would address issues with existing approaches and by introducing new conceptual clarifications within those building blocks.

Keywords

deliberative democracydeliberative systemdemocratic systemdemocratic theorysystems theory

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Type
Articles
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Democratic Theory , Volume 6 , Issue 2 , December 2019 , pp. 41 - 57
Copyright
Copyright © Berghahn Books 2019

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