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Unit 12

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The Grammar of Democracy

UNIT 12 DEMOCRACY AND CITIZENSHIP*


Structure
12.0 Objectives
12.1 Introduction
12.2 Democracy: The Concept
12.3 Procedural/Minimalist and Substantive/Maximalist Dimension
12.4 Types of Democracy
12.4.1 Direct Democracy
12.4.2 Representative Democracy
12.5 Citizenship
12.5.1 Development of the Concept of Citizenship
12.6 Relationship between Democracy and Citizenship
12.6.1 Rights and Responsibilities
12.6.2 Active and Passive Participation
12.6.3 Issues of Identity
12.7 Let Us Sum Up
12.8 References
12.9 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises

12.0 OBJECTIVES
In this unit, you will explore the idea of democracy and citizenship. After studying
this unit, you would be able to:

Explain the meaning of democracy;


Understand the concept of citizenship and its development over the centuries;
and
Analyse the relationship between democracy and citizenship.

12.1 INTRODUCTION
Democracy is generally understood as ‘government of the people, by the people,
and for the people’ and that is why; it cannot survive without citizenship. With
the advent of representative democracies, there is a shift towards passive
citizenship from active which could be seen as the challenge of legitimacy in
front of the state. Citizens’ support for democracy is a key requirement for its
sustainability while lack of popular support could be exploited by authoritarian
forces for their own benefits. Hence, in the contemporary context, it becomes
important to analyze the relationship between democracy and citizenship.

* Dr Raj Kumar Sharma, Academic Associate, Faculty of Political Sciences, IGNOU,


148 New Delhi and Divya Tiwari, Lawyer, New Delhi
Democracy and Citizenship
12.2 DEMOCRACY: THE CONCEPT
The concept of democracy is more than 2500 years old having first appeared in
Athens in the 5th century BC. Likewise, the word democracy has a Greek origin
derived from the word ‘demokratia’. It is a combination of two Greek words,
‘demos’ meaning people and ‘kratos’ meaning power. Hence, democracy stands
for rule by the people. It is one of the most debated issues in the field of Political
Science as it is a ‘contested concept’. This means, although there is a general
agreement on the meaning of democracy, there are differences on how to
implement it. Consequently, there are different types of democracy: direct,
representative, deliberative etc. The agreement is on the idea that democracy
means popular rule and sovereignty, but how that will be achieved varies. There
are, however, some inherent contradictions in the way democracy is practiced.
How to achieve people’s participation, the balance between liberty and equality,
protection of minority rights and to avoid the tyranny of majority etc are some
of the questions which democracies have to grapple with. One of the central
problems faced by democracies all over the world is how to balance between
liberty and equality. The English liberal tradition gives more importance to liberty,
while the French tradition treats equality as superior to liberty. Negative liberty
places more emphasis on the individual and his rights while positive liberty
talks of limiting these rights to attain equality. This means that negative liberty
favours a limited role for the state, while positive liberty wants state intervention
to create conditions where equality could exist.

That notwithstanding, there are a number of advantages that a democracy has


over other forms of governments. It prevents rule of the oppressors, fosters human
development, facilitates protection of individual rights and freedoms and could
even prevent wars at the international level as democracies normally do not
fight against each other. In his 1861 book, Considerations on Representative
Government, J S Mill has given three advantages of democratic decision making
over non-democratic ones. First, strategically, democracy compels decision
makers to take into account interests, opinions and rights of most of the people
which would not be the case in an authoritarian or aristocratic form of
government. Second, epistemologically, democracy brings in a number of varied
views in the process which allows decision makers to pick up the best ideas.
Third, democracy also helps in character building of citizens as it inculcates
qualities like rationality, autonomy and independent thinking. This creates
pressure of public opinion on political leaders who cannot ignore people’s views
in order to remain in power. In this context, Nobel laureate Amartya Sen has
touched upon the relationship between democracy and famines, arguing that
there have been no famines in a functioning democracy as the leaders are
accountable to the people and cannot ignore their basic welfare.

