ABSTRACT
The story of democracy is nothing if not a story of innovation. One of the defining features of democracy may well be its restlessness, dynamism and comparative openness to new ideas. This story is now over 2,500 years old (see Dunn 1992) – perhaps much older, if we adopt a less Western-centred view (see Manglapus 19871). Themes in that history are vital to many of the arguments that follow, but the main concern of this book is contemporary, with a focus on key ideas and arguments which right now are reshaping the way we view democracy. Thus the chapters that follow range over the contentious issues of deliberation and its role in democracy, the meaning and scope of representation, and the role that associations can and should play in democratic systems. I shall say more by way of introduction to these pressing themes and the way this book approaches them in a moment; first, some more general comments by way of a rationale for the book as a whole.
