Democracy without politicians government of the people, by the people, for the people / Terry Bouricius.

Author/creator Bouricius, Terry
Format Electronic
Publication InfoNew York, NY : Routledge, 2026.
Descriptionpages cm
Supplemental ContentFull text available from Taylor & Francis eBooks
Subjects

Contents Democracy in Dysfunction -- The Hopes and Claims of Democracy and Elections -- Electoral Imperatives -- The Inadequacy of Election Reform -- Historical Roots -- Representation -- Neuro-Politics -- Competitive Electoralism -- Participatory Democracy -- Deliberative Democracy -- The Sortition Solution -- Objections to Sortition -- Accountability and Legitimacy -- The Re-emergence of Sortition -- Other Uses of Sortition -- Sortition Design for the Future -- A Transition to Sortition Democracy.
Abstract "This book explains how electoral "democracy" is inherently undemocratic - enshrining rule by elites rather than popular self-rule - and argues that sortition (the use of random selection to form genuinely representative deliberative bodies) is a superior democratic alternative. Making the case that representative government can function better without the exclusive reliance on elections, the author sets out the problems with modern elections, the inadequacies of the commonly proposed reforms, and examines the cognitive biases, detrimental psychological effects and societal polarization that elections exacerbate. The book further delves into the progression of democracy and sortition in ancient Greece, and the abandonment of sortition in the framing of the American Constitution and French Republic. Finally, it sets out both immediate and long-term prospects for renewing democracy through the use of multi-body sortition. Written by a former elected politician and policy analyst, this book will be of interest to students, researchers and citizens interested in comprehensive democracy reform"-- Provided by publisher.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references and index.
Access restrictionAvailable only to authorized users.
Technical detailsMode of access: World Wide Web
Genre/formElectronic books.
LCCN 2025052759
ISBN9781041125570 hbk
ISBN9781041125549 pbk
ISBNebk

Availability

Library Location Call Number Status Item Actions
Electronic Resources Access Content Online ✔ Available