Former Prime Minister of United Kingdom, Winston Churchill had reservations


about democracy, but he still said that it was the worst form of government
except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time. Understood
in a broader sense, democracy is not only a form of government and state, but it
is also a condition of society or a way of life. A democratic society is one in
which there is socio-economic equality while a democratic state is one where
citizens get a chance to participate in open and fair political process. Radical
democrats in the 1960s and the 1970s believed that socio-economic equality
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The Grammar of Democracy was a precondition for the success of political democracy. Some frequent
meanings attributed to the term democracy are as follows:
Rule by the poor and disadvantaged, their political participation and
assertion.
Society based on equal opportunity and individual merit instead of hierarchy
and privilege.
Welfare and redistribution to reduce social inequality.
Decision making based on majority rule.
Protection of minority rights by placing checks on majority rule.
Fulfilling public offices through competition for popular vote.
In a broader sense, a number of features can be attributed to democracy. A written
constitution, the rule of law, human rights, independent media and judiciary,
separation of powers between the executive, the judiciary and the legislature
could be described as some of the basic features of democracy. The idea of
democracy has come a long way from its initial form in Greece when it was not
inclusive in nature. The Greek model of democracy excluded women, slaves
and immigrants making it ‘undemocratic’ in spirit. This spirit continued even in
modern democracies like France, Britain and the US where some sections were
not allowed to vote while the voting rights were given to wealthy men. The
French Revolution of 1789 talked about liberty, equality and fraternity apart
from popular sovereignty for the mankind. However, the women did not get the
right to vote, and it was only in 1944 that France started universal adult suffrage.
In Britain, women got the right to vote in 1928 while in the US, they got this
right in 1920. However, discrimination on the basis of colour remained in the
US, and it was only in 1965 that the African American women and males were
given the right to vote. India has been progressive in this regard compared to
Western democracies as India adopted the universal adult franchise from 1950
when its constitution came into force and it became world’s first democratic
state to have universal adult franchise since its inception. Saudi Arabia is the
latest country which has allowed women to vote and in 2015, women for the
first time exercised their right to vote in the municipal elections.

12.3 PROCEDURAL/MINIMALIST AND


SUBSTANTIVE/MAXIMALIST DIMENSION
Democracy could be well understood by two different views – procedural
(minimalist) and substantive (maximalist). The procedural dimension merely
focuses on procedures or means in place to attain democracy. It argues that
regular competitive elections on the basis of universal adult franchise and plural
political participation would produce a democratically elected government. In
his 1942 book, Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, Joseph Schumpeter has
said that democracy is “institutional arrangement for arriving at political decisions
in which individuals acquire the power to decide by means of a competitive
struggle for the people’s vote”. Huntington has also echoed similar views saying,
“The central procedure of democracy is the selection of leaders through
competitive elections by the people they govern.” However, people are perceived
as passive beyond electoral participation in minimalist view and thus are governed
150 by their representatives. This view does not focus on liberty and freedom as it
emphasizes how to elect a democratic government. In the absence of checks and Democracy and Citizenship
balances in the system, the elected leaders could manipulate procedures and
power for their own benefit leading to concealed authoritarianism. The
government could work for the elites who hold power instead of the people who
should hold ultimate authority in a democratic set up. Such instances have existed
in Argentina and Brazil between 1980s and 1990s. The governments in Central
Asian countries too could be described as procedural democracies as the power
has been concentrated in hands of a single individual although periodic elections
are held from time to time. Terry Karl has pointed that minimalist view could
also lead to a ‘fallacy of electoralism’, a situation where electoral process is
given priority over other dimensions of democracy. Fareed Zakaria calls it
‘illiberal democracy’, a case where governments are democratically elected but
ignore constitutional limits on their power and deprive their citizens of basic
rights and freedoms.

