Democracy has backtracked in many parts of the world and it seems that support for democratic principles is declining. There is even research suggesting that support for democracy is decreasing among the youth in stable democracies, which is particularly concerning from the viewpoint of democracy. Political polarization and the challenging of democratic norms from right-wing populist parties have become part of everyday politics in many Western democracies. Despite all the worrying signs, there are also optimists who argue that support for core democratic principles remains very stable and that we are witnessing a change in how representative democracy works in Western democracies, rather than an erosion of it.
Scholars have done well in documenting the bases of discontentment with democracy, such as economic distress and cultural conflicts within Western societies. What has not been studied as much is what kind of democracy the people want in the future. Consequently, instead of demonstrating the current state of democracy, in this Research Topic we are concerned with exploring what the future of democracy will look like. If the fundamental principles of democracy indeed are being questioned, what do the people want instead? What do political elites think about the future of democracy? What will political behavior look like in the future? What will the roles of citizens and elites be in democratic governance? What will democratic institutions look like?
Contributions to the Research Topic should address, in broad terms, the future of democracy. Themes could include, for example, attitudes towards democracy, democratic governance and public administration and future patterns of political participation and citizen behavior. We welcome both single-country cases and comparative analyses. We also hope to see contributions that combine different disciplines, such as political science, public administration, sociology and (political) psychology. Although most successful submission are likely to be empirical, theoretical contributions are also welcome. Regardless of the scientific approach, all submissions should directly address the question of the future of democracy in the world.
Democracy has backtracked in many parts of the world and it seems that support for democratic principles is declining. There is even research suggesting that support for democracy is decreasing among the youth in stable democracies, which is particularly concerning from the viewpoint of democracy. Political polarization and the challenging of democratic norms from right-wing populist parties have become part of everyday politics in many Western democracies. Despite all the worrying signs, there are also optimists who argue that support for core democratic principles remains very stable and that we are witnessing a change in how representative democracy works in Western democracies, rather than an erosion of it.
Scholars have done well in documenting the bases of discontentment with democracy, such as economic distress and cultural conflicts within Western societies. What has not been studied as much is what kind of democracy the people want in the future. Consequently, instead of demonstrating the current state of democracy, in this Research Topic we are concerned with exploring what the future of democracy will look like. If the fundamental principles of democracy indeed are being questioned, what do the people want instead? What do political elites think about the future of democracy? What will political behavior look like in the future? What will the roles of citizens and elites be in democratic governance? What will democratic institutions look like?
Contributions to the Research Topic should address, in broad terms, the future of democracy. Themes could include, for example, attitudes towards democracy, democratic governance and public administration and future patterns of political participation and citizen behavior. We welcome both single-country cases and comparative analyses. We also hope to see contributions that combine different disciplines, such as political science, public administration, sociology and (political) psychology. Although most successful submission are likely to be empirical, theoretical contributions are also welcome. Regardless of the scientific approach, all submissions should directly address the question of the future of democracy in the world.