Democratic Non-Participation

Michael MacKenzie; Alfred James Moore

doi:10.1086/709495

Democratic Non-Participation

Michael MacKenzie, Alfred James Moore

Politics

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The idea that there might be democratic forms of non-participation has been largely overlooked in the theoretical and empirical literature on democracy. Non-participation has variously been seen as a threat to the proper functioning of democracy, a rational choice, or (more rarely) as potentially beneficial at the systems level. We argue that there are forms of non-participation that may be justified on democratic grounds. Our main theoretical move is to distinguish between reflectivity (or thoughtfulness) and participation. We argue that the normative value of both participation and non-participation is conditioned by reflectivity, such that there may be democratically desirable forms of reflective non-participation. To support our claims, we provide examples of how non-participation can help support democratic goods — such as inclusion, influence, and legitimacy — that are normally associated only with democratic participation.

Original language	English
Journal	Polity
Early online date	10 Jun 2020
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1086/709495
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 10 Jun 2020

Bibliographical note

This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. Further copying may not be permitted; contact the publisher for details.

Keywords

Democratic Theory
Participation
Non-Participation
Deliberative Democracy
Protest

Access to Document

10.1086/709495

Democratic Non-Participation - August 2019 - accepted version
This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. Further copying may not be permitted; contact the publisher for details.
Accepted author manuscript, 336 KB

Cite this

@article{c58195b9b71e4f30813eab2b3094705f,

title = "Democratic Non-Participation",

abstract = "The idea that there might be democratic forms of non-participation has been largely overlooked in the theoretical and empirical literature on democracy. Non-participation has variously been seen as a threat to the proper functioning of democracy, a rational choice, or (more rarely) as potentially beneficial at the systems level. We argue that there are forms of non-participation that may be justified on democratic grounds. Our main theoretical move is to distinguish between reflectivity (or thoughtfulness) and participation. We argue that the normative value of both participation and non-participation is conditioned by reflectivity, such that there may be democratically desirable forms of reflective non-participation. To support our claims, we provide examples of how non-participation can help support democratic goods — such as inclusion, influence, and legitimacy — that are normally associated only with democratic participation.",

keywords = "Democratic Theory, Participation, Non-Participation, Deliberative Democracy, Protest",

author = "Michael MacKenzie and Moore, {Alfred James}",

note = "This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher{\textquoteright}s self-archiving policy. Further copying may not be permitted; contact the publisher for details. ",

year = "2020",

month = jun,

day = "10",

doi = "10.1086/709495",

language = "English",

journal = "Polity",

issn = "0032-3497",

publisher = "Palgrave Macmillan",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Democratic Non-Participation

AU - MacKenzie, Michael

AU - Moore, Alfred James

N1 - This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. Further copying may not be permitted; contact the publisher for details.

PY - 2020/6/10

Y1 - 2020/6/10

N2 - The idea that there might be democratic forms of non-participation has been largely overlooked in the theoretical and empirical literature on democracy. Non-participation has variously been seen as a threat to the proper functioning of democracy, a rational choice, or (more rarely) as potentially beneficial at the systems level. We argue that there are forms of non-participation that may be justified on democratic grounds. Our main theoretical move is to distinguish between reflectivity (or thoughtfulness) and participation. We argue that the normative value of both participation and non-participation is conditioned by reflectivity, such that there may be democratically desirable forms of reflective non-participation. To support our claims, we provide examples of how non-participation can help support democratic goods — such as inclusion, influence, and legitimacy — that are normally associated only with democratic participation.

AB - The idea that there might be democratic forms of non-participation has been largely overlooked in the theoretical and empirical literature on democracy. Non-participation has variously been seen as a threat to the proper functioning of democracy, a rational choice, or (more rarely) as potentially beneficial at the systems level. We argue that there are forms of non-participation that may be justified on democratic grounds. Our main theoretical move is to distinguish between reflectivity (or thoughtfulness) and participation. We argue that the normative value of both participation and non-participation is conditioned by reflectivity, such that there may be democratically desirable forms of reflective non-participation. To support our claims, we provide examples of how non-participation can help support democratic goods — such as inclusion, influence, and legitimacy — that are normally associated only with democratic participation.

KW - Democratic Theory

KW - Participation

KW - Non-Participation

KW - Deliberative Democracy

KW - Protest

U2 - 10.1086/709495

DO - 10.1086/709495

M3 - Article

SN - 0032-3497

JO - Polity

JF - Polity

ER -