Substantive democracy tries to overcome the shortcomings of procedural view


arguing that social and economic differences could hamper people’s participation
in the democratic process. It focuses on outcomes like social equality instead of
ends in order to truly work for the governed. In a sense, it talks about ‘common
good’ rather than benefit of limited individuals. The rights of marginalized
sections like women and the poor are protected through redistributive justice so
that conditions can be created through state intervention for their participation
in political process. Various political scientists like John Locke, Jean-Jacques
Rousseau, Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill have contributed to the emergence
of this view. Unlike Schumpeter who believed that conception of democracy
which aim for ambitious forms of equality are dangerous, Rousseau argued that
a formal variety of democracy is equivalent to slavery and its only egalitarian
democracies which have political legitimacy.
Check Your Progress 1
Note: i) Use the space given below for your answer.
ii) See the end of the unit for tips for your answer.
1) According to J S Mill, what are the advantages of democratic decision
making?
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2) What are the differences between procedural and substantive dimensions


of democracy?
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The Grammar of Democracy
12.4 TYPES OF DEMOCRACY
Democracy can be classified as direct and representative depending on how the
people rule. Direct democracy is based on direct and unmediated citizen
participation in government rule. All adult citizens take part in decision making
sure that all the viewpoints are discussed and best possible decisions are taken.

12.4.1 Direct Democracy


It wipes out the distinction between the government and the governed and the
state and civil society. The ancient Greek city-state model was an example of
direct democracy. In contemporary times, direct democracy can be found in
Swiss cantons. In the Greek model, there was physical presence of the citizens
in the assembly to ensure their participation. However, the Swiss model is slightly
different as it depends on methods like initiative, recall and plebiscite to ensure
popular participation in policy making. The initiative gives people the power to
propose legislation which should be discussed by the legislature. Recall is the
power in hands of the people through which they can remove their policy makers
if their performance is not up to the mark. In a plebiscite, an important question
is put in front of the citizens for their approval or disapproval. Direct democracy
ensures greater legitimacy as people are more likely to follow decisions which
are taken by them only. It also creates a highly informed citizenry which
participates in decision making. However, there is a vast difference in size
(geography, population) between a city-state and a nation-state. That is why;
practising direct democracy is difficult in big modern nation states. This issue
was solved with the development of representative democracy, which first
appeared in northern Europe in the 18th century.

12.4.2 Representative Democracy


It is a limited and indirect form of democracy. It is limited because popular
participation in policy-making is very less pertaining to voting in a few years
while it is indirect as people do not exercise power directly but through their
elected representatives. Presidential and parliamentary democracies are two main
types of representative democracies around the world. There are more
parliamentary democracies around the world than the presidential democracies.
Parliamentary democracies are more representative than the presidential, but at
the same time, they are relatively less stable.
Check Your Progress 2
Note: i) Use the space given below for your answer.
ii) See the end of the unit for tips for your answer.
1) What is the difference between direct and representative democracy?
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Democracy and Citizenship
12.5 CITIZENSHIP
In its earliest form, citizenship focused on the city instead of the state as is
evident from the experience of ancient Greek city states or polis. In general
terms, citizenship is a relationship between an individual and state. It is seen in
the context of complementary rights and responsibilities. According to T H
Marshall, citizenship is ‘full and equal membership in a political community’.
There are certain rights, duties, and responsibilities that citizens have, but they
can either be denied or partially extended to aliens and other noncitizens residing
in a country. Generally, full political rights like the right to vote and to hold
public office are extended to citizens only. The usual responsibilities that the
citizens have towards the state include allegiance, taxation, and military service.
According to Kymlicka and Norman, there are three basic dimensions of
citizenship. The first dimension is that citizenship is a legal status which depends
on civil, political and social rights. In this sense, the citizen can act within the
limits of law as a free citizen and retains the right to have protection of law.
However, it does not mean that the citizen takes part in formulation of law. Also,
it does not indicate that the rights will be uniform between citizens. The second
aspect is that the citizens are seen as political agents as they are expected to
actively participate in political activities of a society through its political
institutions. The last dimension considers citizenship to be membership in a
political community which creates a unique identity. Such understanding of
citizenship rules out the fact that it also has an identity dimension like shared
history, culture, religion or language and focuses only on a nation state
perspective.

