Transnational democracy in an insecure world

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

32 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

If global governance is consequential, its legitimacy ought to rest on principles of democracy. However, unilateral action such as that taken by the USA in Iraq and elsewhere has hurt the most visible such project, cosmopolitan democracy, by undermining its liberal multilateralist foundations. Other democratic projects have not been quite so badly damaged, in particular, the idea of a transnational discursive democracy grounded in the engagement of discourses in international public spheres. The discourse aspects of international affairs are important when it comes to issues of war and peace, conflict and security, no less so here than elsewhere. Democracy faces competition in the informal realm of discourses from both the "war of ideas" and "soft power" projections, but can hold up well against them, and can more easily pass the test of reflexivity. Discursive democracy can help constitute effective responses to global insecurity.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)101-119
Number of pages19
JournalInternational Political Science Review
Volume27
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2006
Externally publishedYes

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Transnational democracy in an insecure world'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this