Two paths to global democracy

Abstract

The pursuit of global democracy requires some creative thinking and a willingness to let go of assumptions that have been conditioned by democ- racy's long association with the sovereign state. This paper begins by expressing scepticism about three popular devices that have been brought by democratic theorists into debates about transnational democracy: the very idea of models of democracy, cosmopolitanism, and constitutionalism. Moving beyond scepti- cism, a path of transnational democratization is sketched that relies upon the consequential character of discourses in international affairs, and can be applied to complex multi-level governance. Discourses, and so discursive democracy, matter to the degree formal institutions are weak and resistant to strengthening. Transnational discursive democratization is contrasted with a more formal and constitutional path to global democracy.