There are mainly three discourses on citizenship namely civic republicanism,


liberal and critical. Civic republicanism stands for love and service to one’s
political community, local, state and national. It argues for strong civic values
or civic literacy which is an important component of citizenship. It requires
identification with and commitment to the goals of political community gained
through the process of education and active engagement in democratic process.
On the other hand, the liberal discourse gives importance to individual rights
and autonomy. It also highlights deliberative values of discussion, disagreement
and consensus building. Political liberalism envisions citizenship that takes a
critical attitude towards all authority keeping focus on liberty. There are two
sides to liberal political citizenship. One, the citizen is entitled to rights and
equal treatment and two, citizens are participants in self-rule. The third discourse
on citizenship is critical which challenges the civic republicans and political
liberals. It includes feminist, re-constructionist, cultural and transnational
perspectives. It raises critical questions about identity (who are citizens),
membership (who belongs and the location of boundaries) and agency (how we
might best enact citizenship). Critical discourse focuses on exclusion based on
gender, culture, ethnicity, nationality, race, sexuality or socio-economic class
and tries to broaden and deepen liberal agendas of human freedom.

12.5.1 Development of the Concept of Citizenship


The concept of citizenship goes back to the ancient Greek city-states where the
population was divided into two classes —the citizens and the slaves. The citizens
enjoyed both civil and political rights. They directly or indirectly participated in
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The Grammar of Democracy all the functions of the civil and political life of the state. Whereas the slaves
enjoyed none of such rights and suffered from all kinds of political and economic
disabilities. Even women were not given citizenship rights which were reserved
only for ‘free native-born men’. In this way in ancient Greece the term ‘citizen’
was used in its narrow sense. Only those who enjoyed civil and political rights
and who participated in functions of the civil and political life of people were
regarded as citizens. A similar process was followed in ancient Rome where
people belonging to only the rich class, known as Patricians, were privileged to
enjoy civil and political rights. Only the Patricians participated in the functions
of civil and political life of the state. The rest of the population was not privileged
to enjoy any of such rights. The citizens were required to develop qualities of
‘civic virtue’, a term derived from the Latin word ‘virtus’ which meant ‘manliness’
in the sense of performing military duty, patriotism, and devotion to duty and
the law. The concept of national citizenship virtually disappeared in Europe
during the Middle Ages, replaced as it was by a system of feudal rights and
obligations. In the medieval times, citizenship was associated with protection
by the state as the absolute states wanted to impose their authority over their
diverse population. It was in tradition with the social contract theorists like
Hobbes and Locke who believed that it is the main aim of the sovereign to
protect individual life and property. It was a passive understanding of citizenship
as the individual depended on state for security. This notion was challenged by
the French Revolution in 1789 and in ‘The Declaration of the Rights of Man
and Citizen’, the citizen was described as a free and autonomous individual.
The modern notion of citizenship seeks to strike a balance between freedom and
equality. Inequalities like caste, class, gender etc are being eliminated by
providing conditions of equality through affirmative action.
Check Your Progress 3
Note: i) Use the space given below for your answer.
ii) See the end of the unit for tips for your answer.
1) What are the three dimensions of citizenship?
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12.6 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DEMOCRACY


AND CITIZENSHIP
The relationship between democracy and citizenship includes the debate over
rights and responsibilities, active and passive citizenship and issues of identity.
They are discussed in succeeding paragraphs.

12.6.1 Rights and Responsibility


Citizens not only have rights but they also have certain responsibilities so that
the harmonious balance between the two is not disturbed. Others must recognize
154 and respect an individual’s rights while we too have the same responsibility.
One may claim the right to free speech and expression but this right carries the Democracy and Citizenship
responsibility that the claimant recognizes and respects this right for others as
well. In contemporary liberal democracies, there is more emphasis on rights
than responsibility. It means that the citizens are passive holders of rights while
they did not develop public virtues of responsibility towards the nation. Robert
Dahl said that the citizens should respect the rights and obligations of others as
well as themselves. He also argued that citizens should possess the ability to
engage in free and open discussions with others about the problems they face
together. In a democracy, an individual has rights against the state which the
state should respect. In case there is a violation, there is an independent judiciary
which will help the individual. However, in authoritarian states, instead of rights,
more emphasis is given on duties and responsibilities. Individual rights can be
violated as the state is considered supreme.

