On Democracy [Hardcover]

Professor Robert A. Dahl (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 11, 1998

The last half of the 20th century has been an era of democratic triumph. The main antidemocratic regimes - communist, fascist, Nazi - have disappeared, and new democracies are emerging vigorously or tentatively throughout the world. In this book, a prominent political theorist provides a primer on democracy that clarifies what it is, why it is valuable, how it works, and what challenges it confronts for the future. Robert Dahl begins with an overview of the early history of democracy. He goes on to discuss differences among democracies, criteria for a democratic process, basic institutions necessary for advancing the goals of democracy, and the social and economic conditions that favour the development and maintenance of these institutions. Along the way, he illustrates his points by describing different democratic countries, explaining for example, why India, which seems to lack most of the conditions for a stable democracy, is nevertheless able to sustain one. Dahl answers such questions as why market-capitalism can both favour and harm democracy. He concludes by examining the major problems that democratic countries will face in the 21st century, problems that could arise from complexities in the economic order, from internationalization, from cultural diversity, and from the difficulty of achieving an adequate level of citizen competence.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Democracy has been discussed off and on for about twenty-five hundred years, enough time to provide a tidy set of ideas about democracy on which everyone, or nearly everyone, could agree. For better or worse, that is not the case."

Freshman poly-sci instructors need fret no longer, however; as an introduction to democratic principles, Robert A. Dahl's On Democracy is rather tidy, indeed. Dahl, an emeritus professor of political science at Yale, covers questions like "Where and how did democracy develop?" in accessible--almost chatty--prose, often taking the time to say a few "words about words," in which he examines, for example, the historical connotations of "democracy" and "republic" (it turns out that until James Madison declared there was a political distinction to be made, the only difference between the two was their etymological roots). Experienced readers may find their eyes glazing over at pronouncements such as "Democratic institutions are less likely to develop in a country subject to intervention by another country hostile to democracy in that country," but if you're looking for a comprehensive yet brief overview of how democracy works, On Democracy fits the bill.

From Publishers Weekly

What is really meant by the term "democracy"? How did democracy come about? What characteristics must a polity possess in order to be properly dubbed democratic? What is the relationship between capitalism and democracy? What are some challenges facing democracies in the 21st century? In this thorough but concise handbook by one of America's foremost political scientists, Yale professor Dahl (Democracy and Its Critics) answers these and other questions. The book is a highly structured work organized around subtopics on the origins of democracy, the democratic idea, actual democracies and conditions that favor or impede the development of democracy. Dahl discusses the tension between citizen participation and system effectiveness, the relative strengths and weaknesses of presidential versus parliamentary systems. Some of the best sections address the tension that exists in societies (e.g., the U.S.) where a democratic system based on political equality coexists with market capitalism, which yields economic inequality. Especially helpful are short "words about words" segments in which Dahl defines and clarifies terminology that is often used imprecisely (e.g., republic, representative, plurality system, etc.). Dahl's primary concern is the intersection between theory and practice, but his work is peppered with historical references to such advocates and critics of democracy as Plato, John Stuart Mill and James Madison. Dahl nimbly sketches the various issues and neatly frames controversies for the reader. His accessible style makes this an excellent introduction for novices, as well as a trusty handbook for experts and political science mavens.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (December 11, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300076274
• ISBN-13: 978-0300076271
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #688,409 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Basic, April 29, 2006

By 

Urobolos - See all my reviews

This review is from: On Democracy (Yale Nota Bene) (Paperback)

Given that Professor Dahl has written numerous books on democracy and is considered an expert in the field, "On Democracy" is surprisingly uninteresting. The book covers various aspects of democracy (history, preconditions, systems of government, elections, and its relationship to capitalism) superficially. With the exception of a few (very occasional) facts, the book provides little beyond what an educated person with an interest in democracy (e.g., college and reads the newspaper) already knows.

Part of the problem is the writing: it is meandering, thus the book's 200 pages are not enough to go into any issue in depth. Part of the problem is a lack of focus, for example, Dahl spends several pages trying to show that assembly based democracy is not practical for large populations (which should be obvious), while not a single page on how democracies in practice assess the opinions of large populations (e.g., polling, districting, etc.).

A deeper problem may simply be that Dahl is a political "scientist". Law and economics seem to have long since stripped polisci of logic and empiricism, both of which are missing here.

Why two stars (instead of one)? The book is well organized and does provide a framework for thinking about democracy; Dahl just never develops it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Place To Begin A Study of Democracy, May 21, 2004

By 

Andrew Rock (Silver Spring, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On Democracy (Yale Nota Bene) (Paperback)

I read this as a precursor to reading other works regarding the challenges facing democracies. Dahl's book is written for the general reader, the beginner, someone unfamiliar with the subject, or a student who has been away from the subject for a while and wants a broad, relatively easy reading survey of the topics and issues facing democracies. It is written not for the scholar but for the informed lay person. It goes down easily in several metro commutes and even worked as bed time reading. It is also a nice calm look at issues that can become very heated in the press and media. A several page mention of the uniqueness of India, the world's most populous democracy, has also triggered my latent interest in following up on that topic as well.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must-read for those interested in democracy!, November 20, 2003

By 

Hari Ramanathan - See all my reviews

This review is from: On Democracy (Yale Nota Bene) (Paperback)

The most concise, logical and authoritative text "On Democracy." If you are confused about democracy in theory and/or practice, this book can help you out!

I really liked the way Dahl describes the origins of democratic thought and practices, the necessary conditions for an ideal democracy, the necessary institutions for an actual democracy, pro's and con's of parliamentary and presidential democracies and finally of increasing relevance, the double-edge sworded relationship between market capitalism and democracy.

It's the perfect guide to bring together and give shape to your existing and confused ideas. The only criticism I can offer about the text is its obvious Western bias. Even though modern representative democracy was no doubt shaped in Europe and North America, the author either intentionally or out of ignorance did not give credit and/or mention to the existence of ancient democratic practices in the villages of India and other indigenous peoples of the world.

Nevertheless, a fantastic, though rather dry read. It's money well spent.