CORRECTING LIBERAL DEMOCRACY WITH NEO-COMMUNITARIAN DEMOCRACY: A NEW FRAMEWORK FOR GOVERNANCE

Olatunji Olateju

Abstract


Liberal democracy has long been regarded as the pinnacle of democratic governance, prioritizing individual rights, free markets, and representative institutions. However, its increasing challenges - including political polarization, disengaged citizenry, and a deepening focus on individualism at the expense of community welfare have raised questions about its long-term viability. A major question that this paper poses to unravel is why has liberal democracy that works in Western Europe failed to work in Africa? The paper, using theoretical analysis combined with comparative conceptual evaluation proposes Neo-Communitarian Democracy as an alternative model to correct the inherent flaws of liberal democracy. Grounded in the principles of civic engagement, social responsibility, and communal governance, Neo-Communitarian Democracy offers a more balanced approach that integrates individual freedoms with collective welfare. This article critically examines liberal democracy's shortcomings and presents a theoretical framework for Neo-Communitarian Democracy, drawing on both historical examples and contemporary case studies.

 

Article visualizations:

Hit counter


Keywords


democratic governance; governance, liberal democracy; neo-communitarian democracy; new framework

Full Text:

PDF

References


Barber, B. R. (1984). Strong Democracy: Participatory Politics for a New Age. Berkeley: University of California Press. Retrieved from http://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/21022/1/3.pdf

Bellah, R. N., Madsen, R., Sullivan, W. M., Swidler, A., & Tipton, S. M. (1985). Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life. Berkeley: University of California Press. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/Habits_of_the_Heart.html?id=5DQHmykT6u4C&redir_esc=y

Brown, W. (2015). Undoing the Demos: Neoliberalism's Stealth Revolution. New York: Zone Books. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt17kk9p8

Butler, J. (2004). Precarious Life: The Powers of Mourning and Violence. London: Verso. Retrieved from https://www.wkv-stuttgart.de/uploads/media/butler-judith-precarious-life.pdf

Esping-Andersen, G. (1990). The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. Princeton University Press. Retrieved from https://lanekenworthy.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/reading-espingandersen1990pp9to78.pdf

Etzioni, A. (1993). The Spirit of Community: Rights, Responsibilities, and the Communitarian Agenda. New York: Crown. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1410419

Etzioni, A. (2011). New Communitarian Thinking: Persons, Virtues, Institutions, and Communities. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books?vid=9780813915647&redir_esc=y

Fung, A., & Wright, E. O. (2003). Deepening Democracy: Institutional Innovations in Empowered Participatory Governance. London: Verso. Retrieved from https://www.versobooks.com/products/1829-deepening-democracy?srsltid=AfmBOooEZUa4wEO1KFkHnlmJtSwJRYrIMpzR-6S1AvG7usfngi4dV1FY

Gilens, M., & Page, B. I. (2014). Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens. Perspectives on Politics, 12(3), 564–581. Retrieved from https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/perspectives-on-politics/article/testing-theories-of-american-politics-elites-interest-groups-and-average-citizens/62327F513959D0A304D4893B382B992B

Giroux, H. A. (2014). Neoliberalism’s War on Higher Education. Chicago: Haymarket Books. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.22555/joeed.v3i1.715

Harvey, D. (2005). A Brief History of Neoliberalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/book/40603

Kymlicka, W. (2002). Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from https://www.oxfordpoliticstrove.com/display/10.1093/hepl/9780198782742.001.0001/hepl-9780198782742

Lakey, G. (2011). Building Power for Social Change. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

Locke, J. (1690). Two Treatises of Government. London: Awnsham Churchill. Retrieved from https://www.yorku.ca/comninel/courses/3025pdf/Locke.pdf

Mansbridge, J. (1983). Beyond Adversary Democracy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Retrieved from https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/B/bo3618381.html

Mill, J. S. (1859). On Liberty. London: J.W. Parker and Son. Retrieved from https://www.econlib.org/library/Mill/mlLbty.html

Mutu, M. (2011). Indigenous Governance in New Zealand: The Māori Perspective. Oxford University Press.

