Dahl Robert is a well-known political scientist who has been involved in democracy issues. He believed that the excessive concentration and centralization of power is a significant obstacle to such a political system. What is known about an employee at Yale? What political regime did he consider the best?
short biography
Dahl Robert was born on 12/17/1915 in Inwood (Iowa). At the age of twenty-one, he became a bachelor of the University of Washington. Four years later, he received the title of Doctor of Yale University.
He has been an employee of many government agencies in the United States. Towards the end of World War II, he took part in the fighting as a soldier of the American army in Europe. He was awarded the Bronze Star.
After the war ended, Dahl again began teaching at Yale, where he worked until 1986. He became a Sterling professor of political science.
There was no researcher in the field of political science 02/05/2014.
Democracy
To understand Dahl’s concept, attention should be paid to his work, Introduction to the Theory of Democracy. The work is considered the first important study of a political scientist. The author points out that for him the theory of democracy is not convincing. He directs his attention to the consideration of several approaches to this problem.
His attention falls on two theories: Madison's, populist. He studied them in his work. Madison's theory, in his opinion, is focused on issues of power of the minority and majority, on the role of central authority in the democratic world. This theory is expressed in the activities of American federalists.
There is a classification of the political regimes of Robert Dahl:
- Polyarchy - high political competition and citizen participation.
- Competitive oligarchy - high political competition, but low participation of citizens.
- Open hegemony is low political competition, but high participation of citizens.
- Closed hegemony - low political activity and citizen participation.
The political scientist considered polyarchy to be the most acceptable option. What is she like?
Polyarchy
By polyarchy, Robert Dahl meant a system of political governance, which was carried out through open competition for power between political groups.
The government must constantly respond to the needs of citizens. In this case, three basic rights of the population should be taken into account:
- Formulation of needs.
- Informing about one’s own interests with the help of collective or individual actions.
- The presence of needs that should determine the functioning of government without discrimination.
Dahl came to the conclusion that there is no complete democratic system in the world, so he replaced the generally accepted term with “polyarchy”. He described this political regime in seven institutions:
- Government decisions must be controlled politically. Credentials are issued for a specified period.
- Elections do not accept violence; they must be open, equal.
- All adult citizens are entitled to take part in the elections.
- Almost all adult citizens have the right to run.
- Citizens have the right to discuss political issues without fear of possible punishment.
- The population has the right to use alternative sources of information.
- Citizens can create associations, including political parties, which are independent of state organizations in their interests.
In the characterization of the polyarchy that Dahl proposed, it is not just a political system with a set of specific political institutions. Polyarchy is also a process, including historical.
The model developed by the political scientist has various interpretations. But the key point lies in the presence of the listed political institutions that ensure democracy for the entire process of political life. Polyarchy is the maximum possible system that corresponds to the ideal of democracy.
About the stability of the polyarchy
Criteria of Robert Dahl, according to which the stability of his system is possible:
- In order to gain power or ensure it, leaders of political life should not use the means of forced coercion. For example, the use of power structures in the form of the police and the army is unacceptable.
- It is important to have a dynamic society, which is organized on the principles of pluralism.
- Conflicts related to subcultural pluralism need to be balanced by a high level of tolerance.
From this we can conclude that if the state does not have such conditions, then in it, most likely, an undemocratic regime will arise .
It is important that citizens themselves perceive and use democratic values in order to improve their own lives. A positive attitude towards democracy directly depends on the history of each state. Features of historical development are reflected in religion, political culture, and folk traditions.
Scientific contribution
Professor Dahl Robert has had a significant impact on political science. He studied the distribution of power, the foundations of democracy and pluralism.
In his opinion, democracy should meet the following minimum requirements, which are described above.
In 1995, he was awarded the Schutte Prize in Political Science.
Criticism
Not everyone agrees with the research of Robert Dahl. Thus, the political philosopher Blattberg was opposed to defining democracy by listing the minimum requirements.