Democratic And Authoritarian Political Systems In Twenty-First-Century World Society, Vol. 1 Differentiation, Inclusion, Responsiveness 1

What seemed unthinkable after the end of the Cold War and the triumph of liberalism has become reality today: the democratic world society of the 21st century is threatened by illiberal and autocratic political models. The state is no longer an instrument of a dominating stratum trying to control society. It must include individuals, produce valued outputs, know the complexity of society, and accept or deny the autonomy of other specialized function-systems. The authors analyze these political systems of a functionally differentiated world society and argue that they are completely novel because they incessantly adapt to the process of functional differentiation. To this end, they define structural core characteristics of modern policy, such as the political inclusion of everyone as a reaction to individualism; the complexity of polities arising from internal differentiation; and the increasing political decision-making handed to experts and autonomous organizations.

This book is about the radical novelty of modern polities in a functionally differentiated world society. Premodern states were at the apex of a stratified, hierarchical society. They dominated society and all its groups and strata. Modern polities have to be understood through the ecology of relations among different function systems. They have to find and incessantly redefine their place in society. They produce decisions that are collectively binding, but in preparing these decisions experience constraints and knowledge deficiencies that are related to the complexity of a functionally differentiated society. The book concentrates on six analytical perspectives that reflect how modern polities are embedded into 21st century society.These perspectives are: the concept of inclusion and the inclusion revolution constitutive of modern polities; the internal differentiation of polities that endows them with an unprecedented complexity; the fact that polities do not know anything about society and the ways in which they compensate for this; representation and responsiveness as strategies to reconnect with society; the self-restriction of some polities that brings about ever new autonomous expert organizations; the symmetrical rise of autocracies and democracies as the two modern variants of political regimes.

This book is about the radical novelty of modern polities in a functionally differentiated world society. Premodern states were at the apex of a stratified, hierarchical society. They dominated society and all its groups and strata. Modern polities have to be understood through the ecology of relations among different function systems. They have to find and incessantly redefine their place in society. They produce decisions that are collectively binding, but in preparing these decisions experience constraints and knowledge deficiencies that are related to the complexity of a functionally differentiated society. The book concentrates on six analytical perspectives that reflect how modern polities are embedded into 21st century society. These perspectives are: the concept of inclusion and the inclusion revolution constitutive of modern polities; the internal differentiation of polities that endows them with an unprecedented complexity; the fact that polities do not know anything about society and the ways in which they compensate for this; representation and responsiveness as strategies to reconnect with society; the self-restriction of some polities that brings about ever new autonomous expert organizations; the symmetrical rise of autocracies and democracies as the two modern variants of political regimes. Long description: This book is about the radical novelty of modern polities in a functionally differentiated world society. Premodern states were at the apex of a stratified, hierarchical society. They dominated society and all its groups and strata. Modern polities have to be understood through the ecology of relations among different function systems. They have to find and incessantly redefine their place in society. They produce decisions that are collectively binding, but in preparing these decisions experience constraints and knowledge deficiencies that are related to the complexity of a functionally differentiated society. The book concentrates on six analytical perspectives that reflect how modern polities are embedded into 21st century society Cover ......Page 1 Contents......Page 6 Preface......Page 8 1. Individual and Collective Inclusion and Exclusion in Political Systems......Page 14 2. The Rise of Complexity: Internal Differentiation of Political Systems......Page 40 3. Knowledge and the Political System......Page 110 4. Political Responsiveness: The Identification and Processing of Problems in Modern Polities......Page 122 5. Expansion through Self-Restriction: Functional Autonomy in Modern Democracies......Page 150 6. The Bipolarity of Democracy and Authoritarianism and Its Societal Origins......Page 210 Biography of Authors......Page 242