Democracy and Competition
Rethinking the Forms, Purposes, and Values of Competition in Democracy
Will be published approx. on 28. February 2026
Book
Hardback
192 pages
978-1-80596-663-0 (ISBN)
Description
Democracy and Competition sets out to reframe the role of competition in democratic theory. Competition is the defining feature of modern democratic politics. On the dominant account of 'competitive democracy', competition is framed as electoral competition. This framing is shared by both defenders and critics of the dominant model, who then argue whether democracy needs more or less (of this kind of) competition. However, the contributions to this volume highlight the diversity of concepts, sites, and modes of competition within democratic politics. They ask: when, where, and what kind of competition we need in democracies today, what purposes these varied forms of competition serve, and what kinds of competition threaten democracy. This volume aims to set a new research agenda for democratic theorists of all stripes, while also making arguments about competition and institutional design that are relevant to empirical political science, legal scholarship, and studies of communication.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Liverpool University Press
Illustrations
4 Illustrations, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-80596-663-0 (9781805966630)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Alfred Moore is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Politics at the University of York. He is the author of Critical Elitism: Deliberation, Democracy, and the Politics of Expertise (Cambridge University Press, 2017), and has written widely on the politics of expertise. His work engages a wide range of themes in contemporary democratic theory, including anonymity and deliberation, democratic non-participation, and the concept of trust. In 2020-21 he held a British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship for the project Rethinking Political Competition, and he is currently researching the role of ideas of competition in democratic theory and practice. Samuel Bagg is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of South Carolina. His research aims to reimagine democratic ideals and practices in light of realistic assumptions about the dynamics of social inequality and political power His first book, The Dispersion of Power: A Critical Realist Theory of Democracy (OUP, 2024), offers a comprehensive account of why democracy matters and how to make it better. Other recent work applies this framework to questions of institutional design and organizational structure, as well as the political ethics of identity, discourse, mobilization, and party competition.
Content
Notes on Contributors
Democracy and Competition: Renewing Democratic Theory in an Age of Crisis SAMUEL BAGG, AND ALFRED MOORE
Part I Rethinking Competition In The History Of Political Thought 2. Schumpeter's Dare: On the Dangers of Democracy as Competitive Election NATASHA PIANO
Rigging the Game: Conflict and Competition in E. E. Schattschneider's Theory of Democracy ALFRED MOORE
Part II Political Competition And / As Public Discourse 4. Competitive Information Environments and Support for Undemocratic Actions JAMES DRUCKMAN
On Perfecting the Conduit of Political Communication: The Virtues and Vices of Contestatory and Collaborative Communication Modes ANDRE BAECHTIGER
Part III Political, Social, And Economic Competition: Complex Interactions 6. Equalizing Political Competition Fabio Wolkenstein
How Much (and What Kind of) Economic Competition is Compatible with Democratic Competition? LIZA HERZOG
Competition and the Ethics of Social Movement Activism EMILEE CHAPMAN
Competition and Democratic Empowerments MARK WARREN
Part IV Competition And Contemporary Democratic Theory 10. In Praise of Friction: Mutual Interference, Parity, and the Benefits of Competition SHAI AGMON AND SAMUEL BAGG
What Kind of Achievement is Democratic Competition and How Would We Know? ALEXANDER KIRSHNER
The Democratic Function of Conflict: Comparing Minimalist, Partisan, and Procedural Conceptions of Democracy SIMONE CHAMBERS
Index
Democracy and Competition: Renewing Democratic Theory in an Age of Crisis SAMUEL BAGG, AND ALFRED MOORE
Part I Rethinking Competition In The History Of Political Thought 2. Schumpeter's Dare: On the Dangers of Democracy as Competitive Election NATASHA PIANO
Rigging the Game: Conflict and Competition in E. E. Schattschneider's Theory of Democracy ALFRED MOORE
Part II Political Competition And / As Public Discourse 4. Competitive Information Environments and Support for Undemocratic Actions JAMES DRUCKMAN
On Perfecting the Conduit of Political Communication: The Virtues and Vices of Contestatory and Collaborative Communication Modes ANDRE BAECHTIGER
Part III Political, Social, And Economic Competition: Complex Interactions 6. Equalizing Political Competition Fabio Wolkenstein
How Much (and What Kind of) Economic Competition is Compatible with Democratic Competition? LIZA HERZOG
Competition and the Ethics of Social Movement Activism EMILEE CHAPMAN
Competition and Democratic Empowerments MARK WARREN
Part IV Competition And Contemporary Democratic Theory 10. In Praise of Friction: Mutual Interference, Parity, and the Benefits of Competition SHAI AGMON AND SAMUEL BAGG
What Kind of Achievement is Democratic Competition and How Would We Know? ALEXANDER KIRSHNER
The Democratic Function of Conflict: Comparing Minimalist, Partisan, and Procedural Conceptions of Democracy SIMONE CHAMBERS
Index