Democracy and the Global Order

Democracy is the most potent political idea in the world today, yet it is increasingly moribund in its traditional form. Key assumptions of democratic thinking and practice are being undermined by diverse sites of social and economic power, on the one hand, and by dense networks of regional and global interconnectedness, on the other. Distant localities are now interlinked as never before, as states and societies are more tightly enmeshed in webs of international conditions and processes. This study offers a systematic account of these issues. After critically assessing traditional conceptions of democracy in the first part of the volume, part two examines the historical development of the modern state in the context of the inter-state system and the world economy, and traces the rise and displacement of the modern nation-state. Part three explores the theoretical bases of democracy and of the democratic state, and the profound changes these concepts must undergo if they are to retain their relevance in the century ahead. Part four champions an international "cosmopolitan" model of democracy - a new conception of democracy for a new world order.
The author argues that, from economic development to the fight against disease, new democratic mechanisms and procedures are urgently needed. The case is made for, among other things, the reform of the UN, the extension of the idea of regional parliaments, cross-national referenda, as well as the enrichment of democracy at the level of cities, workplaces and neighbourhoods. This book should encourage new departures in democratic thinking.