Norris, P. (2017). Cultural Backlash: Trump, Brexit, and Authoritarian Populism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108595841

Piketty, T. (2014). Capital in the Twenty-First Century. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt6wpqbc

Putnam, R. (2000). Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon & Schuster. Retrieved from http://bowlingalone.com/

Sandel, M. J. (1996). Democracy's Discontent: America in Search of a Public Philosophy. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Retrieved from https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674270718

Sen, A. (1999). Development as Freedom. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. Retrieved from http://www.c3l.uni-oldenburg.de/cde/OMDE625/Sen/Sen-intro.pdf

Starr, P. (1982). The Social Transformation of American Medicine: The Rise of a Sovereign Profession and the Making of a Vast Industry. New York: Basic Books. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/The_Social_Transformation_of_American_Me.html?id=FK4pBXGvQzoC&redir_esc=y

Stern, N. (2006). The Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change. London: HM Treasury. Retrieved from http://mudancasclimaticas.cptec.inpe.br/~rmclima/pdfs/destaques/sternreview_report_complete.pdf

Stiglitz, J. (2012). The Price of Inequality. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. Retrieved from https://business.columbia.edu/sites/default/files-efs/imce-uploads/Joseph_Stiglitz/Price%20of%20Inequality%20for%20Sustainable%20Humanity.pdf

Stiglitz, J. E. (2002). Globalization and Its Discontents. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/30025840

Streeck, W. (2014). Buying Time: The Delayed Crisis of Democratic Capitalism. London: Verso. Retrieved from https://www.versobooks.com/products/14-buying-time?srsltid=AfmBOorhPpu_OZVdoPUHJlhiFb00pyIktLI9fb27YVpJU7iwgcRwj0vh

Sunstein, C. R. (2001). Republic.com. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/Republic_com.html?id=O7AG9TxDJdgC&redir_esc=y

Taylor, C. (1989). Sources of the Self: The Making of the Modern Identity. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/Sources_of_the_Self.html?id=OYN88ArbxUAC&redir_esc=y

Taylor, C. (1994). Multiculturalism: Examining the Politics of Recognition. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED381605

Walzer, M. (1983). Spheres of Justice: A Defense of Pluralism and Equality. New York: Basic Books. Retrieved from https://philpapers.org/rec/WALSOJ-2

Ziblatt, D., & Levitsky, S. (2018). How Democracies Die. New York: Crown Publishing. Retrieved from https://newuniversityinexileconsortium.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Levitskyl-Ziblatt-How-Democracies-Die-2018-1.pdf




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejpss.v8i2.1994

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2025 Olatunji Olateju

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

The research works published in this journal are free to be accessed. They can be shared (copied and redistributed in any medium or format) and\or adapted (remixed, transformed, and built upon the material for any purpose, commercially and\or not commercially) under the following terms: attribution (appropriate credit must be given indicating original authors, research work name and publication name mentioning if changes were made) and without adding additional restrictions (without restricting others from doing anything the actual license permits). Authors retain the full copyright of their published research works and cannot revoke these freedoms as long as the license terms are followed.

Copyright © 2017 - 2026. European Journal Of Political Science Studies (ISSN 2601-2766) is a registered trademark. All rights reserved.

This journal is a serial publication uniquely identified by an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) serial number certificate issued by Romanian National Library. All the research works are uniquely identified by a CrossRef DOI digital object identifier supplied by indexing and repository platforms. All the research works published on this journal are meeting the Open Access Publishing requirements and standards formulated by Budapest Open Access Initiative (2002), the Bethesda Statement on Open Access Publishing (2003) and  Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities (2003) and can be freely accessed, shared, modified, distributed and used in educational, commercial and non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Copyrights of the published research works are retained by authors.