An Analysis of Robert A. Dahl's Democracy and its Critics

"There are few better examples of analysis -- the critical thinking skill of understanding how an argument is built -- than Robert Dahl's Democracy and its Critics. In this work, the American political theorist closely analyzes the democratic political system and then evaluates whether the arguments that are in favor of it are, in fact, rigorous. ¶Dahl sets out to describe democracy's merits and problems, asking if it really is the worthwhile political system we believe it to be. Knowing that the idea of democracy is now almost universally popular, his detailed analysis leads him to look at a number of regimes that claim to be democratic but do not, in truth, practice democracy. But Dahl is not only interested in uncovering uncomfortable truths. He goes further and creates a set of standards by which we can all decide whether a country really is democratic. Dahl's analysis of the evidence leads him to conclude that the following criteria must be met for a regime to be considered truly democratic: elected officials control policy-making; there are free and fair elections of officials; everyone must have a right to vote; everyone has the right to run for office; there is freedom of speech; alternative information is available; and people can form free, independent political groups."--Provided by publisher A modern classica that integrates Dahl's thining as it developed over the course of his academic career and marking a significant contribution to theories about democracy. Dahl argues that democracy is the most desirable politcal system—despite its imperfections. he offers an interpretation of democratic theory and practice that is relevant to the modern world and that pays specail attention to the problems highlighted by people who criticise it. By rigorously testing basic assumptions about what democracy is against the challenges posed by critics, the work recasts our future understanding of democracy and outlines the future directions Dahl believes it should take. Cover Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Ways in to the Text Who Was Robert A. Dahl? What Does Democracy and Its Critics Say? Why Does Democracy and Its Critics Matter? Section 1: Influences Module 1: The Author and the Historical Context Module 2: Academic Context Module 3: The Problem Module 4: The Author's Contribution Section 2: Ideas Module 5: Main Ideas Module 6: Secondary Ideas Module 7: Achievement Module 8: Place in the Author's Work Section 3: Impact Module 9: The First Responses Module 10: The Evolving Debate Module 11: Impact and Influence Today Module 12: Where Next? Glossary of Terms People Mentioned in the Text Works Cited