12.6.2 Active and Passive Participation


Participation by citizens in a democracy adds legitimacy to government policies.
Political participation and political equality are two main ideals of a democracy.
In principle, they are both compatible but in practice, due to unequal participation,
there is no political equality. This is a major problem in a representative
government where accountability can be ensured by popular participation and it
also allows the citizens to express their will. Political participation creates
democracy from below and increases information of the people about politics of
their country. Politically active and aware citizens act as a restraint on the
government. A feeling of exclusion can arise even in a well established
democracy, as participation is not only about the form of political system but
also about how it is facilitated throughout the political cycle. It means that mere
voting once in five years during elections is not enough, popular participation
should be ensured in the intervening period between two elections as well. In
the absence of political participation, a government loses its legitimacy and
would require force to extend its rule, for ex. a dictator would not tolerate any
opposition to his rule and creates an environment of fear in which there is no
popular participation. Political scientists like J S Mill and Aristotle believed that
an individual can attain full human potential only by being an active participant
in the political community. Jean Jacques Rousseau argued that individuals are
more likely to accept a law which has been formulated by their participation and
it also encourages community feeling among them. Political scientists from
Aristotle to John Dewey have argued that political participation is vital for a
government and guards against tyranny by ensuring governance through
collective wisdom. It also promotes order and stability and can secure greatest
good for the greatest number by allowing all citizens to express their views.
However, given the diversity of any nation in terms of ethnicity, religion,
language, region etc, ensuring maximum people’s participation is one of the
major challenges in front of contemporary representative democracies.

C B Macpherson has given two requirements for existence of a participatory


democracy. First, there should be reduction in social and economic inequality.
Second, people should see themselves and act as exerters and enjoyers of
development instead of merely being consumers of government policies. Samuel
Huntington has argued that excessive demands are being placed on the political
system which is eroding government authority. Too much democracy leads to
decline in government authority and hence, there should be a fine balance between
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The Grammar of Democracy government authority and limits on it. Giovanni Sartori has said that the anti-
elitists have neglected the vertical dimension (leadership) of democracy extension
as they are focused on horizontal dimension i.e. participation. He supported an
informed, active and interested citizenry pitching for participation in real decision
making process.

In ancient Greece where direct democracy was practiced, there was active
participation of citizens in political community. Citizens were responsible for
the formation of policies and laws by attending assemblies and holding offices.
However, this form of active participation can only be realised in small political
communities. With rise of representative democracies, active participation has
given way to a passive one. The liberal emphasis on rights over responsibilities
has tended to dismiss the obligation to participate in public life and has caused
the rise of passive citizenship. However, this may tempt the state to ignore
citizen’s interests from policy making. Citizenship is a dynamic concept which
keeps changing from time to time and active citizenship ensures that the state
takes care of the rights of its citizens while passive citizens can be manipulated
by the state. Gerald Delanty has argued that unless citizenship is linked to
democracy, citizenship will be reduced to being a pre-political privatism and,
on the other side; democracy will be separated from civil society. Citizenship is
learned through education, socialization, exposure to politics, public life, and
day-to-day experiences. Active citizenship is more than voting or fulfilling public
obligations. It is not only choosing officials and using the system; but also
involves making and shaping the system’s structures and rules.

12.6.3 Issues of Identity


As an expression of one’s membership in a political community, citizenship
involves a link between people of different identities in an active commitment
to membership of a common political community, where a shared citizenship
identity is fundamental to the achievement of a genuinely democratic society. In
fact, one of the problems for contemporary democracy is of recognizing the
differences without falling into a situation in which the citizens see themselves
as the bearers of exclusively particular identities. Hence, the debate is over
whether there should be focus on ‘differences rather than common and shared
elements’ while formulating citizenship in a country. This brings out the debate
about citizenship and multiculturalism. Since modern societies are increasingly
being recognised as multicultural due to internal diversity and globalization, the
liberal understanding of the idea of citizenship focusing on the individual is
being challenged now. Critiques opine that specific contexts like cultural,
religious, ethnic, linguistic etc. should be the determining factors of citizenship.
Equal rights of citizens are seen in contradiction with group-rights and the culture
of minority groups. Will Kymlicka in his 1995 book, ‘Multicultural Citizenship: A
Liberal Theory of Minority Rights’ has argued that certain sorts of collective
rights for minority cultures are consistent with liberal democratic principles,
and that standard liberal objections to recognizing such rights on grounds of
individual freedom, social justice, and national unity, can be answered. Some
liberals worry that granting concessions to national or ethnic groups hurts
democracy: democracy, for them, requires a common citizenship based on treating
people identically as individuals. When a particular group seeks some
accommodation, this requires us to treat people differently based on their group
affiliation, which strikes many as illiberal. Kymlicka argues that request for
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accommodation actually reflects minorities’ desire to integrate. For example, Democracy and Citizenship
Orthodox Jews in the US seek an exemption from military dress codes so they
can wear their yarmulkas. They want the exemption not that they can be different,
but so that they can join the army and be like everybody else.
Check Your Progress 4
Note: i) Use the space given below for your answer.
ii) See the end of the unit for tips for your answer.
1) What are Kymlicka’s views on minority rights?
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2) What is the importance of political participation in a democracy?


