Democratic inclusion beyond the state?

Abstract

Much of what political theorists have written about democracy over the past several decades presupposes, implicitly or explicitly, that democratic theorists need be concerned only with the ways in which citizens participate in the decision-making of their own states. In the last decade or so, however, this framework has become subject to increasing critical attention. The visibility of immigration as a public issue has brought into view the fact that every democratic state contains people who live within its boundaries but who are not citizens. Issues like climate change and the globalization of economic activities make it harder to assume that a given state’s decisions only affect its own citizens. Finally, various factors have made it harder to ignore the fact that non-state actors like corporations and NGOs often exercise great collective power within and across state boundaries. Whose interests and views should be taken into account in a collective decision? In what ways should their interests and views be taken into account? Why? These are the fundamental questions that Rainer Bauböck has tried to address in a recent book that draws together decades of his thinking and writing about these topics. His original essay was already the subject of several responses in the volume in which it appeared, and this Critical Exchange, which grew out of a panel at the American Political Science Association meeting in 2018, seeks to extend that conversation further. The exchange begins with a brief summary by Bauböck of the book’s main themes. This is followed by critical challenges from Sean Gray, Jennifer Rubenstein and Melissa Williams. The exchange concludes with a response from Bauböck to his critics.