Participation and Democracy: Similarities and Differences of Classical and Modern Democracy

Abstract

The concept and idea of democracy precedes contemporary democracy and can offer valuable theoretical insights for political theory of our time. Classical democratic experience can be an appropriate starting point for theorisation, evaluation and, eventually, reconceptualization of democracy in a time of crisis. Our main questions are about the probable theoretical relationship between classical and modern democracy. The paper discusses methodological problems and the theoretical moments of the classical/ modern relation. Thus, the first methodological part deals with the foundations of a history-based theorisation, which is specified according to its main traits and tenets: participation and direct access to political power. The second part of the paper discusses these specificities and treats them as possible foundations for a deeper understanding and even reinterpretation of a current type of democracy.