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12.7 LET US SUM UP


Democracy is generally understood as ‘government of the people, by the people,
and for the people’ and that is why; it cannot survive without citizenship. With
the advent of representative democracies, there is a shift towards passive
citizenship from active which could be seen as the challenge of legitimacy in
front of the state. Citizens’ support for democracy is a key requirement for its
sustainability while lack of popular support could be exploited by authoritarian
forces for their own benefits. The relationship between democracy and citizenship
can be analyzed along three dimensions. First is the rights and responsibility
dimension. In contemporary liberal democracies, there is more emphasis on
rights than responsibility. It means that citizens are passive holders of rights
while they do not develop public virtues of responsibility towards the nation.
Second, there was active citizenship in ancient Greek democracies but with the
advent of representative democracies, passive citizenship has become more
visible. Individuals need to keep in mind that active citizenship is more than
voting or fulfilling public obligations. It is not only choosing officials and using
the system; but also involves making and shaping the system’s structures and
rules. Lastly, there is a debate over whether there should be focus on ‘differences
rather than common and shared elements’ while formulating citizenship in a
country. This brings out the debate about citizenship and multiculturalism. Will
Kymlicka has argued that certain sorts of `collective rights’ for minority cultures
157
The Grammar of Democracy are consistent with liberal democratic principles, and that standard liberal
objections to recognizing such rights on grounds of individual freedom, social
justice, and national unity, can be answered. He further argues that request for
accommodation of cultural rights actually reflects minorities’ desire to integrate
and not to remain autonomous in citizenship.

12.8 REFERENCES
Bellamy, Richard. (2008). Citizenship. A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.

Dahl, Robert. (1989). Democracy and its Critics. New Haven, CT: Yale
University Press.

Delanty, Gerald. (2000). Citizenship in a Global Age. Society, Culture, Politics.


Buckingham/Philadelphia: Open University Press.

Heywood, Andrew. (2007). Politics. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.

Kymlicka, Will. (1995). Multicultural Citizenship: A Liberal Theory of Minority


Rights. Oxford: OUP.

Kymlicka, Will and Norman, Wayne. (1995). Return of the Citizen: A survey of
the Recent Work on Citizenship Theory, in Ronald Beiner (ed.), Theorizing
Citizenship. Albany: State University of New York Pess.

Vinod, M J and M Deshpande. (2013). Contemporary Political Theory. New


Delhi: PHI Learning Private Ltd.

12.9 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS


EXERCISES
Check Your Progress 1
1) Your answer should highlight following points:
Accommodation of opinions of different groups.
Possibility of best ideas being picked.
Facilitates character building.
2) Your answer should highlight that procedural democracy gives more
importance to procedures while substantive democracy focuses on outcomes.
Check Your Progress 2
1) Your answer should highlight participation by all citizens against rule by
elected representatives.
Check Your Progress 3
1) Your answer should highlight the following three dimensions:
Citizenship is a legal status.

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Citizens seen as political agents. Democracy and Citizenship

Membership of a political community.


Check Your Progress 4
1) Your answer should highlight the following three points:
Minority rights are not against the principle of liberal democracy.
Special rights for minorities actually facilitate their integration in the
mainstream.
2) Your answer should highlight that political participation adds legitimacy to
the government policies and ensures accountability.

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