Democracy, Book/Article Reviews

“Democracy: How Does It Actually Work?” Reading List

What’s striking about most philosophical democratic theory is how irrelevant it is to justifying actual democracy. The common theme could be: “Here’s why democracy would be awesome…if only it worked entirely differently from how it actually does or will work.” 80,000 articles and books on democracy, and maybe only 5 democratic theorists have bothered to even attempt to explain why real-world democracy is better justified than other real-world political systems. The rest are out talking about fairies and dragons.

In response to the deliberative democracy literature, Diana Mutz remarks, “It is one thing to claim that political conversation has the potential to produce beneficial outcomes if it meets a whole variety of unrealized criteria, and yet another to argue that political conversations, as they actually occur, produce meaningful benefits for citizens.” We might say the same about democratic theory in general. It’s one thing to claim that democracy would be just or legitimate if it meets a whole variety of unrealized criteria, and yet another to argue that democracy, as we actually find it, is just or legitimate.

Below are books and articles I consider essential reading to understand voter psychology, voter behavior, and how democracy actually works. It’s not a complete list, but it’s a great start.

Achen and Bartels, Democracy for Realists: Why Elections Do Not Produce Responsive Government

Mutz, Hearing the Other Side

Althaus, Collective Preferences in Democratic Politics

Delli Carpini and Keeter, What Americans Know about Politics and Why It Matters 

Gilens, Affluence and Influence

Lodge and Taber, The Rationalizing Voter

Mendelberg, “The Deliberative Citizen: Theory and Evidence”

Huddy and Sears, The Oxford Handbook of Political Psychology

Dalton and Klingemann, The Oxford Handbook of Political Behavior

Brennan and Lomasky, Democracy and Decision

Oppenheimer and Edwards, Democracy Despite Itself


If you’re writing democratic theory that doesn’t take this stuff seriously, commit it then to the flames, for it will contain nothing but sophistry and illusion.
P.S. If you want a good summary of all this and more, see my forthcoming Against Democracyespecially chapters 2, 3, and 7.

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